A few days ago I got a message through my website that warmed the cockles of my cold little heart:
I’ve followed your blog for some time now and love what you have to say about the knowledge that comes from reading, and the application of such knowledge in writing. I was wondering if you could suggest a few book titles for me to read that are not only engaging, but also have applicable knowledge to be learned.
Oh, oh, oh, my friend—do I have suggestions? Um, yeah. And I’m so glad you picked up on my emphasis on the notion that reading will make you a better writer. I’m not the first person to say it, but I know it to be true from personal experience.
So, first, I’m going to start back at the blog. I’ve written a lot about very specific books, readers’ books. I recently initiated a series I call “Study This,” which is specifically about intentional reading. These are books in which some part of the craft is so exceptional I think an observant reader might learn something. So far the series includes:
The Children Act by Ian McEwan
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
The Sea by John Banville
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
I intend to write more in the Study This series. I have several books stacked on the corner of my desk, all of them bristling with Post-It Notes for a future article, but haven’t had time to write them up yet. Without further commentary, those titles are:
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson
Us by David Nicholls
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
Also at the blog you can find the tag cloud (just to the right of this line) and click on reviews or recommended books, which will yield blog-length commentary about these titles, among others:
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
A Family Daughter by Maile Meloy
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
I even wrote a post called “What’s the Definition of a Great Book?” with a list that includes some of my all-time favorites.
But you, my reader friend, probably want to know what I’m loving and recommending right now. So here are four more that I’ve truly enjoyed:
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
Ben Fountain won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. Set in the space of an afternoon and all from the perspective of nineteen-year-old Billy Lynn, it’s got gorgeous writing, sharp commentary, and is both funny and sad.
Smith Henderson, winner of the PEN Emerging Writers Award (among others), knows how to tell a story without one wasted word, not one wasted scene. Fourth of July Creek is a thing of beauty, for real.
The Spinning Heart was deservedly longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2013. Set in an Irish village just after the economic crisis hit in late 2008 the book is twenty-one short narratives by different characters affected by the collapse of a local building contractor’s firm. Oh, it’s just stunning, really.
And We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is thoughtful, heartbreaking, and (dare I say it?) unique. Interesting way of telling the story and a compelling voice, too, for students of the craft.
Thanks, Ellie, for asking this question. Hope you can find something to enjoy on this list! Let me know!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”