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Recommended Readings

"What I do believe is that there is always a relationship between writing and reading, a constant interplay between the writer on the one hand and the reader on the other."

-- Guillermo Cabrera Infante

 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas Adams

Don't get me wrong; there are far better books than Hitchhiker's. But Douglas Adams gets a lot right. It's like an episode of "Community" in space: it's smart, satirical, funny, and a fine example of good "casual" writing.

 

The story might as well be part of contemporary legend by this point. I won't spoil it, but I will tell you that it involves a paranoid android, a larcenous two-headed president, the spontaneous appearance of a sperm whale and a sack of sentient petunias, and the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

 

Go read it. Do yourself a favor.

The Elements of Style

William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White

This is the quintissential guide to writing well. The Writing Center carries five copies on the back shelf, and the English office has a whole trove in the book closet. Within lies every single rule to writing, with both mechanical and stylistic advice.

 

Perhaps the only writing book comparable to this one would be Stephen King's On Writing, but it pretty much covers anything and everything in this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

There comes a time in life when one must recognize that Shakespeare was a genius. He was the Mozart of all writing. His characters can be laughable at times and his plots are about as convoluted and realistic as a second-grader's emulation of The Lord of the Rings, but the writing is dense and clever and it makes you think. Hamlet is but one of the options you have to choose from. A good read for poets, playwrights, and really any writer. Definitely check him out when you get a chance.

 

Oh, and steer clear from the comedies. The tragedies tend to be funnier.

The Catcher in the Rye

J. D. Salinger

It's a tough book, and it deserves a reread or two before you really "get it," but there's a reason why Catcher in the Rye is a contemporary classic. It's dense, and subtle, and more than a little cerebral. It's the Koyaanisqatsi of literature.

 

We put this on the list to demonstrate how one should incorporate voice into writing. The fragments are irritating and more than a little unfit for expository work, but they sound natural. You can hear someone talking as you read. A good choice for both creative and academic writers who want to spice up their pieces.

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