Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them ― Literary Essays on Close Reading and Creative Craft (P.S.)

I should love this book, but I found it difficult. The readers most likely to love the book are those enrolled in an MFA program in literature. For amateur writers planning to self-publish, the book provides helpful background, but it won't address your immediate problems, like plot development and POV consistency. The concepts illustrated in this book need to percolate in the brain, particularly after extensive reading of other authors. You should keep this book shelved with your dictionary and your copy of Strunk and White. The book will be appreciated by those who wish to read more critically. For such individuals, the book will be a challenge, but it's worth the effort. At the very end, the author lists "Books to be Read Immediately." I counted more than 90 authors. I had heard of 39 of them, and had read works by 19 of them. If you have focused your reading on works by Nicholas Sparks, Tom Clancy, Barbara Cartland, Lee Childs, or Agatha Christie, you may find her author selections unfamiliar (although she did include a book by Raymond Chandler). I rarely read one chapter during one sitting. It would have been helpful if either the even- or odd-page running heading had been the chapter title. The title of this review sums up my conclusion: this book is good for me, but requires self-discipline to complete.

In Reading Like a Writer Francine Prose suggests that all great writers are readers of great literature. She contends that one need not pursue an advanced degree or attend writer's workshops in order to improve their writing - rather, all they need to do is become avid readers. This is a book that teaches readers how to be good readers. It also serves as a great writer's manual because it offers both inspiration and concrete, practical ways to improve one's writing. This is definitely a book that aspiring writers will read again and again. Early on in the book, Prose shares her dismay that so few people today seem to read great literature. She talks about her frustration teaching literature to graduate students who have never read Pride and Prejudice or A Good Man is Hard to Find. Prose seems determined to tackle this problem with Reading Like a Writer. The book is peppered with citations from various great works of literature, used to show examples of truly skillful writing. Prose talks about how to write good dialogue, and then shows an example of it. She expounds on the importance of efficient but beautiful sentences, and then shares several examples. The result is that this book is, in part, a collection of some of the juiciest, most compelling snippets of some wonderful works of literature. At the back of the book, Prose includes a list of recommended reading that includes these texts. The inevitable result is that the reader will find himself eager to discover these stories for themselves. I know that I added several books to my "to read" list over the course of reading this book! From a writer's perspective, one of the things I loved best about this book was that Prose repeatedly reinforced the idea that "literature not only breaks the rules, but makes us realize that there are none". For every suggestion she makes, she offers examples of great works of literature that did just the opposite with great success. This is one reason she does not place too much stock in writer's workshops, which might encourage a writer to change some aspect of his work to follow an utterly arbitrary rule of writing, when in fact his work correctly ignored said rule in the first place. As Prose points out, the beauty of literature is that it is all so different. Reading this book and reflecting on Prose's advice to aspiring writers has affected me in a profound way. After reading this book I feel more inspired than ever to make a serious attempt at writing a novel of my own. Prose has encouraged me to worry less about what others write, and instead to forge ahead with my own writing secure in the knowledge that of course my work will be different than that of the authors I so admire, and that is in fact a good thing. The irony is that Prose has made me feel this way while at the same time filling me with the irrepressible desire to read as many of these great books as I possibly can, in hopes of improving my own writing. In short: if you love books - reading them, or writing them - this needs to be on your bookshelf!

Drawing on her life's experience as a passionate reader and a quite successful author, Francine Prose sets out in this book "to help the passionate reader and would-be writer understand how a writer reads." She organizes most of the book according to chapters devoted to different elements of writing - words, sentences, paragraphs, narration, character, et al. - and in each she includes numerous examples to illustrate her points. Her tone is relaxed, almost conversational, and the book is decidedly non-pedantic. For me, three things stand out about the book: First, as Prose avers time and again - and then cites a marvelous quote from Isaac Babel to the same effect - writing is hard work. It requires "`putting every word on trial for its life': changing an adjective, cutting a phrase, removing a comma, and putting the comma back in." By the same token, READING also requires assiduous attention and care, if not quite the blood, sweat, and tears of writing. Second, there are no hard-and-fast rules. For this point alone, I am tempted to send copies of the book to half the English teachers my three sons had during their junior and senior high school years. "Show, don't tell!"; "Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence."; "No paragraph should have just one sentence."; etc. - Prose exposes these and other bromides of writing with telling examples from literature of their violation. Third, I was given a brief, teasing introduction to numerous books and authors I now am adding to my already overspilling "To Be Read" list, including Stuart Dybek, Henry Green, Gary Shteyngart, and Scott Spencer. READING LIKE A WRITER is not perfect. Prose's modus operandi is to quote an excerpt from literature and then unpack and explicate it; frequently, that explication is too detailed. In addition, I sense that she sometimes is captivated by good writing as a matter of stylistic innovation or craftsmanship, without regard to content. In other words, some of her examples of scintillating technique seem to be in service of a mediocre or inconsequential story. But these are relatively minor quibbles. I note that some reviewers have panned the book. I sense that what many of them were looking for is more of a prescriptive "how to" manual. If in fact that is what you are looking for, this is not the book for you. READING LIKE A WRITER might serve as inspiration to would-be writers, but it certainly will not teach anyone how to write literature (which, despite college creative writing programs, is beyond pedagogy, as Prose recognizes). On the other hand, I find it difficult to believe that the passionate reader of literature would not glean enough from the book to make reading it worth her time.

So as a budding young writer, and the word 'young' refers to my writing ability not my age, I have been reading a few books about writing and taking a course or two. I feel I need to post a review about this book. Anyone who fancies themselves a writer or has any designs on possibly being one some day needs to read this book. It was eye opening. It will not only help me to read books in an entirely new way, but it opened my mind to different ways of writing and really gave me some good ideas. Things I probably would never have thought of otherwise. Or maybe things that I never would have thought would be "okay". While she explains the "rules", she also explains how and when it's okay to break them. And gives examples from novels of other writers breaking said rules and doing it well. At times her examples from books were intimidating and very humbling, but in the end I felt inspired and encouraged. I had planned on going back through the book and noting a number of the one's she referenced, especially those that made me really want to read them after only reading a paragraph or two. But she offers all of them in a handy list at the back of the book. I've been working on reading the 100 "Best books ever written", but have come to find that I don't always agree with that list. And her references and quoted passages from other books really opened my eyes to some books that I wouldn't have heard of had I not read this book. Now I have a whole new list of over 100 books to find and read.

Francine Prose has a passion for writing and reading which is displayed on every page of this book. The enthusiasm with which Prose addresses the different aspects of writing is contagious. Although Prose laments the lost art of diagramming sentences, she never comes across as technical or dry; there is a touch of awe and reverence in her words as she explains the things that she loves about certain authors and writing styles. Despite her remarkable insight into the craft of writing, Prose comes across as humble and grateful. The title of this book is very fitting as Prose not only shows the reader how to truly appreciate literature, but shows the writer how to read for inspiration, as well as offering examples of what differentiates great writers from good ones. Prose addresses such subjects as word choice, sentences, paragraphs, characters, gestures, narrator, etc. Nearly every idea she expresses is shown to the reader through the use of excerpts from great authors like Dickens, Austen, Chekhov, Twain, Tolstoy, Kafka, et al. Anyone taking, or planning to take, a college level English composition course should buy this book. I wish I had read this book prior to taking those courses myself since I now have a better idea of what to look for when I read great writers. Those who love great authors, and want to deepen their appreciation of them should also buy this book. Mostly, I would recommend this book to anyone with a desire to write. Prose's insights are sure to help any author to refine their own work.

In the added material at the back of READING LIKE A WRITER by Francine Prose, the book is described as "like Harold Bloom, but written by and for human beings." I think that is a fair description. This isn't the most exciting or compelling book, but it is less dry than Bloom. And it does have moments of great beauty. You can break Prose's book is really two books: in one part, she teaches people how to read a book in such a way as to enjoy the pleasure of the language; in the second part, she teaches writers how to improve their writing-to make every word earn its place. In the first part,Prose teaches you how to break down a piece of fiction to the smallest pieces and then appreciate how those pieces are built up into a large, wonderful structure: the novel. Once you appreciate that, and can read with an eye that appreciates that beauty, taking your time, and savoring the author's ability. In the second part, Prose confronts a lot of "rules" about writing, knocking them down with powerful examples. What you are left with is probably Prose's chief rule: it's about finding an original voice. If a writer can focus on interesting word choice, groundbreaking detail, and contrarian paths, they can surprise readers in a wonderful way. Finally, she concludes with a list of 100 books that should be read immediately. This book probably appeals to a small group of writers and word nerds. If you fall within that group, you can probably put this book to use, even if it is a bit dry.

Before you read another book, read this book first. You will never read the same way again. You may even change your mind about what to read next! Offered as a writer’s guide to reading, Prose’s book introduces the discipline of close reading, urging us to read attentively, to notice an author’s word choices, sentence structure, even paragraph breaks. If we want to write well, we must read, and read closely, those who write well. And Prose points us to those who do write well. She even supplies a reading list at the close of the book. “Read these as soon as you can,” she says, as if to tell us, “Here is where the gold is to be found.” There are extensive passages from classic works quoted in full and accompanied by insightful commentary. There are here and there brief accounts of the author’s experience in reading, writing, and teaching others how to read and write. There are reflections on the lives of writers and excerpts from their correspondence. This book is, in many ways, a course in literature, and you will gain immensely from reading it. Whatever you are currently reading, finish it, but then, before you pick up another book, pick this one up. And read it closely.

I am not sure that I can add much more to the numerous and glowing reviews already stated here. This book should be in every library of the literary aficionado as well as the serious reader and writer. I found Ms. Prose's thoughts on analyzing wording and construction enlightening and thought provoking; to always ask 'why?' as you are reading. I now utilize her reading philosophy in my daily life: the newspaper, technical abstracts, political and social writings, as well as literature. And I have found that this simple philosophy has actually improved my writing skills by forcing me to always ask myself the questions 'why?': why that word, that sentence, that thought? If you want to improve your reading and/or writing skills - buy this book!

Great insights in how-to and apply that to your work.

Amazing book for someone who is pursuing writing career more than just a hobby

A must read for those who are into creative writing; the beautifully written book goes on to illustrate how great writing comes from great reading.

Great book. Good shipping. Great condition.

I've lingered over the rating for this book. Is it truly a 5 or rightly a 4 star? I've plumped for the former on the basis that there is a universal, albeit less popular truth here. Sometimes, slow is good. We live in a throw away world increasingly dominated by speed. No time to write or punctuate so 'txt spk rls'...convenience of time over content so if it's fast it must be good. Not always so. I'm an avid reader. Now, mostly for pleasure but previously I'd acquired fast/speed reading skills to assimilate large amounts of work related text. Mostly dry, policy related documents or technical background data. Speed reading is great for that; skim the whole, identify and absorb the salient bits, move over the rest. The principles explored here turn a number of concepts on their head. Like a fine or good wine, reading is something to be savoured not gulped. Reading for pleasure should be an emotive experience where words reach into the soul. Even a simple sentence can strike a chord. This book encourages the reader to step back, slow down and think. What was the author trying to achieve? What are they saying? How are they saying it? In part it took me back some years to a time where an exam book was almost a line by line dissection of any narrative text. Clinical but thought provoking. This book examines similar principles in a more productive and positive way. As a reader, I found it affirming, helpful and instructive. I've often resisted fast reading for pleasure and this book confirms what may be missed and why. For writers, there's a whole different perspective on how to truly engaged with readers. Really enjoyed the content and the easy but not patronising approach so it's a 5 star winner for that.