Rachel’s Recommendations
Recommended Reads:
The Perfect Book for Kids to Read this Halloween
One of my boys picked up Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier, a while back, and for a few weeks, everyone was fighting about who was going to read it. My sons love graphic novels, and one of their favorite authors (and mine as well) is Telgemeier. Ghosts is Telgemeier’s...
An Engrossing Memoir that Shares Life in the ‘Good Old Days’
One of the most entertaining memoirs I’ve read in a while is Tobias Wolff’s This Boy’s Life. Wolff provides such a clear picture of a boy’s life during the 1950s that I found I couldn’t put this book down. He lived his childhood during the time my grandmother would...
A Brutal Story about the American South
One of my favorite authors to read is Cormac McCarthy. He has a way with words that sticks in my brain long after I’ve closed one of his books. Poetic, intelligent, altogether lovely. Recently I picked up McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, an adult literary novel that...
Writing resources
On Story
- Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, by Robert McKee
I know this is a screenwriting book, but it’s probably the most comprehensive book on storytelling. A great resource! Dense reading, but full of great information. - The Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
Another dense read, but Joseph Campbell is one of my favorite commentators on story and story structure. Every writer should read this one at least once. - The Power of Myth, by Joseph Campbell
This was actually a series of interviews Campbell did. It’s better to listen to the audio version or watch the DVD. He’s so passionate about story, and that’s contagious!
On Writing (general)
- Wired for Story, by Lisa Cron
Great book on the science of the brain and how to craft well-told stories that will appeal to the storytelling side of the brain. I got this book years ago but still pull it out every now and then to refresh my memory. - Steering the Craft, by Ursula Le Guin
This one’s not so much a technique kind of book as it is a book reminding writers of their obligation to their readers. Some of her ideas are a bit old-fashioned, but most of them are still valuable today. - The Fire in Fiction, by Donald Maass
Another great one on creating books that appeal to readers. Again, I always read these kinds with a grain of salt–because my goals are a bit different, but we all want readers, so I think we can always find value in the suggestions offered, even if we don’t become hardcore users of them.