Poets and Writers

I picked up the current copy of P&W at the bookstore recently. I had subscribed for years, then found the articles repetitive after awhile so I stopped. I had subscribed back in the days when the magazine was called "Coda" and it was printed without the slick cover. The pages too were "green" in that they had no glossy coating. Setting aside the gloss vs slick agenda, the contents of this issue I thought quite good. I read a number of articles about writers and books I didn't know of.

For example Sheila Kohler. Her article is well written and a fascinating story of how she wrote her newest novel.
I ordered the novel from the library. How is it that some writers grab you with their prose immediately? I'm only on page 13, but have enjoyed Kohler's writing so much and assume it is a predictor for the rest of the novel.