Reading is, dare I say, important to being a writer. (Controversial statement, I know.)
But if you had to choose one book that you think every writer should read, which one would it be?
The perfect novel? A guide to writing? Strunk & White?
I’m going with The Great Gatsby. It may not be my favorite novel of all time, but I think it’s perhaps the most perfectly written.
Which one would you choose?
(This post was inspired by a recent Forum discussion)
Stephen King, "On Writing".
Stephen King's ON WRITING. Phenomenal book.
Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson. 🙂 Amazing book. If you haven't read it. DO!
A third vote for On Writing.
RUNAWAY BUNNY.
Oh that's too tough. This is the one food on a desert island question…To Kill a Mockingbird. I know, I'm continuing the high school reading trend, but there's a reason they're there (phew, try that three times fast). Lee Harper did it so well the first time she didn't have to try again.
John Gardner's "The Art of Fiction" — and while they're at it, most of his novels, too.
The Art of Fiction, by John Gardner. Amazing.
The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar.
THE SCARLET LETTER, just so you know what NOT to do.
No, kidding. A little.
Is this like the Highlander, there can be only 1? I think you have to read everything you can get your hands on & know the good, the bad, the fantastic, the cotton candy because it all helps.
Right now I'm obsessed with Stephen King's book "On Writing" which reminded me read, read, read all the time!
Ray Bradbury's The Zen of Writing is a little gem.
http://www.amylmaris.com
Browne and King's "Self Editing For Fiction Writers."
Absolute gold.
I'd have to go with GRAPES OF WRATH…or OF MICE AND MEN. IMHO, that man knew how to write! 😉
Asimov's I, Robot…which is a great guide to character development.
I would say "On Becoming a Novelist" by John Gardner.
Blake Snyder's "Save the Cat." Grasping basic plot structure has to be the hardest thing for a lot of beginning writers I know. Plus, it covers a lot of things like persistence and having the right attitude in such a fickle business.
Hands down King's On Writing.
If there was only one book on earth, I would have to go with the only one I can re-read without ever getting bored – LOTR.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Just so people know how absurd you can be and get away with it.
Is The Great Gatsby the most perfectly written novel? It jumps point of view. Nick couldn't possibly narrate the scene in Wilson's garage towards the end. Although it works, so perhaps that kind of thing shouldn't matter.
I think The Things They Carried is pretty darn perfect.
I have to give a shout out to literary agent, Mr. Donald Maass. He has not one, but two great books. 'Writing the Breakout Novel' and 'The Fire In Fiction'.
I love "Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury. It's not his usual sci-fi story, but it's so beautifully written…really a pleasure to read.
Stephen King? Charlatans.
'Politics and the English Language' by George Orwell.
Whatever Oprah tells you to read.
Stephen King's ON WRITING, for sure. Great advice in that book. Now, if I can only get it back from my daughter!
On Writing is great but the only problem with read, read, read is that it stops one from writing, writing, writing…
Sarah Waters – Fingersmith is nigh-on perfect, I reckon, for inspiration.
Dubliners, by James Joyce. Read the stories. Study them. Understand the multitude of levels they're working on. The realization of how much thought went into every single word… this says something about meaning and the craft of writing. Every word is important. And I can't think of anything where that holds true more than in Dubliners.
Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD, because it's funny and full of wisdom for writers.
I was extremely influenced by Thomas Wolfe's "You Can't Go Home Again" – perhaps it was just the time and stage in my life when I read it, but when I read that book I knew that I was and would always be a writer. You can't be afraid when you write you have to tell the story that you have to tell, even if it means you can't go home again…
'Fire in Fiction' by Donald Maass. It actually tells you HOW to use some of his suggestions to better your writing. A lot of writing books tell you to do this or that, but leave it up to you to figure out how. This book delivers.
Other than Writing books, I'd recommend any of the Hemingway stories written while he lived in Key West and Cuba. (To Have and To Have Not; Islands in the Stream).
Only one?!?
Okay, Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass.
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
Gotta go with "Wuthering Heights", for the dynamic main characters and Bronte's use of unreliable narration. That book blew me away.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. That book is not only a great story, but you don't even realize how much you can learn about how to write a book until way after you've read it.
Also, HOLES by Louis Sachar. It all comes together so perfectly.
ON WRITING of course is like the indispensable textbook, but every writer must read STRUNK & WHITE.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and On Writing by Stephen King.
I'm also going to go with John Gardener's 'The Art of Fiction'. I was handed that in college and it's amazing.
I'll also say Salinger's 'Franny and Zooey'.
Wait, only one? But books are like potato chips. You can't stop at one!!!!
The one that made her fall in love with words/books, and that book, be it IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE, THE GREAT GATSBY or even, god forbid, TWILIGHT, should be read and reread. For me, it's Austen's PERSUASION. 'Course Strunk and White's not bad to have either… 🙂
I think every writer would benefit from having one book that they can read once every year that'll keep giving them something new every time they read it. After they've spent the last year out gaining experience, coming back to that one book can provide a compass point to their passion for the art & craft of writing.
For myself, that's Franny & Zooey by JD Salinger.
As for one book every writer should read…in the spirit of your example, The Great Gatsby, I'd offer up The Sun Also Rises.
On Writing is one of the best books about writing in general, but doesn't really provide that Star In The Sky to shoot for.
And quite frankly, there ain't no Should's in this business, yo.
Doesn't matter, as long as it's the worst book you've ever read. Read it a million times if you have to in order to understand exactly why it's so awful.
Definitely "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott. Hilarious and smart.
Read the Great Gatsby years ago. But I would say Elizabeth Lyon's book, "A Writer's Guide to Fiction."
My personal number one book on writing…
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of (Screen)writing by Robert McKee.
From http://www.storylink.com/article/321:
Q: What are the critical questions that a writer should be asking prior to crafting a story?
Robert McKee: Beyond imagination and insight, the most important component of talent is perseverance – the will to write and rewrite in pursuit of perfection. Therefore, when inspiration sparks the desire to write, the artist immediately asks: Is this idea so fascinating, so rich in possibility, that I want to spend months, perhaps years, of my life in pursuit of its fulfillment? Is this concept so exciting that I will get up each morning with the hunger to write? Will this inspiration compel me to sacrifice all of life's other pleasures in my quest to perfect its telling? If the answer is no, find another idea. Talent and time are a writer's only assets. Why give your life to an idea that's not worth your life?
"On Writing" by Stephem King
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Every word counts. Every word propels the story forward.
Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles made me want to become a writer. Such poetry in his prose.
There is no one book that's right for every writer. Each person will find inspiration in something different, and each will learn in their own way. What works for me may not work for anyone else.
Having said that –
the Dictionary is always good, as is the Thesaurus.
I love how subjective this list is turning out to be…and it's quite the straightforward question. Fascinating.
I would say that whatever reaches out and grabs you, refusing to let go until it's moved you to the point where you're either exhausted or finished with the pages should do it. Whatever feeds your voice, there you are.
What fits the bill for me isn't going to fit the bill for everyone, so I'll venture to say that (even though I don't think Nathan intended it to be) this is a trick question.
Although the list so far is compelling and insightful- and I've added some more reads (and re-reads) to my pile.
Thanks, y'all!
No! I will not be drawn into your nefarious plot to drive me crazy by making me chose just one book every writer should read. I will not! Well, maybe . . . no! I will not!!!
I don't know about books, but a funny movie about writing (well, it's partially about writing and partially about getting rejected from Stanford) is "Orange County."
So many exemplars of good craft, I wouldn't know which to choose.
For mechanics, Style by Joseph Williams, hands down. 7th edition or newer, mind you.
The instruction book to the coffee maker.
A case could be made for reading such a piece of tripe you *know* you can do better…
But me? I'd recommend (and read) Gone With the Wind. Pulitzer Prize winner, fabulous story, timeless…yeah. That's the one I'd pick.
(Love On Writing, though…just sayin')
My favorite writing book is Description by Monica Wood.
The one book I've recommended (and read) to anyone who will listen is Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus because we all need to laugh sometimes.
I'm going with THE GREAT GATSBY also, and James Joyce's DUBLINERS. The latter isn't a hard read–really…but the writing is beautiful.
I'm reading the Marshall Plan For Novel Writing by Evan Marshall. I like the book because it breaks down the steps to writing a well- plotted, character-driven, and enticing plot for a novel. It has examples and specific instructions. I love "On Writing" because it's inspirational but it doesn't show the nuts and bolts of writing a plot line that works. This does. Now, we will see if it works when I create the next New York Times Bestseller ;).
Only one book? That's a really difficult question. I guess I would recommend THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver – to learn how to develop a distinct voice for every character, write with beautiful language, and keep the plot moving along from beginning to end.
"To Kill a Mockingbird." It's brillant!
Definitely Stephen King's ON WRITING.
However, for a great lesson on the importance of "voice" (or actually, just "getting" the concept of voice) I'd recommend Where the Truth Lies by Rupert Holmes.
The Forest for the Trees — An Editor's Advice to Writers by Betsy Lerner. Just finished it yesterday. Stellar info on how writers/agents/publishers/editors work.
These comments are totally inspiring me to go reread On Writing, which I read in high school or college some time ago.
I might vote for The Things They Carried. The chapter on "How To Tell A True War Story" completely changed the way I think about storytelling, fiction and non.
I agree with "On Writing" by Stephen King for a must read. But I would also offer up "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. One of the best first lines ever written and it only gets better from there. The character development is outstanding.
Gotta go classic and say "Elements of Style."
-Colin Hill
"The Giver" because you can read it at any age and get something new out of it. (I first read it at 7, loved it, read it again at 17, loved it for a different reason, read it at 27 and loved it once again)
As far as a book on writing? "On Writing", of course!
The phone book. Where else are you going to get some really interesting character names?
Carolyn See's Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers
Works for me.
Nathan, that's amazing you say "The Great Gatsby." That is the book, read in high school, that inspired me to write.
But there is no one book every writer should read. To be a writer, you must be a reader. A voracious reader. If one book existed that spoke to all writers, we'd live in a very dull world.
Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD.
Wonderful.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Because inevitable apocalyptic doom can be hilarious, too! You gotta admire books that do funny well, especially sarcastic funny. (Honorable Mention: Hitchhiker's Guide.)
If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland.
It's religious and outdated, so you have to know that going in, but what she has to say is wonderful.
… oh, and also chapter 55 of The French Lieutenant's Woman, where the author breaks in to say that he has no control over the characters he's written. Classic.
i think it's wise NOT to read a craft book until you've written and revised a manuscript of your own. IMO, style should be natural, not learned. That said, I'll second Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird.
I agree with Stephen King's "On Writing" and Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird.
Would like to add "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg in terms of books on craft.
But in terms of a work of fiction, I would recommend Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist." A simple story with A LOT of meaning.
Either HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban or HP and the Goblet of Fire — without a doubt, JKR revolutionized the book world with this series.
WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL by Donald Maass.
Webster's 2nd
For writers (concerning the craft), I'd have to say Stephen King's On Writing.
Simply for the pleasure of reading a great book…well, there's so many! But, I really loved Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
Yep – Strunk and White.
I was leaning toward Stephen King's On Writing, too, but Chuck Jones's Chuck Amuck is the book that really did it for me.
While Chuck Amuck is about art (focusing on animation), few books about creativity are as passionate and fun. It has its serious moments; great anecdotes; it touches on the importance of collaborating; it discusses the importance of understanding what's always worked.
The biggest thing I took away from the book when I read it years ago is the importance of diving into what you want to do and seeing it everywhere in your environment.
Man, now I want to read it again.
And the Great Gatsby!
Another vote for "Of Mice and Men."
"Ask the Dust" by John Fante.
The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta by Mario Vargas Llosa.
A novelist writing about a novelist interviewing people to write a novel?
Your question reminds me of something that’s been niggling at the back of my brain for a few days, namely how to write a novel that gets picked up by agents in today’s world because they see it as a potential best-seller. This past Friday, you posted a link to The Rejectionist’s Blog post, The Cold and Ugly Light of Truth: Special MFA Edition. That post has haunted me for days. Would THE GREAT GATSBY really get picked up today? Would most novels from the past get picked up today? I don’t think so. I know too many authors who have received rave reviews and/or phone calls from agents, telling them how wonderful their writing is, but how they have to reject their manuscript because it probably won’t sell enough copies in today’s market. I’ve started a dual reading track at this point: reading literary novels with lovely language and perfect structure, and also forcing myself to read best-selling novels that are badly written. (I’m not saying that all best-selling novels are badly written, by the way – not at all. I’m not trying to be snarky or anything like that. There are a lot of well-written best-selling novels, but there are also many – not just a few – that would have been rejected years ago for terrible writing.) I thought about this in relationship to your question, "What is the One Book That Every Writer Should Read?" I think it depends. Writing an extremely well-written MFA quality novel might have gotten a writer published years ago, but it might not do that today. Is reading a literary novel as a guide for how to write a novel for today's market a mistake? It might be.
Stephen King, "On Writing". Great book. I gave it to a friend and he lost my copy. (@$%&*!)
"Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder.
Good books all, and I've read quite a few of them,(and created a new shopping list as well) but for me you can't go wrong with a novel that begins
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…"
Gotta go with Charles Dickens and A Tale Of Two Cities.
Loved "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller. It's about living/writing a great story. Inspirational.
Ray Bradbury blows me away. His short story "A Sound of Thunder," amazed me in junior high and reading "Dandelion Wine" as an adult made me feel like a kid again.
By this comment, over 80 comments answer the question. I'm thinking of writing down all the books mentioned. So for me, the original question from Nathan has transformed into something like the following: what are the must read books for writers?
Here's one more for the list. "Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose. Yes her pen last name at least is "Prose." Great book that leads you to other essential books for writers, some that have already been mentioned.
Sidhartha by Hermann Hesse sums up everything you need to know about making it in the publishing industry:
"I can fast, I can pray, I can wait."
The first Percy Jackson novel… that way you won't write a turning point scene in your first novel that includes the Gateway Arch.
Pride and Prejudice by…just kidding, The Elements of Style.
I recently read Make a Scene and learned some interesting things.
I second Ink's nod to Dubliners. Thanks Dr. Helene Meyers for making me read it. Good stuff, surprisingly good stuff.
I'm assuming by book you mean fiction, not "writing books," so I'll say WHERE the WILD THINGS ARE, which is a pretty damn flawless book and can be learned from regardless of your writing ambitions.
Find the pinnacle piece of your genre, read it, and then forget it as you blaze a new trail on your own.
For instance, epic/high fantasy writers should read LOTR, ignore all the imitators (which is the entire genre that LOTR spawned) because they are only pale shadows, and then put it away and write your own to outdo it, not to imitate it.
Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends…for me, it's a good reminder that writing (whether novels or poetry) should be full of FUN.
I think aspiring authors should read Chris Roerden's "Don't Sabotage Your Submission."
I started King's "On Writing" and never finished it. After reading all these comments here, maybe I should pull it out and give it a second try.
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Mark Twain knew how to break the rules and do it right.
Jumping on the ON WRITING bandwagon. Stephen King's book was a great read full of great advice.
Say what? Stephen King's "On Writing"? No wonder there are so many terrible books out these days.
If you want something that will BENEFIT you as a writer, then I'd go for "Immediate Fiction" by Jerry Cleaver. Lays out the true basics of writing (not the technical crap of Strunk & White or pointless "read, read, read" advice).
"On Writing" by King.
Bird by Bird.
Strunk & White, hands down.
I liked ON WRITING as well, but King openly says plot is secondary and really isn't that important, which I did not agree with at all.
The Monster at the End of this Book. Find me a better lesson on getting the reader to turn the page.
I’m going to be rebellious and say the Bible.
I'm really puzzled by all these responses suggesting books by Stephen King and similar writers. The only book that *every* writer should read is the collected works of Shakespeare, followed by the Bible, and I'm surprised neither has been mentioned.
For anyone who puts pen to paper to do anything more than signing their name…..
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
I think this should be required reading the first week of EVERY high school english class. At the very least, the chapter entitled "Shitty First Drafts."
Well, I'm going with the Bible, but not for religious reasons. There's such a wealth of symbolism and metaphors and idioms, historical references, conflicts . . . So much material for a writer to draw on and learn from.
As to writing how-to's – I vote for Donald Maass's WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL.
This is the #1 bestseller on Amazon today, and it's only available for pre-order: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Twilight Saga). Writers should read and learn from it?
I'm going with Gatsby on this. I've read the first page a thousand times.
Job Hunting for Dummies
I'm with Deni — The Carrot Seed!
Tough question. I load up on whatever I'm writing about and in every genre there's that pedestal novel. But if I had to pick one, I'm going to have to vote for Catcher in the Rye because it's such awesome show instead of tell.
I think it's about time I crack open my copy of Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird and remember why I loved them. Maybe one of these days I'll get to On Writing.
Wonder Boys, by Michael Chabon.
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson, a fabulous resource!
Sounds like On Writing is the big winner-I'll be sure to check that out.
I would suggest Catcher in the Rye, don't think I've read a book with better voice.
I could never decide between ON WRITING or BIRD BY BIRD. They are my bibles.
ON WRITING, by Stephen King. I was going to say THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE, but since I read the latter because it was recommended in the former, I'm going there. It's a chicken-and-egg scenario, but with an answer.
Have to say i immediately thought of On Writing by Stephen King but maybe it should be a very well written novel but that may try and make someone write a certain way.
I also think "The Writer's Tale" is very good because even though its about writing for TV, i think a lot of it crosses over – it tells you that you don't have to plan everything in meticulous detail before you start writing, yes you need to plan in your head to some degree but Russell T Davies emphasises that each writer has a different style,
Harriette Arnow's The Dollmaker
Why do you think the Great Gatsby was a good book?
I "read" it in high school because it was required reading. I hated the whole thing, but that might just have been out of principle because I was forced to read it and I hate being told what to do.
So know I have to wonder if I should read it again.
In fact, maybe I should go back and reread all the books I had to read in high school. I pretty much hated all of them–To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, King Lear, The Scarlet Letter, Heart of Darkness. They weren't all bad, were they?
Okay… I'll go with… mine?
Totally self-serving answer there.
The answers seem to be divided between books that "teach" writing and books that exemplify great writing. So I'm going to choose 2. I realize this is against the rules, but as Edison said, "Hell, there are no rules here! We're trying to accomplish something!"
So:
How to write: Strunk and White. Like Zen, the words are few but their meaning vast.
Great Writing: Hemingway's short stories. Hills Like White Elephants or The Short, Happy Life of Frances Macomber. A man could spend his whole life trying to say as much with as little.
Hamlet, William Shakespeare.
Hamlet's advice to the actors is not only the best direction a writer could give to actors, its also a marvelous guideline for authors.
Besides which, where could one better learn about characterization, motivation, comic relief and pathos? 🙂
I'm going to be the odd ball here, but I wouldn't choose a book on the craft of writing. I would say that you should read, study and outline the one book – that one mesmerizing story – that made you fall in love with story telling and writing. For me, it's Toilken's work. His settings are timeless and each character has a purpose. The plot pulls me into his world so much that every time I close the cover, I wish I was still there. Studying his writing has helped me tremendously.
The Great Gatsby- I agree 100%. My all-time favorite book.
Gatsby is great but, My Antonia is better!
After I read "Atonement" by Ian McEwan I thought it was the most perfect thing I'd ever read. The structure of it is extraordinary. Yum.
Just one? My normal absolutely must read is Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. If I could write 1/8 as good as he does in that one book . . .
I absolutely agree on Gatsby.
I'd also say The Secret History by Donna Tartt, because that's the other most perfect book I've ever read. 🙂
The death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes. Technical masterpiece, yet evocative and heartfelt.
I have to agree with the folks who are voting for bad book to show you how NOT to write.
I vote the Bourne Identity — terrible dialogue, wooden characters, yet I just keep reading it. (As Jason Bourne would ponder, in italics, Why, God? Why?)
Besides ON WRITING and Strunk & White, I'd say SPIN, as I've been obsessed with it for the past 2-3 years. It's got a bit of everything: good character relationships at different ages, very well-formed characters, and drama on a literal cosmological scale, all perfectly balanced. It's a great example of how to write Big Issues and then make them relate to everyday people. And the prose is gorgeous. I think writers could learn a lot by dissecting this book. It's also the one book I can think of that everyone I've recommended it to has enjoyed.
"Self Editing for Fiction Writers" actually got me to re-read "Great Gatsby" because they do a fabulous job of pointing out what's so great about the writing (which I really didn't appreciate in high school).
Stephen King's "On Writing" made it OK to be a "pantser", ie write without extensive outlines. It was a huge relief for me because I thought I was doing everything wrong.
But mostly it's not what you read but just to read, read, read! In my teens, I read loads of romance novels. Guess what? They were an excellent source for learning vocabulary and history.
Normally I would have said Stephen King's "On Writing", but I recently picked up Ray Bradbury's book, "Zen in the Art of Writing", and I couldn't get more than a few paragraphs before I was bursting with ideas to write. Almost every essay resulted in me writing something or making lists of story ideas.
I have to agree with Heidi that TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD would be a great selection, though I will disagree with Strunk and White. Those two have a racket going on that just won't die. And while King touches on some good advice, his hate for adverbs is a disservice to the reader. There is a middle ground.
My pick will by MY ANTONIA by Willa Cather.
I actually responded to this in the forum discussion and stated that The Great Gatsby was the most important novel to my career as a student and writer.
It's not my favorite novel of all time, but it is the novel that made me understand literary analysis better than any book I'd read before it. I think I wrote at least a dozen papers about Gatsby throughout my college career, everything from its unreliable narrator in Nick to understanding the role each of the women play in this story. This book so completely conquers craft that for every person who sits down and reads it there will be that many understandings of the characters, plot, and story.
Yes! I would go with THE GREAT GATSBY, as well. It happens to be in my top 5 favorite novels of all time.
BIRD BY BIRD- Anne Lamott. Timeless and earnest.
Shakespeare
@Marilyn,
I had the same thought re: "MFA writing" BUT perhaps, just perhaps with a little luck, a lot of hard work and some key short fiction placement you could be the next Jhumpa Lahiri or Junot Diaz or Zadie Smith and not have compromised anything but still sold A LOT.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
LOLITA. Understanding that this masterpiece was written by a man whose first language was not English… Well, how could that not inspire any writer to give his or her absolute best?
Novel, not craft book? TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Craft book? Ann Lamont's BIRD BY BIRD. I can't honestly say that I would have really understood all she had to say had I not had a few years of writing under my belt, though. Perhaps EMOTIONAL STRUCTURE by Peter Dunne.
Eva
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'Brien
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and For Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose, which should lead to reading every book she mentions.
If the question had been: What is one book every writer should HAVE, I'd say Strunk & White. It's the best reference book ever. For the one book every writer should read, I have to go along w/ the crowd on my favorite writing book ever – ON WRITING by Stephen King.
Fiction: To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Technique: Writing the Breakout Novel (Donald Maass)
The Black Company by Glen Cook. But like a lot of series, the first book (or in this case the first three) are the best.
For perfection in writing, I'd go with Lolita or Revolutionary Road.
For craft, also Stephen King's On Writing.
P.S. I guess I need to read The Great Gatsby again. It's been a while.
I would agree with Stephen King's, "On Writing". As this has already been plugged, I must choose between two others:
1) Any Shakespeare play (or whomever you belive wrote w/ or instead of him) because human nature in all it's forms are there; like Clint Eastwood "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (not to mention the funny)!
2)"One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, but only if you have a grasp of Latino Culture or have Latino origins. ('nuf said)
The Point:
Writing comes from a part of yourself which in turn shapes the characters and plot. It also allows the story to take on a life of it's own….evolving much like we can.
Just sayin'. -E
Anon @2:21 PM –
That would be the achievement of a dream, wouldn't it? I don't know that I'll ever achieve that or that I'm even capable of ever achieving that, but those are the writers I truly admire. I definitely read those types of books, and I've also branched out to read the poorly written books. I want to know what's out there, and maybe try to figure out why books with such vastly different levels of quality make the best-seller lists. It's kind of fascinating.
Twilight!
Tee hee. I love how he looks like a male model in his rain coat. AWESOME STUFF!
Especially if you are writing about seating arrangements in the school cafeteria.
I didn't want to like Brenda Ueland's IF YOU WANT TO WRITE, but I did.
She says that the imagination works slowly and quietly, and we have to be idle and open to channel it. The problem is that most of us don't sit still long enough to be creative. Even when we have a spare moment, we fill it with something, whether it's TV or the Internet or drinking or exercise. I'm particularly guilty of this. I can't eat a meal by myself without something to read. If I'm stuck somewhere more than two minutes without a distraction, I get anxious. Can we not just sit idle and take in the scenery?
Ueland argues that it is in these quiet times that we form the ideas we'll draw from later — to create something.
What a great list of books, but I like to read Websters new universal unabridged Dictionary regularly.
The best book I have ever read about writing is FREEING YOUR CREATIVITY by Marshall J. Cook. Fabulous book.
Self-editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King. Thorough yet concise. Every writer should memorize it.
Gatsby would have been my pick – That said, I'll cheat and offer other suggestions.
Tristam Shandy or Tom Jones to view the childhood of the English language novel.
Huckleberry Finn for character and dialogue.
Gravity's Rainbow for post WWII expression.
Owl Moon–especially out loud to small children.
I write mainly for children/YAs and always fantasy, so the book that brought me most pleasure and inspiration was Alice In Wonderland for the magic of its characters, clever wordplay and sheer fun. Also children's writers can't go wrong by reading an Enid Blyton story. Her books are often focused on wish-fulfillment and are very simplistic, but as a child these stories were like nectar from the gods for me – as they were for many other children of the time.
I suggest Wikipedia because it's always changing, so you'll never finish it.
Every writer should read OF MICE AND MEN.
All that Steinbeck accomplishes *in less than a hundred pages* is amazing.
IMHO, it's a perfect novel.
I wouldn't want to recommend every writer to read the same book. Every writer should read completely different books, as they will also (we hope) produce completely different and original books.
Strunk and White is a joke. I always laugh when I see the 4 examples of passive voice given. (Only one is passive.)
Anyway, I guess it would be 'The Idiot's Guide to Not Starving While You Try to Build a Writing Career.'
Surely someone has written that by now…
I'm a firm believer in "Read what you love," because most likely whatever you love most is the kind of thing you'll end up writing. (Atleast, that's true for me.) I'm a memoirist (right now), so I read alot of memoirs. My agent recommended a great book called "The Art of Time in Memoir" by Sven Birkerts. Certainly not an easy read, but worth it. I did like King's "On Writing."
Wow…No votes for Swain?
Techniques of the Selling Writer.
Sure, it's denser than flies on a rhino's butt, but there be gold in that thar hill.
Wow. I'm surprised that out of 168 commenters, only one (that I noticed) has mentioned Writing Down the Bones. That's the one that gets my vote, hands down.
Slaughter-house Five by Vonnegut. brought out the non-linear storyteller in me. also, gotta love sarcasim.
I find my writing improves after reading nonfiction, so I'm going to suggest Mark Kurlansky's Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. Elegant prose, wit, carefully structured arguments – I should be so lucky to write this well (to say nothing of making the reader care about an ugly fish).
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Such memorable characters!
I've never read a book on writing except The Elements of Style. I like what Amy Tate said, and for me that book was The Sun Also Rises. I still read it once a year and use it for starting fluid when I'm blocked. I also have Shakespeare's Complete Works on CD and always have one play on my iPod. People wonder why I'm never upset when the plane's delayed.
Wow, sounds like I'm going to have to read this On Writing. :] It's gotten loads of votes so far!
I'm going to have to say My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Memorable characters and an unforgettable plot. It's got everything in it (romance, family, suspense, everything!). I think Picoult is a great contemporary writer. 🙂
No "On The Road" fans out there?
Tsk, tsk. A masterpiece of solid writing, character development, scene, and wit.
And, as time passes, it has become valuable as a snapshot of a postwar America that was disappearing even as the characters were experiencing it.
I asked
Definitely NOT King's On Writing!!
Don Quixote. If Cervantes could write LIKE THIS in the flippin' 16th century, we have no excuses! /-)
Seriously, IMHO, Donald Maass' books on Writing A Breakout Novel are by far the best. They tell a novel writer exactly what s/he needs to know.
I have a shelf full of books – dictionaries, grammar, Elements of Style, etc, but having read both Stephen King's, and David Morrell's books on what they suggest for success…
I vote for "The Successful Novelist" by David Morrell (the author of "First Blood" that later became the movies about Rambo.)
Ray Bradbury, Robert McKee, Mark Twain, Shakespeare, Steinbeck, an embarrassment of riches! I offer no definitive answer. But I am rereading TREASURE ISLAND, an object lesson in leaving out the boring bits. As is THE GREAT GATSBY, come to think of it.
The Mr. Putter and Tabby series
Fiction: "Rabbit is Rich" by John Updike.
Non-fiction: "On Writing" by Stephen King
Second place, non-fiction: "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maas.
Campbell's HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. It changed not only my writing, but how I viewed my entire life.
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, John le Carré
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Because I like them.
@Joni Rodgers – your Sidhartha argument is persuasive . . .
The Lieutenants by WEB Griffin
I am stunned that more haven't chosen Strunk & White. I mean as the ONE book to read? Sure King's book is required and many of these others. But as the ONE book, I have to go with Strunk & White.
Donald Maass. If you want to know why, go to http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/ right now. Do not have any beverages near your keyboard.
I'm with you on the Great Gatsby. It seemed to perfectly combine writing, plot, and character.
Break Into Fiction, by Mary Buckham and Dianna Love (if you write fiction).
If you feel like your are losing focus or you can't find your writing mojo then you must read
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Also, Steven King's – On Writing for all your other writing needs.
King is my Buddah!
I definitely agree with what Marilyn Peake wrote at 11:27. Those wonderful classics would probably be firmly rejected by the modern agent.
I also agree with the suggestion that we read what we really love because that is what we will be happiest writing.
For me- I love the sensitivity of Paul Gallico's "Love of Seven Dolls" and "The Snow Goose."
To Kill a Mockingbird.
Every writer should learn how to touch every single soul that reads his books.
got to go with
Zen and the Art of …. Robert Persig
Even in his descriptions of the majestic scenery there is/remains a feeling of isolation of the human spirit, a deep desire to know more, possible more than we as mere mortals are allowed
Hero With a Thousand Faces. Joseph Campbell rocks. It's the bible on story. Everyone else is just repeating his words with spin.
My new favorite, "The Courage to Write" by Ralph Keyes.
I have four kids, so I intentionally resist the 'pick one' game.
The books that come to mind:
The Right to Write and Letters To A Young Artist by Julia Cameron
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
anything by Amy Bloom
Strunk and White
(Charolette's Web, too)
anything by Judy Bloom (what's with these Bloom chicks?)
I know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
John Cheever's short stories(to get in the mood)
The newspaper (to get my heart rate up …)
and finally– your blog. I meet people who say they want to write. I suggest they check your blog. If they don't, I suspect they're not in it for the long haul, because there's writing and there's the industry. You taught me about the industry.
Apologies Strunk and White. To be concise: thank you NB.
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle. And the writer should remember that it was rejected umpteen times before it was published by FS & G. And then it won several awards, including a Newberry. That is just plain comforting right there. And it's a great book.
Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Because every word must increase and support weight.
(If you hate poetry, read DUBLINERS. Many prefect lines.)
Year of the Horsetails by R.F. Tapsell. Of all the books I have read, this paints the best pictures of medieval battle scenes. I could visualise the country and see the people. The opening line also got me straight in.
'On a certain day a man rode for his life'
Jane Austen-Pride and prejudice. 200 years later and we still make it into block buster movies.
I'm not kissing up, I swear, but I have to agree with Nathan and go with The Great Gatsby. It has a good plot and a most excellent story. It has longing and death and heartbreak and desire and damnit if Fitzgerald isn't the most beautiful writer.
When I read The Great Gatsby, when I think about The Great Gatsby, I think it is what great writing is all about. And then I cry at the exquisiteness of it all.
I know that she never finished it but what an absolutely stunning array of words.
"Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky
ON BECOMING A NOVELIST by John Gardner
Dostoyevki's Crime and Punishment. In Russian.
I have to agree with most who have mentioned Stephen King's "On Writing". There's something very honest and unabashed when he goes into his own story of developing work. If anything it proves there isn't really a sure fire recipe rather luck that makes the difference at times.
But other than Stephen King's work?
My personal choice would honestly be "The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers" by Christopher Vogler. I know and understand it's geared towards screenwriters. Yet I found this book invaluable in helping to reflect and dig deep into plot developments. I really like how it breaks down the structure of the hero's journey, and sheds light on the significance of archetypes too.
Wow! So many responses. When I read the post the one that instantly leapt into my mind was Stephen King's ON WRITING – absolutely wonderful book.
Having read the comments I see I'm not alone in my humble opinion. 🙂
BTW, I had to read The Great Gatsby at school. I absolutely hated it! Admittedly I don't think I "got" half of it either. *shrug* Just thought I'd add my 2 cents.
Man Against Himself by Karl Menninger.
It's about the impulses towards self-destructiveness. (Self imposed illness, despair, self punishments as in addiction and accident proneness, and much more.)
Menninger tells how intelligent self-knowledge can give self-respect and understanding into one's psychological war against themselves for preservation.
The knowledge from this book helps when creating a character.
I couldn't find it in any library, but found a copy on the internet.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Is the author even necessary with this one…? A reminder that no matter your audience's age, you can be brilliant on so many levels in time to blow them away again and again as they grow up and keep reading. And spare no cleverness in your plot.
But, um, the classics are good too. Atticus Finch for the win!
If there was *one* book, life would be so simple that I would've killed myself. Already.
(p.s. It could be Bleak House or Beckett's Trilogy. But still…)
Tuesday's With Morrie. Albom's quick & easy read makes it difficult to put down. So touching & meaning on so many levels depending on where you may be in your life. A book you should read at least once, if not twice.
King's On Writing came to mind immediately. However, so did his amazing tale, "The Stand" — a powerful example for anyone interested in writing "can't put it down' fiction. "Read, read, read" means we learn by example from the stories that move us the most. "The Stand" works for me on many levels.
Any Shakespeare. But out loud. He is the "mother" of story.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
Elements of Style?!? Seriously???
Come on writer-people, do yourselves all a favor and NEVER read that pile of garbage. If you're unfortunate enough to own it, burn it.
It's an antiquated mess of dumb, toxic, unfollowable advice and bungled grammar claims. Heck, Strunk and White can't even follow their own "advice" WITHIN the freaking book, so why would you?
"Ender's Game" by Orsen Scott Card. I think I've read that book 2 dozen times and it still captivates me.
The ones that followed were absolute rubbish, but the first one was magic.
-Natalie
dubliners.
Sprizouse: had your coffee yet?
My book, obviously. Now I just have to finish writing it and sell it, then you can all read it and become complete. 😀
@Francis:
I've waged a decade-long, tiring battle against Strunk & White ever since my college lit professor shoved it in my face and told me it was the writer's Bible.
I studied it, found it's advice to be ridiculous and nonsensical but my professor refused to acknowledge the issues I presented. She never answered my questions and never could explain exactly why she thought it was 'the Bible'.
I cringe CRINGE! whenever I see a writer praise this horrid little book. So I won't stop battling until people realize how terrible the book actually is.
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Zusak doesn't recycle the same phrasing we've seen everywhere else before. He creates, he doesn't copy, not just in story but in style. Seriously, I could teach a class on that book.
Thank you, Robin Constantine; I was afraid I would be the only one!
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Sprizouse: Your issue is with the idiocy of blind faith, and I wholeheartedly agree. 100 TIMES!
I too completely despise anyone who blindly promote a book, be it the actual bible, TWILIGHT, STUNK & WHITE, HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN TEN DAYS or SHE COMES FIRST… yes, I've met all of those.
The book itself isn't a steaming pile of poo though: Stunk might be a bit outdated, and seriously, his very first rule sounds ridiculous…"Charles's car sounds and looks a lot worse than Charles' car", but his concise gospel (see what I did here?) is convincing.
I don't agree with everything he says, but his arguing makes sense for MOST of the book. Then again, I can't remember a book I read which convinced me completely.
ON WRITING was good, except for the part where King says plot isn't important. SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS makes a point that speaker attributions should always and only be "said", without exception. I like to throw a "whispered" or "screamed" in there from time to time… typing '"Help," she said in a low voice' sounds pretty awful to me. HOW TO WRITE THE BREAKOUT NOVEL disses Harry Potter, yet I loved them. I still think Donald Maass knows his shit.
In the end, you have to know what to take and what to leave. Stunk & White sold over fifteen million copies since its first publication date, you're fighting an impossible battle, and while I admire your tenacity (and I too have hated a few self-righteous professors), all this energy would probably be more useful if channeled elsewhere.
Like, in your writing 😉
Nonfiction on writing: Ray Bradbury's Zen.
Fiction: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay.
"Save The Cat," by my late, great screenwriting guru and friend, Blake Snyder, and "Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of
Writers' Manual" by Rita Mae Brown.
The ultimate book is the Bible, based solely on the structure of writing and the artistic words used.
Pumpernickel Tickle and Mean Green Cheese (Nancy Patz)…because you have got to learn to laugh at life!
The one book that taught me most about the wonders and vagaries and terrors and thrills of writing was Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light. Trust your reader. Don't tell them everything you know. Tell a good tale, and tell a tale, uh, good.
Any book by Tim Winton. Dirt Music or Breath.
Okay, I am so totally going against the assignment here. I realize we are supposed to tell you what book every writer should read, but I've seen so many for Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott that I Have to go against it.
I hated that book! And here's why: Yes, it is funny, smartly written and well received, but it makes writing seem as if it is the biggest chore in the world. And as if every writer is drunk and drugged.
I know a few days ago you also posted something about BIC (in my circle we use BICHOK: Butt in chair, hands on keyboard) and talked about how difficult writing is at times, but seriously, tell me where we have a better job?
Anne Lamott makes it seem as if we are doomed for a life of abject poverty and desperation, and I simply do not believe that. No, we may not all sell. But truly, if you love to write, shouldn't that be why you do it? So yeah, I'm going completely off task and against that book…anonymously, of course. 🙂
And please don't hate me for posting this, I am normally not negative…I just really found that book to be discouraging and truly frustrating.
I wouldn't.
There is no way one book (even the best) can provide a balanced view of literature. People need to see and understand different writing styles, different rules, how to bend the rules, different genres…
(This is where I win the pageant, because the judges themselves don't know the answer and are blown out of the water by mine. lol:)
@ Francis:
Umm… no. My issue is NOT with the idiocy of blind faith. My issue is with Strunk & White's idiocy.
Among their many crimes, they think any sentence that begins with "there are" is a passive that needs to be corrected. Their mendacious little book has, unfortunately, caused thousands of writers worldwide to think the same.
The rest of the book contains a compendium of misleading and incorrect advice as well.
See, now you've provoked me…
Take a look at a section of Elements of Style, any section, and you'll find hypocrisy and stupidity.
In their section "Use the Active Voice" for instance, they cite examples of 'bad' passives but their examples rarely contain passives needing to be switched to active transitives! And their corrections of the 'bad' sentences sometimes contain passives themselves!
Anyone who reads Elements of Style will quickly see that the authors only have the faintest understanding of passive verbs. And it's 100% certain they can't tell transitive from intransitive.
So why would any writer take grammar advice from these guys? And why should college-lit students be forced to?
Elements of Style is, like I said, nothing more than antiquated and prejudiced soapboxing. And that's my issue.
I'm saying this without reading any of the previous comments – I'll read them after this post.
I think the one book every writer should read has got to be the dictionary.
Writers should read many books, but the books one reads should be related in some way to the type of book one wants to write, and since there are so many different genres and styles out there – from rhyming (Dr. Seuss, Shel SIlverstein, Julia Donaldson) to PB prose (Runaway Bunny, Courduroy, Olivia) to early chapter books (Magic Tree House series, Junie B. Jones Series) to MG (Roald Dahl, Ramona Quimby, Percy Jackson Series, Harry Potters) to YA to adult fiction… And this doesn't even touch the genres like Biography, Popular Science, Non-Fiction Political, Green, Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi… I could go on and on. Different writers should read different books. But NO-ONE can do without the Dictionary.
Josin McQueine said the Dictionary, too – I'm not the only one! Woo-Hoo!
I'm surprised by how many people chose books about writing instead of novels as the one book every writer should read. I think writers learn a lot more about writing by reading good books than by reading books about writing. East of Eden is my choice.
Every text is a two dimensional computer existing in a three dimensional field stumbled upon by a four dimensional perceiving thermal field called hue man and woe man.
The Four Shadows of God:
Bible
Hamlet
Moby Dick
To Kill A Mockingbird
My Green Eggs And Spam
Then simply walk out to a lonely place and ask the universe if it has any chores it needs done.
Then you either have a best seller or a taxicab to paradise/stairway to heaven. Always their is the choice.
Some people get to do both.
If all else fails steal Abby Hoffman's
"Steal This Book" from a used bookstore like the one in "The Neverending Story"
I love the power and desperation underlying Chang-Rae Lee's A Gesture Life, Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. I better stop at 3 before I get going…
Sol Stein "On Writing." I may not agree with everything he writes, and he has it in for John Grisham, but he does make a point sometimes.
Watership Down is the book that inspired my to even try to write. I marveled at how the authors could combine fiction with reality.
Another vote for Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment – total immersion in the author's world.
And, for structure, pace, depth, brevity – Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathaniel West.
In fact, his complete works would also do you good, taken before or after meals – The Day of the Locust,A Cool Million, The Dream Life of Balso Snell- and as they're short, I count them as one book….
Since I struggle sometimes with writing description … for a great example … most anything by James Lee Burke.
I don't think anyone should say there is one book that every writer should read. We all have different tastes and learn differently and write different genres.
"On Bunker Hill" by John Fante. And many others. Saying that a writer must read is NOT controversial at all.
The Norton Anthologies, Jerome Stern's Making Shapely Fiction, and everything by Chekhov.
On Writing.
Story by Robert McKee.
I've got to go with Save the Cat.
"The Art of War for Writers" by James Scott Bell.
Wow. There are a lot of votes for ON WRITING, and it is a marvelous book, but I think, if you only get one book, it should be a novel. While I agree that THE GREAT GATSBY is a wonderful choice, I'd go for something a bit longer like EAST OF EDEN. While it's not my favorite, I think it captures the essence of what a novel should be. (Crime and Punishment was a close second, but I thought, for this, I should chose a novel originally in English–for English writers. No matter how good a translation you get, it's still not the same as reading the author's own words, and, boy-o, Steinbeck knows how to use words.)
Anything not written by Stephen King or Terry Brooks.
MYSTERY AND MANNERS by Flannery O'Connor. Or anything by Truman Capote.
THE INVISIBLE MAN by H.G. Wells.
You go half the book without even knowing the MC's name, and you can't stop flipping pages. When I read it the first time, I read chapter 1 through 5 in one sitting, because I seriously could not put it down. When I did put it down, I couldn't stop thinking about it. No beginning of a novel ever had me so captured the first time I read it. There have been books I've read before that I couldn't put down because I knew what was coming.
There's only one flaw I find in this book: when H.G. Wells references the reader.
Definitely Stephen King's "On Writing."
Homer's "Odyssey"
Rudolfo Anya's "Bless Me, Ultima"
John Knowles' "A Seperate Peace"
And don't forget the ol' "Harry Potter" series. Oh wait, did you say just one? Sorry.
On Writing. Should be a prosecuted offense if you're trying to be a writer and you don't read that book, and I'm not even a Stephen King fan.
"Oh, The Places You'll Go," by Dr. Seuss. All you need to know.
Ok, I completely agree with Gatsby, but since you already picked that one, it gives me a cheat – I get to pick another. I am going with We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates – awe inspiring – how to take the reader from an emotional swim in the ocean to the depths of the abyss. There were literally times where I had to put the book down and just cry, but others that I was smiling like a kid at Christmas. If I could ever write something that would draw out that much emotion, I'd be happy.
Ok, I completely agree with Gatsby, but since you already picked that one, it gives me a cheat – I get to pick another. I am going with We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates – awe inspiring – how to take the reader from an emotional swim in the ocean to the depths of the abyss. There were literally times where I had to put the book down and just cry, but others that I was smiling like a kid at Christmas. If I could ever write something that would draw out that much emotion, I'd be happy.
ON WRITING.
Or, no. Maybe Elizabeth George's WRITE AWAY. It ties together character and plot better than any writing book I've read.
"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." It is a writer's graduate course. Immersion journalism, fantastic characterization, suspense, humor, writer-as-fly-on-wall, and plot. It's my measuring stick for great writing.
The dictionary.
Thomas Wolfe's 'Look Homeward Angel'To be read when young – the closest anyone has got to writing the Great American Novel
I'm a fan of Donald Maass' WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL.
Flann O'Brien: "At Swim-Two-Birds"
"If You Want to Write" by Brenda Ueland
Oooooh, Look Homeward, Angel is a good one. Good suggestion!
The Lord of teh Rings provides a writer with a lot. The wordage and some (but not all, surprisingly) of the structure is a bit archaic. I would pair this with The Elements of Style or Techniques of the Selling Writer.
Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bachman. Pithy, succint, every word means something on many levels.
Easy – "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer.
Because the whole of English literature starts right there. The humorous, the epic, the noble, the low, the character study, the drama… all of it. Right there.
If you can, read side by side with a modern English translation, but don't sell yourself short thinking you can't understand the Middle English version.
All writers should read the Greek tragedies, the works of Shakespeare, and the Bible.
Short story writers: The Complete Works of John Cheever.
Novelists: Aspects of the Novel by EM Forster
If you want to be a "serious writer" – Ulysses. While it may not be my favorite (or anybody else's) it is necessary to read in order to know just how experimental "experimental fiction" goes.
If you want to be a "popular writer"…Probably "BIRD BY BIRD" just so you know that it's extremely unlikely to ever happen for you.
Oh I agree, On writing is very good (even though I do not like Stephen King's fiction at all).
For a novel, I go to Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. I first read it as required reading in a University Victorian Lit class and hated it. Just goes to show you how great teachers can be at ruining a wonderful piece of literature. I read it again the following year and loved it. It stands as an all time favorite.
Bird by Bird and How Not to Write a Novel, because they teach and make you laugh.
In going with the Stephen King theme, I'll say Misery. For those days when writing just seems too hard you can think of Paul Sheldon and be grateful that at least you're not being held captive in a remote Colorado cabin by your psycho #1 fan who drugs you and on occasion hits you with a sledge hammer, forcing you to write happy ending romance novels.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
"Loser", by Jerry Spinelli. It is truly a work of art.
Shakespeare – Collected Works (For English language writers)
Lori Lansens, "The Girls" – Craniopagus twins take turns writing the chapters of this brilliant and engaging novel. One sister wants to be a writer and her chapters sing! The other sister reluctantly writes her chapters in her own excellent style. What a story! A novel for writers and for readers that appreciate great story telling.
James Joyce, Ulysses.
[Rather appropriately, today's captcha request is "cestypo"!]
Strunk and White. But don't stop there.
I believe no-one has mentioned Anna Karenina, surely one of the most perfect novels ever written, and a great teacher.
Winokur's Advice to Writers. Excellent for targeted quick fixes. Restarts me every time I stall.
My copyeditor self wants to say 'aigh! Not Strunk & White!'
I'll have to get that Stephen King book.
Johnny Got His Gun.
Not politically, just literary. Sharp as a knife.
@Caleb Whoa! Don't bring a knife simile to a gun title!
Grimm's Collected Fairy Tales, for learning to craft the unexpected and seeing what resonates with readers, century after century. These stories hit every human emotion, in plot-thick format.
Put another down for "On Writing" — especially if the question The ONE Book every writer should read.
YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS!!
I wasn't even going to bother commenting as I assumed that out of 288 comments a few dozen at least would have chosen
Lord of the Rings.
Unless I scrolled down too quickly I only saw it mentioned once…!?!…I HOPE I'm blind!
Maybe it's because I'm British – but this trilogy changed my life. After reading the series the first time when I was 8 – I became a greedy and obsessive little girl. I was always hungry for a similar book which would addict me again to such a believable make-believe world. The result was I became a readaholic.
There are so many diverse charaters, fabulous world-building and action going on…a new language created and…for heavens sake…GOLLUM!!! What a remarkable psychological case study of a split personality! Members of so many different races, dwarves, elves, hobbits, ents, men, eagles… who are brought together to fight the eternal fight against evil…I mean, it even has a touch of romance. What doesn't it have?
It's just too perfect for words and NOTHING has ever replaced this as my all-time favourite.
I have extremely eclectic tastes in books and music BUT this will always be my EPIC FIRST LOVE.
Stephen King's "On Writing." He nailed it, plain and simple.
@Nathan
Have you resolved the issue with Outlook?
When I did a pediatrics practicum in a clinic me and a friend developed a plugin for Outlook 2003 at the time, then 2007, which allowed us to drop any e-mail from the clinic's inbox into folders we created and send out a message automatically to the sender.
Many patients had the same general inquiries and each folder was configured to send a specific message with information that could be useful to them.
If that's what you need, I can send it over.
Of 292 entries, as of this post, and I'm only the fifth person to recommend the Bible?! Increudulous, I am. Read the Bible for human study, if nothing else.
For pleasure I have to agree with Moyrid,
Pride and Predjudice is my favorite book in the world.
I would say those collections of Paris Reviews where they interview the greats like hemmingway and carver and Fitzgerald. There is also a collection where they interview modern writers-anything Paul Auster says about the process of writing is really worth checking out.
thanks, kerem.
http://www.keremmermutlu.tumblr.com
Oh great. You pick my one admitted gap book. Well, at least I know what to read next.
Mr. Bradford, I would recommend "Lolita"… its psychological mastery. All of Nabokov's novels are awesome. "Anna Karenina" is perfect except it's ridiculously long–I don't think anyone but Tolstoy is allowed to write books that long ("War and Peace" has become a popular culture reference for "long").
"Wuthering Heights" is considered the greatest novel of all time, but if you question those who've actually read it, it's either Love or Hate.
I'm glad you mentioned "The Great Gatsby". I read that the other day and LOVED it.
The Great Gatsby is far and away my favorite novel. I believe it is brilliantly written! I read it every year, in addition to teaching it! There is nothing better!
BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE by Charles Baxter.
Not possible. What moves/inspires/educates/births every writer is different. I almost think it's insulting to suggest that any one could be "it" for everyone.
I hope I'm not so like every author out there that I could be linked back to the same book as every one of them. Even a collection of the greatest authors of all time is so eclectic.
No. Not possible.
Leah
http://www.leahpetersen.com
SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of the best books ever written. It's what fiction ought to be.
The one book. Easy. "East of Eden"
It's got everything, including things Steinbeck knew "shouldn't" be in the book but that he wanted in it anyway. And he knew it was the book he was working toward his whole life, his Great American Novel.
Follow that up with "Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters" which is the journal Steinbeck wrote while writing the book (actually, a series of letters he wrote every day to his publisher before writing on the book – left hand pages were for the letters, right hand ones for his novel).
Follow that with "Education of a Wandering Man" by Louis L'Amour. A memoir of his literary life, which was staggeringly (izat a word?) rich. A little-known gem!
Many people here have said "On Writing" by Stephen King, which I have to vote vehemently against! Really derivative of other books about writing, and surprisingly thin – in actual thickness and substance – about the craft of writing, which King should know something about.
If you're interested in books specifically about writing, "On Becoming a Novelist" by John Gardner is only about 100 times better.
As is "Editor to Author: The Letters of Maxwell E. Perkins," who was Hemingway's and F. Scott Fitzgerald's editor (along with many other great writers).
Finish these and it's probably better than that MFA program you were thinking about paying way too much for.
The one book. Easy. "East of Eden"
It's got everything, including things Steinbeck knew "shouldn't" be in the book but that he wanted in it anyway. And he knew it was the book he was working toward his whole life, his Great American Novel.
Follow that up with "Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters" which is the journal Steinbeck wrote while writing the book (actually, a series of letters he wrote every day to his publisher before writing on the book – left hand pages were for the letters, right hand ones for his novel).
Follow that with "Education of a Wandering Man" by Louis L'Amour. A memoir of his literary life, which was staggeringly (izat a word?) rich. A little-known gem!
Many people here have said "On Writing" by Stephen King, which I have to vote vehemently against! Really derivative of other books about writing, and surprisingly thin – in actual thickness and substance – about the craft of writing, which King should know something about.
If you're interested in books specifically about writing, "On Becoming a Novelist" by John Gardner is only about 100 times better.
As is "Editor to Author: The Letters of Maxwell E. Perkins," who was Hemingway's and F. Scott Fitzgerald's editor (along with many other great writers).
Finish these and it's probably better than that MFA program you were thinking about paying way too much for.
I had the rare opportunity to copyedit Maxwell Perkin's Letters to His Daughters, though I didn't end up being the final edit, for various "publishing" reasons. It was a dream come true for me… to work with anything written by Perkins, since as a child I'd wanted to move somewhere in his realm. In those small, simple letters he wrote to his children were smidgets of the simple wisdom of story writing: that stories are never passe, if they're stories, that is. I've just finished reading a critique in the New Yorker about "contemporary" writing, and I'll leave out the names etc. All I came away wondering was why critics can't say simply, "The story didn't grab me." Of course, having been strung through various genres of criticism, I can understand why someone, working within a framework of a form of criticism, might get lost in abstract ideas. A story, however, is not an abstraction, even if it speaks to abstract issues. All of Michael Ondaatje's works deal with abstract ideas (problems of identity, or love, or a father-dauther relationship). But you can't tell a story through abstractions. Salman Rushdie doesn't–a man you might expect to. Nor did Nabokov. Therefore, for me, the best writing about writing is always a great novel. Read the novelists you love… with gusto, and take notes. What writers say about writing will never equal what they do with writing. It's the same with painters. What painters say about painting will never equal the painting. And with those words, I guess I've voted on what pieces of literature I think are worth reading about writing–adding in, of course many many other great writers.
Stein on Writing by Sol Stein. Invaluable to a fledgling writer.
Anything by Philip Roth. He's the consummate writer of our time; his dialogue is always pitch perfect; his stories and characters resonate with modern people & their lives: good, bad, or indifferent.
Mark Beyer
author of "The Village Wit"