Writers Read

Good writers read good books. There is no getting around it. Of course being a good reader doesn't necessarily equate to being a good writer, otherwise most publishers would be publishing their own bestselling books, however, as a writer it's critical to be able to understand what words are capable of, the limits, and how to stretch those limits.

The giants of English literature--Ulysses, The Sound and The Fury, Great Expectations, The Waves, all take words and torture them, stretch them, use them in new ways, expanding their possibilities to produce new meaning, greater understanding, deeper feeling, epiphany. They turn the cliché on its head, put paid to the caricatures of life we see on television, force their reader to reflect, think, grow, and live differently. Without these books, great modern works like History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters, Oscar and Lucinda, The Moor's Last Sigh or Captain Corelli's Mandolin could not have been written. Each writer owes his craft to those who preceded them and changes the world for their readers and those writers who follow them. So reading well is part of the ongoing and permanent apprenticeship for those who wish to write in a way which is more than simply craft.

Writing which makes people cry, think, desire, anger, laugh and carry your characters around with them as part of their permanent memory bank; writing which is Art. If you are a Dr. Frankenstein, wanting to bring your characters and meaning to life, to join the really big authors in making meaning, then you simply have to read. It might be a long apprenticeship. Good books are not always easy. Nor do they generally give you that feeling that 'you can do this' which poor books might, in fact you might end up feeling a little awed.

However, the short term pain is more than offset by the deep pleasure of transportation into an original world, by the long term gains of vocabulary expansion, greater clarity of vision, and a heightened sense of what is possible with words.

So how do you find out about really good books? How do you choose wisely so that your investment of time is worthwhile? After all if you are reading, writing, doing something else to bring in money - since writing well is often not lucrative in the first instance unless you are very lucky - and possibly raising a family and dealing with the daily imperatives of keeping body fed and home clean, juggling time is always an issue. Well, I'm a compulsive. I read anything and everything from cereal boxes to historical tomes, but I also try to discriminate based on the genre I'm reading. If it is going to be a serious read, I'll pick writers who I know are good, based either on recommendations of like-minded readers or past experience, although some of my best finds have been serendipitous so I have to admit that I have on occasion judged a book by the blurb on its cover. I'm lucky though in that I've been reading so long that it is as natural to me as breathing (nearly) and I can start and stop and read in the most extenuating circumstances (in fact reading helps me deal with extenuating circumstances better). If this isn't the case for you, perhaps you need a guide.

Find a good reviewer whose work you trust and let them guide you. There are plenty to choose from on the internet and in print. Some of the more well known review sites are:

http://www.nybooks.com
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books

http://bostonreview.net/
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
http://www.lrb.co.uk/
To name just a few. And of course there's my own site: www.compulsivereader.com.

You could also go by the prize winners, for example The Booker Prize (including the nominees) is almost always a good guide to great fiction, although you would, of course, miss out on all the non-prize winning books that way. Of course there is always bookshop recommendations, from Amazon to the little guy with the great personalized service down the road who probably knows your reading tastes if you visit often enough. However you find great books, enjoy your apprenticeship.

If you love reading enough to do it under any circumstances, in whatever snatches of time you can afford, and write when you aren't reading, you are going to eventually produce something wonderful. A shining gem which will change your readers' perception of the world.

About the author: Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of the poetry books Repulsion Thrust, and Quark Soup, the novel Sleep Before Evening, a nonfiction book, The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Cherished Pulse , She Wore Emerald Then, Imagining the Future, and Deeper Into the Pond. She runs a monthly radio program podcast The Compulsive Reader Talks.  Find out more at http://www.magdalenaball.com

7 comments:

Margaret Fieland said...

Maggie, I do sometimes pick up books recommended by others. I read the first Rick Riordan series after a writing buddy recommended them, I read "The Help" when it was recommended.

But I don't always agree. I started "The DaVinci Code," but didn't like it and put it down again. Not my cup of tea.

I also follow favorite authors -- and just peruse my local bookstore or library.

Thanks for the list of review sites. I'll have to check them out.

Nancy Famolari said...

Excellent advice, Maggie. I love reading the "greats", but I also enjoy other authors because what I like and don't like is usually applicable to my own writing. Reviews are another excellent source not only of which books to read, but what other readers think about them. Again, it's good for your writing!!

Karen Cioffi said...

Maggie, What great information. I also love the 'greats.' Unfortunately, lately I don't invest the time I should in reading fiction, aside from children's books.

I really must get more time organized.

Thanks for the links!

Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

The theme of this post made me smile. I see that in writers all the time. Sometimes they read really good literature and don't absorb much. Other times they read good literature and they seem to have picked up skills from that reading subconsciously! Thanks for this!

Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

Heidiwriter said...

I too read "anything and everything"--well, almost. I've become somewhat more discriminating with books that are so poorly written that I want to cover the pages with red editing ink! (I just don't have the time.) But even those can teach us what not to do.

D. Jean Quarles said...

I agree, writers must read. I'm of the anything everything group. Great post.

widdershins said...

I'm of the toe-dipping variety of reader. I have my favourite genres, but every now and then I'll venture forth into uncharted waters if something catches my eye. I'll read it voraciously and then scuttle back into my grotto, to await my next unwary victim ... erm ... book.

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