Listen to a a great contemporary writer
I started reading David Foster Wallace last summer. Or better, I started listening to him reading his book of essays ‘Consider the Lobster’. I was struck by his voice, in both senses of the term. The stylistic directness with which he speaks to his reader works with, not against, the extraordinary honesty of his ideas and the sophistication of his vocab. Hearing him read his own words adds considerably to the effect. So here’s a complete website of recordings of David Foster Wallace.
David Foster Wallace
'consider the Lobster' audiobook
The David Foster Wallace Audio Project