Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S.)

This is a an excellent book, but I'm very sorry I bought it online as it is a very cheap photocopy with an extremely thin cover. I didn't think this sort of thing happened anywhere except in Asia. In the past Amazon has been fabulous but not this time.

There are things discovered later in life that have the "Ah Ha moment" impact. This book opens the eyes of all who read. Its' pages make me realize our parents, teachers, professors et al did the best they could when drilling reading fundamentals into our collective skulls. The lucky few who broke through the pedantic fog and discovered a way to appreciate the nuances of written word are to be commended. For the rest of us mere mortals, products of "The System", artistic appreation,discovery of craftmanship, and salvation lie in the books' contents.

Warwick

I strongly recommend this book.

As a writer of creative fiction who dreams of being published, a familiar knot formed in my stomach when I read the opening sentence of Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer. "CAN CREATIVE WRITING BE TAUGHT?" Just like that, in all caps, this question which opens the book will surely taunt the angst of aspiring authors and leave them, like me, holding their breath, waiting for the answer.

Whether you are one of those who love books or one who wants to write the books that become beloved, I strongly recommend this book. Although I am not going to reveal Ms. Prose's answer (only because I think you should read the book yourself!), I will say that this book rejuvenated my excitement for reading and was further inspiration for my writing.

In this book, it is as if Francine Prose is your own personal literature professor, standing at the front of the classroom of your mind and giving you permission, encouraging you even, to immerse yourself in the pleasure of books. For this reader, such "permission" was a breathe of fresh air (you mean reading is supposed to be enjoyed?) and the guidance Francine Prose offers rubs away detritus accumulated from college lit courses that were conducted more in the spirit of an anatomy lab and reading groups/mainstream media that peddle the notion (which many of us buy) that she who reads the most, the fastest, earns the Superior IQ medal of honor. By the time I finished the book, I was nearly salivating at the thought of alternately devouring and savoring the books Ms. Prose recommends at the end...just - for - the - fun - of - it!

As for the book being helpful for writers, I can only speak for myself and am somewhat reticent because, as the saying goes, "the proof is in the pudding." That being said, Ms. Prose does a superb job of navigating the area between prescribing formulaic dogma for creative writing (of course that's an oxymoron, but that doesn't stop many others from teaching it anyway!) and revealing such delicious insights into the art and practice of writing that I have most of the book dog-eared and underlined, awaiting my return. And I will, again and again.

One of the functions of a critic is to slow us down.
Readers flipping the pages of a Derek Armstrong or
TK Kenyon novel may be propelled by the plot to read
quickly: chew it all up and swallow and move on.

The aptly named Francine Prose invites us to take a breath.
By focusing our attention on some wonderfully wrought writing,
she encourages us to see how that stuff is built, to go behind
the curtain and watch the wiz at work.

Some of the examples that she explores may seem odd to
one reader or another, but I found her discussion of one
passage that I didn't admire to be as stimulating as
the rest.

Reading Like a Writer was recommended to me by Martin
Donoff of Fairleigh Dickenson's MFA program in writing.
It's used as a text in that program.

For the writer, this is a reminder that the best writers
read and that what they read is the best writers. This
book is an inspiring tour that will lead the reader to
a higher level of pleasure and the writer to a new level
of the craft. Read this in small doses and let it stay
with you.

(Incidentally, the author photo is pretty hot too.)


--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the novel bang BANG. ISBN 9781601640005

More of a book about "reading quotes by great authors and reading rather lavish commentary by this book's author", but I really can't complain about that. Good introduction to what to look for in a book as a reader or a writer - discusses everything from narration to use of gesture. If you enjoy writing, you should read this book.