Everyone remembers HST’s weird and gonzo stuff, but truth is, he started as a solid writer and journalist, and wrote a hell of a lot of letters to friends. In these letters, you start to see how Thompson’s literary career began, and how he struggled to keep alive on pittance-salary jobs while he consumed books and honed his craft. This is great stuff because whenever I crack it open to a random page and start reading, it inspires me to keep going with my own writing.