There are as many writing books as there are writers looking to get inspired by them.  And while I am a believer in the  old adage that there is only one rule for writing–if it works–I do think that some of these books give great advice on the process of writing and offer support for what is, at heart, a lonely and self-reflective art. Three of my all time favorite books on the craft of writing:

‘Writing Down the Bones’ by Natalie Goldberg    was one of the first writing books I ever  read    and it is still a go to    reference when I am  in  need of support and sustenance.    Both a  practitioner of Zen and a writer, her tips,  stories, and exercises are rooted in an  expansive and inspirational view of the self as    artist and a deep connection with life. This is a  great guide for those who write as an act of self  expression, discovery, and healing. It’s very  free form though I always found the exercises  to be extremely helpful to get me started when  I was stuck with writer’s block. Her other books  on writing as well as her memoirs are worth  picking up as well.

Brenda  Ueland’s ‘If You Want to Write: a Book About Art, Independence, and Spirit’ is, to me, the ultimate writing book. It is a must read for beginning writers, for those who have been discouraged, and for those who are looking to revisit what creativity really means. A journalist, author, and all around extraordinarily interesting woman, Ueland’s guide offers up several points to consider when writing but it’s also very supportive of everybody’s creativity. One of my favorite quotes by Ueland is “I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on  a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten, – happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another. ”

This third book is one that helped me understand the balance of writing. ‘The Writing Life’ by Annie Dillard is, like all of her work, clear eyed, unsentimental, meaty–a resource that I come back to in order to remind me why I write, who it’s for, and both how thankless a task it can be and how beautiful a life it creates. If you haven’t read anything by Dillard, please go out and find either ‘Holy the Firm’ or ‘Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek’  and immerse yourself in the perfect individuality of the ordinary world she presents.

This week is a good one. I am reading a couple of books that are truly unique. The first is a wonderful first novel about race and family. The second is a challenging but profound look at how Zen Koans can be usefully applied in our every day lives.

“The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” is a new novel by Heidi W. Durrow and it won the prestigious Bellwether Prize for Fiction. Barbara Kingsolver calls it “A breathless telling of a tale we’ve never heard before. Haunting and lovely, pitch-perfect, this book could not be more timely.” Set in the 1980s, it explores biracial and bicultural identity with an honesty and subtlety that is both heart wrenching and deeply intimate. Durrow is the cofounder and coproducer of the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival, a graduate of Yale Law School and the Columbia University School of Journalism. She is currently on a tour for this book and lands in Denver at the Tattered Cover on March 11.

“Bring Me the Rhinoceros” by John Tarrant is a retelling of fourteen traditional Zen koans. Traditionally used to challenge belief and reach enlightenment, Tarrant is adept at using the koans to shed light on the modern predicament. Steven Mitchell calls it “one of the best books written on Zen” while I feel that it goes above and beyond any self-help book or psychology tome in explaining how to lead a life that is self actualized, content, and real. It is also one of those books that you can reread or pick up and learn something useful in just five minutes. Muscular, funny, and packed full of enlightening wonders, this book does not disappoint. It’s rocking my world write now.

from paper cat

I love used book stores. There’s just something about the smell of dust and a thousand different homes and libraries all crammed into one small store, the particular silence, the sepia light, the anticipation of finding a treasure hidden amongst all the old backpacker guides to Estonia and beginning Spanish textbooks. (I found my first copy of Justine at a Goodwill in Portland. I had no idea what it was with its red cover sans dust jacket. Reading it was one of the great surprises of my life.)

Often, however, I come across old books that are truly amazing, useful not for reading, but for their sheer ‘beingness’. I once found a whole Jello cookbook from the 1970s, with recipes for meat Jello molds, and savory gelatin salads with olives. The glossy full page pictures were enough for me to pony up the $1.50 for the book.  Then there was the Zulu phrasebook with the bright blue cover, the illustrated copy of Dante’s Inferno with the swirled Florentine cover I found at Powell’s that one time…. And while i love these books for just existing, I’ve always wished that I could ‘do’ something with them, something that would make them more than just the odd book that I get to show the poor sucker whom I lure into my library. Well, I did some hunting around and found some great ‘recipes’ for those awesome old books.

CONTINUE READING…..

by foxypar4

I love to read. Fiction, Non-fiction, the back of the cereal box–whatever–it’s all fair game for me. And I absolutely love to share my bibliophilia with others. Books, I believe, are what make the world go round. If you are interested in reading any of the books I recommend, I highly suggest purchasing them from abe books, an online consortium of independent used books stores. You can purchase used books, new books, support libraries with ex-libris book purchases and all the while support the independent book stores created with love of books and not profit in mind.

So, here’s what I’m reading this week:

Finding Your Own North Star-claiming the life you were meant to live, by Martha Beck.

Please, everyone pick up a copy of this book. Beck is an expert in career and life development and a wonderful writer. In this book, she gives practical advice and exercises on finding your true path in life. It is so down to earth and funny that it is a joy to read. It gives you the courage to go after your dreams. She is a mind reader. I found myself saying ‘yeah, but’ a few times and literally, the next page she was answering my questions. Her approach to life design is holistic and psychological and even just reading ten pages will change your life…

Twisted Tree by Kent Meyers

This is a stunning novel about a small community near the Black Hills of South Dakota. Meyers is a breathtaking writer whose descriptions of character and landscape haunt you even after you finish reading. Twisted Tree is divided into sixteen ‘chapters’ which are really more like semi-autonomous short stories, each from a different perspective. Bound together by the brutal murder of a young girl in their community, each character helps to knit together a quilt of history and relationship that leaves you both heartbroken and hopeful. For me, his writing shifts and grows around each character so the tone, mood, and style of writing is very different and never leaves you bored. I am reminded, at certain times, of Virginia Woolf’s characters in Mrs. Dalloway and the writing of Annie Proulx.