Hi all,
Thank you for your advice on how to write better from my October post. Many of you said to read, read, and read so I can get a sense of style from other authors. What do you recommend for a starter like me? eg. authors, type of books so I can improve my word knowledge and usage and be at your level. Thanks.
be at my level?? some language regression would be recommended
I notice nine people ;have read this post, but none have replied. I think the problem is that
there is so much available, it is very hard to say where to start. Here is a sample of one
reading list on Internet. There must be many more to look at, for ones about improving
writing style.
http://www.umehon.maine.edu/thesis/reading.htm
Well I wouldn't be too concerned about choosing books strictly on the basis of their ability to increase my vocabulary or improve my writing style. Rather, I would focus on books that are a joy to read and allow the natural process of learning that follows delight.
Here are some of my favorite books, in no particular order:
Catch-22 by Jospeh Heller.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. A bit weighty in places (I recommend skimming as necessary) but you can't beat a good murder mystery in a medievel monastery that has a labyrinthine library.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Ostensibly a children's book but worthy of an adult's attention as well. It's set in Nazi-occupied Denmark -- very exciting and hard to put down. And on that subject...
The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck. Also about a Nazi-occupied country, this time Norway. A little darker than Lowry's book, this novella can be read in one or two sittings.
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer. A creative writing teacher in college once told me that good writing is like a window: you notice the view through the window rather than the pane of glass itself. This is a sort of Hemingway-influenced notion of good writing, and Krakauer's style is in this vein. His book Into the Wild is also impossible to put down. Speaking of Hemingway I just read for the first time...
For Whom the Bell Tolls and loved it.
Another novel set in war, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque is another classic that you'll actually enjoy reading despite Mark Twain's comment on "classics." ("A classic is a book everyone wants to have read but nobody wants to read.")
The poetry of John Donne, such as "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", which can be found in any number of books is moving, clever, beautiful, inspiring, you name it...
William Faulker can be brilliant but also a bit of a chore at times. As I Lay Dying is probably a better starting point than The Sound and the Fury, although I survived having the latter thrust upon me in tenth grade and eventually learned to love it.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is hilarious and and sad and all-around wonderful, even if it kind of loses steam towards the end.
Just about any of the short stories by Edgar Allen Poe are great. I read all of those, and all the Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories I could get my hands on in high school.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving was so good that I started reading it on a Friday night and finished it in time to return the book to its owner Saturday morning at breakfast in the college cafeteria.
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy is a great read too, and not nearly as corny as The Prince of Tides, although this too I read in about two or three sittings. (One must have his guilty pleasures.)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of my favorite books, and the movie is excellent too.
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger stays popular for a good reason.
Many of Kurt Vonnegut's books also remain popular. I like Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle best but you can hardly go wrong with one of his books.
Reading drama alone is a bit like singing harmony alone, but it can be a pleasure to read a play and then watch it on VHS or DVD, or better yet see live if that is an option. For example, there's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.
Edward Gorey's macabre quasi-children's books are a great pleasure to read both for their wordplay and engrossing pen-and-ink illustrtations.
Edward Gorey's macabre quasi-children's books
WARNING: Any child that isn't quasi before reading any Edward Gorey bools is liable to become quasi pretty quick while reading them.
I've read many on Alex's list and think he'sprovided a lot of variety there of works that are excellent.
I'll add Truman Capote (short stories; novellas) and Carson McCullers (The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, specifically) to Alex's list.
Also: The dictionary. It's a great read. Column at a time; page at a time; making sure to look at definitions (all of 'em) of familiar words with sometimes surprising definitions you wouldn't have expected.
It's also good to read good writing in areas outside of pure literature. I like finding books on various topics in science at the library, picking out a stack of 'em, and often finding something that is actually well-written. It's not usually inspiring for style, but the information is good to pack away to retrieve at a later date when writing.
Biographies of your favorite writers will help, too, if you can find those that have been well-written.
One area that I've been personally disappointed in is history. I have never read a history book that kept my interest because of the convergence of so many facts and dates and names and places and events and cross-references.... I'd love to find one writer of history who could keep my interest long enough to make it past the first chapter. But I know I wouldn't look at historical novels either.
Barbara Tuchman comes to mind first. That lady was SOME writer!
Bruce Catton. Justin? Foote, also on the Late Unpleasantness.
I can't think of the author, but the guy who wrote Theodore Rex did a GREAT job.
Churchill's voluminous histories.
There's a lot of good stuff out there.
One area that I've been personally disappointed in is history. I have never read a history book that kept my interest
Have you tried any of David McCullough's work? As I read Truman it felt more like a novel than a history. The first half, anyway; I must acknowledge that the later parts weren't quite as intriguing. It certainly wasn't any deficiency on the part of the writer, though.
Barbara Tuchman, absolutely; particularly The Guns of August and A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century (The Black Death, the Hundred Year's War, the Crusades).
>Justin? Foote, also on the Late Unpleasantness.
would that be Shelby Foote's The Civil War? if you're at all interested in the CW, this is the ne plus ultra; the Ken Burn's PBS series was marjorly influenced by this.
One area that I've been personally disappointed in is history.
Similarly for me. I do like David Landes' The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, though.
k
I have to agree with wwh, that it is so difficult to make a couple of recommendations and stop. The list can threaten to become exhaustive. To those wonderful afore listed books, that I have had the pleasure of reading and experiencing, I would add two more that might be good to start with and are wonderful for appreciations of style. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald; The Beginning and the End - Naguib Mahfouz(who I list as one of the all time greats); The Prisoner of Zenda - Anthony Hope...
WW: in response to One area that I've been personally disappointed in is history, may I suggest Lenin's Tomb - David Remnick; a book I recently read and was extremely impressed with. Its an informed, well researched, first hand account of the collapse of the Soviet Union and is written in an easy narrative style that makes for an engrossing read.
The Prisoner of Zenda seems an excellent choice, very well written and not 'heavy'. In a different vein, perhaps some of CP Snow's earlier books and the 'a dance to the music of time' series by Anthony Powell. Also any of Dorothy Sayers detective stories - Murder Must Advertise could be a good one as it introduces a more muscular Wimsey than one usually pictures, but my favourite is The Nine Tailors. None of these are classics or 'heavy' reading, Snow is harder going than the others, but they are well written and hold the reader.
then there's genre books by writers who really know how to write:
capers/thrillers: Donald Westlake
espionage: John le Carre
sf/fantasy: Gene Wolfe
In reply to:
I'll add Truman Capote (short stories; novellas)
What's the Capote story about the little girl that comes to town, is really popular and adored by everyone, then decides she's going to leave for the big city, and ends up being hit by a bus? I don't think I've ever laughed so hard.
In reply to:
espionage: John le Carre
Frederick Forsyth is also great. I started with Day of the Jackal back in high school, and I love F.F.'s books so much now that I have to ration them out so I don't exhaust the supply. Typically I pick one up to read on a plane when I absolutely want to have an enjoyable, engrossing read.
On the subject of books, can anyone tell me how it is that most people that were brought up in the US, havent heard of or read, any of the Enid Blyton series??!!! I grew up on a staple diet of Enid Blytons, and when I first came to the US, it used to baffle me no end that no one seemed to know what I was talking about. All my earnest recommendations met with less than eager responses and I left it at that. Same story with Tintin and Asterix!!?? For me, to this day, these books serve as handy and ready, mood picker-uppers. To get lost in lands of gnomes, elves, fairies with glitter dusted gossamer wings, underground trains with big cushions for seats, coloured sparkly lanterns in tunnels,..... everything seems alright with the world after that little reverie!
Any comments?
genre books:
murder mysteries: Agatha Christie
Ray Bradbury, for a refreshing and original use of language...and for honing your imagination he can't be beat! Start with some of his many short story collections, preferably The Illustrated Man, S is for Space, and October Country...he is one of the masters of the short-story form (along with Somerset Maugham). His novels include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Halloween Tree, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Herman Hesse -- Demian, Siddhartha, Steppenwolf
Alistair MacLean -- if you like gripping adventure/thrillers written in high literate style check out Ice Station Zebra, The Black Shrike (my favorite), The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Fear is the Key, The Satan Bug (the original biological outbreak story), and a host of others.
Edgar Allan Poe -- short stories of his such as The Cask of Amontillado, The Telltale Heart, and many others will leave you spellbound. And though macabre in theme, he uses a wonderfully elevated style of language to relate them. And don't miss his poetry either, works such as The Raven and Annabel Lee are a must!
Joseph Conrad -- luscious language! Conrad, who was born in the Ukraine, spoke Polish as his native tongue, and learned English as a second language, took his writing to brilliant heights. If you want to fall in love with the English language look no further than Conrad (well, okay, Shakespeare, too ;)): Lord Jim, The Heart of Darkness, Typhoon, many others.
Oh, and if you like history don't miss H.G. Wells' two-volume The Outline of History.
In reply to:
On the subject of books, can anyone tell me how it is that most people that were brought up in the US, havent heard of or read, any of the Enid Blyton series??!!! I
In elementary school I devored all the "Secret Seven" books I could find. They had many of them in the public library in my small town in Kentucky. Those books and the ones in the "Three Investigators" series were my favorites. But I had never heard of her "Five..." books until much later.
Oliver Sacks writes some of the most fascinating non-fiction books around. He's a neurologist who writes about some of his more unusual cases and often their spiritual dimensions. His book The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat is a goo dtarting point. My one complaint about Sacks is that he always has all these footnotes at the bottom of each page, and I can't resist reading them.
A book that I found engrossing in the history category is "The True History of the Conquest of Mexico" by Bernal Diaz de Castillo. If you want to read Tom Robbins Hi Milo!, start with "Jitterbug Perfume". I just read a delightful little book by Sandra Cisneros titled "The House on Mango Street".
Another thing I would recommend is attending "performance poetry" performances (i.e. Stone Circle*, slam poetry contests, storytelling etc) to get a feel for the rhythm of words. When the writing is right, there is a definite rhythm.
*That's in lower northern Michigan. I'm sure there must be other venues that have the same type of thing going on.
Ray bradbury The Illustrated Man, S is for Space, and October Country...he is one of the masters of the short-story form (along with Somerset Maugham). His novels include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Halloween Tree, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Alistair MacLean -- if you like gripping adventure/thrillers written in high literate style check out Ice Station Zebra, The Black Shrike, The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Fear is the Key, and a host of others.
Edgar Allan Poe - The Cask of Amontillado, The Telltale Heart, and many others will leave you spellbound. ...he uses a wonderfully elevated style of language to relate them. And don't miss his poetry either, works such as The Raven and Annabel Lee are a must, Joseph Conrad (well, okay, Shakespeare, too,) Lord Jim, The Heart of Darkness, Typhoon, many others.
H.G. Wells' two-volume The Outline of History.
Herman Hesse -- Demian, Siddhartha, Steppenwolf Whew! You scared me there Whittman, until you mentioned Herman Hesse, I thought that you might be me. Whew.
Whew! You scared me there Whittman, until you mentioned Herman Hesse, I thought that you might be me. Whew.Well, then, would it be milO'N or WO'Num?
milO'N or WO'Num
I dunno which is skeerier.
i don't have a list just "what worked for me" - just read! Read anything that strikes your fancy!
Do you have a favorite topic or genre? Read the diferent authors who write in that area, the different styles and words will show you words at play.
One thing which helped me was books on tape and CD. I would read a word and have an idea of its usage but no clue how to pronounce it!?!
I will share a guilty pleasure, the tape of "Christmas Carol narrated by Patrick Stewart - it is great fun and reminds us not to forget Dickens for words!
Best of luck in your journey
I grew up on a staple diet of Enid Blytons
Me too - can't explain why they were not popular in the USA, if that's the case. But not everything travels westward well, the British Teletubbies series which is as wierd to an adult as a Dali watch, did well here in the UK but, although it was tried, I saw little evidence of it in the US. Don't know how well The Magic Roundabout worked over there.
To some extent I find the modern 'comic' fantasy writers such as Terry Pratchett, Robert Asprin, Tom Holt, have the same pick-me-up appeal as Enid Blyton.
Incidentally, if you like those guys you MUST try a new writer on the block who calls himself Jasper Fforde (first book is called The Eyre Affair and MUST be read first). To me he seems at least as good as early Tom Holt. Here's one critic's take on it:
"Jasper Fforde tells what happens when bad people visit good literature. Sometimes they change the story or, in the case of Jane Eyre, kidnap Jane and hold her for ransom, leaving Mister Rochester bereft. It is the job of Thursday Next, an operative in the Literary Detective Division of the Special Operations Network in London, to stop literary crimes even if it means she must step into a story to set things right. With the help of her Uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, through which one can enter the pages of a book, Thursday is able to pursue the villain who holds Jane hostage. Fforde creates a whimsical world with some delightful inventions—bookworms that devour a book and then discuss it, a sarcasm early detection device, translating carbon paper, and lots of literary allusions and puns. This is book lovers' brain candy. (Mary B., Reader's Services)"
Unieduck, one thing is apparent from this thread, what chadahic says a couple of posts up is dead right. Just grab a book and read it. I've never read a book that I didn't learn something from - even the cheapest pulp, and I've read my share of that!
I'll add my agrrement to chadahic and dxd about readin whatever catches your fancy - even reading bad writing can be usful, to show you what to avoid!
As for recommendations, no-one has mentioned William Golding, I think. Lord of the Flies, of course, but also The paper man; The Inheritors; and The Spire in particular.
If you would like a run down on British History (and a fair bit of American history, for that matter) which is also written in excellent and approachable English, try Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking people - Wordwind - I would recommend this one for you, too!
If you want very good grammar and punctutation (although of a very old fashioned style) let me point you at Charles Dickens, William M. Thackeray and Anthony Trollope - his Barchester novels in particular.
And good luck!!
On the other hand Unieduck, history written by fiction writers of insight and genius might be better fare than those written by plodding historians.
The Fall Of Rome ~ R.A. Lafferty
An amazing book. When you finish this book you'll set it down and say, "Wow!".
Brilliant.
Okla Hannali ~ R.A. Lafferty
Although masquerading as a wonderful novel, after you finish reading it you will have more insight into the nature of the conflict between the white settlers and the southeastern american indians during the time of the Trail Of Tears than the many scholars who have written many dull, dry, lifeless books about those times. A careful read will bring you much fun.
The Portugal Story Three Centuries of Exploration and Discovery ~ John Dos Passos
One of the greatest fiction writers of the twentieth century abstracts pivotal events relevant to the evolution of western culture and charges the reader to a clear understanding of when, where, and why. Portugal is the focus but the nature of human behavior is the book.
These books should be available at any library of medium-to-large size.
Also any of Dorothy Sayers detective stories - Murder Must Advertise could be a good one as it introduces a more muscular Wimsey than one usually pictures, but my favourite is The Nine Tailors. up toward the top of this thread
Just dug out Murder Must Advertise to re-read (the first time was thirty-plus years ago) and once again found it to be a delight, sparkling and witty. As Advertised, of course. And right off found lovely words like
gibus – opera hat, and
captious – likely to find fault, and
dislimned – melted away, from the edges in – the crowd of gossiping goofing-off workers dislimned immediately when the Boss entered the room (used twice, no less)
As well as a couple of words meant to look laboriously and pompously esoteric: "Chrononthologos,” and “Aldoborontophoscophornio” (that’s on p 37 of my old Avon paperback edition, ca. 1968)
And there’s a step-by-step description of a highly mundane event presented with such tongue-in-cheek solemnity as to be hilarious. Haven’t laughed so much at a not-comedy-on-the-face-of-it book since The Mysterious Mickey Finn by Elliott Paul. PS. If you like mysteries and you haven’t discovered Elliott Paul you’re in for a rare treat! At least the first three – Mickey Finn, Mayhem in B-flat, and Hugger-Mugger in the Louvre :-)
history written by fiction writers of insight and genius
In that category might fall The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey pseud. Elizabeth Mackintosh, about the Mystery of Richard III, or, The Princes in the Tower. One of the best of all time, imho.
history written by fiction writers of insight and genius
Well, if we're speaking in this nuance of genre, then don't miss Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, his brilliant historical novel examining the Battle of Gettysburg (US Civil War) from the Southern perspective.
And, interestingly enough, his son Jeff has followed in the late great's footsteps, and has several novels out.
But I'm really gonna talk about one I just finished reading, Ruled Brittania, by Harry Trutledove. I know there are people here who think that HT is a hack writer, and some of his stuff is not as good. But Ruled Brittania is absolutely superb. It deals with an "Elizabethan" England where good Queen Bess is locked into the Tower by Isabella and Albert, who jointly rule England after the successful conquest of that fair country by the legions on the Great Armada.
I willnot reveal the plot, but will tell you that Turtledove can write a Shakespeare play just as well as the Bard could. Every memorable Shakespeare line and many not so memorable are woven into the conversations of the characters, making the England of that era come alive on the pages.
It's a must read for anyone who loves or wants to learn more about Shakespeare. I oculd not recommend it more highly.
TEd
Top of my list:
His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
Though origionally sold as a children's book in the UK, it is now widely recognised as a book to be enjoyed on all different levels. The author calls it fantasy-realism and it's a must. In fact, I'd be shocked stunned and deeply disturbed if you haven't heard of it as it's supposed to be pretty widely marketed in the US, though I gather with a smaller following than in the UK.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This is probably quite a well known book but is nevertheless very good. It explores ideas about philosophy and spirituality in the form of a fable - very thought provoking. I also recommend some of his other books such as The Devil and Miss Prym and Manual of the Warrior of Light.
The Life of Pi by Yan Martel
This book was the winner of the Booker Prize this year in the UK. It's quite interesting, again going into ideas of philosophy and religion but also a darn good adventure story, about a boy who becomes stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. I think for some it may take a bit of getting in to but I soon found it hard to put down.
bonz, have you read Sabriel and Lirael by Garth Nix? (an Aussie) great stuff, better than the Pullman in my mind. a new one, Abhorsen, comes out this February. can't wait!
Strunk and White*'s The Elements of Style.
____
*E.B. White, he who wrote Charlotte's Web. Also worth reading.
A book of Christmas stories by John B Keane "An Irish Christmas Feast" came out recently. This amazing writer was called the Neil Simon of Irish playwrites. His short stories are humerous, sad, lively, illumination and fun to read. Wonderful descriptions of places, amazing exposition of character...and the short stories will give you a taste for the plays. The stories are an excelelnt exposition of how to use everyday life and weave it into wonderful stories.
Merry Christmas and happy reading in the New Year.
Strunk and White*'s The Elements of Style.Here we go again...
My daughter gave me a copy of "Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew" by Ursula K. Le Guin for Christmas. I have always loved her writing and the title has me ROTFLMAO. I'll get back to you on this after I've spent some time with it.
I recived a book called 'The Art and Craft of Writing Poetry' a while back, it was facinating to read but I found it gave me writer's block for ages afterwards - be wary not to get bogged down in technicalities.
etaoin: I saw those books in the shops and heard they are quite good, they keep getting sold out, but at least I've ordered Sabriel.
Westlake is great and if you like him, try Elmore Leonard ie Get Shorty! Westlake wrote a very dark book called "The Job" which is also worth looking for.
For American writers; How about Mark Twain - I think he is underrated. For the cowboy genre - Louis Lamour. Lamour has some historical novels and a collection of "1930's" short stories which are great fun.
Try also:
"Writing with Precision"
by Jefferson D. Bates
- Louis Lamour.
L'Amour's final book, The Haunted Mesa, is a striking departure from his usual fare. Set in the West, as the others, but it deals with the mystery of the Anasazi, extra-dimensional realities, and a modern adventurer's search for the answers thereof. It's really more of a fantasy/scifi genrewise, almost Bradburyesque really, and I heartily recommend The Haunted Mesa to anyone who is a fantasy/scifi freak or fan. I found it captivating.
any of Dorothy Sayers detective stories...my favourite is The Nine Tailors.
That was posted earlier in the month - but note the Word-for-the-Day of December 26 just past:
“...It was a pitch–black beast of a night, and I felt as if there was hundreds of eyes watching me…Ever seen those bells? Talk about the heebie-jeebies!…I’m not what you’d call fanciful in a general way but there was something about the bells that gave me the fantods …they look as if they were going to come down on you…”
--Dorothy Sayers, The Nine Tailors, p.249. My copy is an old Harvest/HBJ paperback, c 1962.
So there are people out there who really do use these words! (or, at least, there were)
And, interestingly enough, his son Jeff has followed in the late great's footsteps, and has several novels out.
Well, unfortunately, Jeff is nowhere near as strong a writer as his father, but his Gods and Generals is still a worthy read, especially if you're a US Civil War buff, and the film adaptation with Robert Duvall as General Lee (I'm looking forward to that) is due to be released this March.