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)
Julie Hedlund says
P.S. I guess I need to read The Great Gatsby again. It's been a while.
Erika Andrade says
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
Marilyn Peake says
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.
JoAnn says
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.
Brian Crawford says
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.
AM Riley says
What a great list of books, but I like to read Websters new universal unabridged Dictionary regularly.
Jess says
The best book I have ever read about writing is FREEING YOUR CREATIVITY by Marshall J. Cook. Fabulous book.
Kathleen Guler says
Self-editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King. Thorough yet concise. Every writer should memorize it.
Rollie Raleigh says
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.
Ceridwen says
Owl Moon–especially out loud to small children.
wendy says
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.
Anonymous says
I suggest Wikipedia because it's always changing, so you'll never finish it.
Ricki Schultz says
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.
ElizaJane says
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.
Anonymous says
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…
Jasmine @ Eat Move Write says
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."
Jim Oliver says
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.
The Pollinatrix says
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.
Cacy says
Slaughter-house Five by Vonnegut. brought out the non-linear storyteller in me. also, gotta love sarcasim.
Lani Longshore says
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).
Robin Constantine says
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Such memorable characters!
Derek Osborne says
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.
The Red Angel says
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. 🙂
AndrewDugas says
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
GalaktioNova says
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.
Lucinda says
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.)
J. T. Shea says
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.
Tricia says
The Mr. Putter and Tabby series
Terry Towery says
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.
Michelle says
Campbell's HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. It changed not only my writing, but how I viewed my entire life.
Helen Hanson says
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 . . .
joe says
The Lieutenants by WEB Griffin
Sam Hranac says
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.
annerallen says
Donald Maass. If you want to know why, go to https://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/ right now. Do not have any beverages near your keyboard.
callofkairos says
I'm with you on the Great Gatsby. It seemed to perfectly combine writing, plot, and character.
Nicole L Rivera says
Break Into Fiction, by Mary Buckham and Dianna Love (if you write fiction).
Stacey O'Neale says
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!
Jil says
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."
Tassia Therumi says
To Kill a Mockingbird.
Every writer should learn how to touch every single soul that reads his books.
David says
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
D.M.Cunningham says
Hero With a Thousand Faces. Joseph Campbell rocks. It's the bible on story. Everyone else is just repeating his words with spin.
A. E. Anderson says
My new favorite, "The Courage to Write" by Ralph Keyes.
RLS says
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.
Grace Rose Schreck says
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.
B. Nagel says
Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Because every word must increase and support weight.
(If you hate poetry, read DUBLINERS. Many prefect lines.)
George Fripley says
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'
Moyrid says
Jane Austen-Pride and prejudice. 200 years later and we still make it into block buster movies.
abc says
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.
mishupishu says
I know that she never finished it but what an absolutely stunning array of words.
"Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky
Yvonne Osborne says
ON BECOMING A NOVELIST by John Gardner