Reading Like a Writer is a description of writing. It focuses on the use of the word in literature, and makes excellent use of examples for well-known books to illustrate her points. Francine Prose describes the strengths of her selected passages and why the wording is important.
The book is aimed at improving the readers ability to appreciate good literature. She discusses the nuances of word use, picking at the meaning of individual words, and what is not said and why that is important. She talks about the use of paragraphs, and how changing the paragraphing changes meaning of text. She shows how to derive meaning from what isn’t stated in the text, and makes me appreciate the effort that a quality writer goes to to get the words right.
After reading this work, I feel I have a new respect for literature. I’m eager to try to tackle some of the books she’s recommended.
The Machine Crusade is the second in a trilogy of the Legends of Dune, chronicling the Butlerian Jihad of man battling intelligent machines. This book didn’t contribute anything sufficiently important to warrant its own volume, it should have been incorporated into the other two works in the series.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie won the First Dagger award, which prompted my reading. It is a light mystery story involving an 11-year-old girl who’s father is accused of a murder. She solves the murder mostly through legwork and clever deduction. The story is told in the first person, and does a good job of portraying the thoughts, energy, and goals of a child, at least from the perspective of an adult.
The Butlerian Jihad, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, is the first of three books in a prequel to the Dune series. The books focus on the human war against the machines.
The Three Stooges Scrapbook is both a biography of the Three Stooges and a summary of the Three Stooges phenomenon. It is provided in three parts, the first provides a history of each of the stooges, Healy, their manager, and a summary. The second part talks about the marketing, all the gadgets, comics, cartoons, and spin off/copycat acts. The last part is a summary of the films, both short and feature length. Each of the three sections is roughly 100 pages.
Spook Country is a fast-paced book that conceals its subject until late in the book. I was disappointed in what it provided and how things played out.
Fast Sketching Techniques provides technical instruction on how to sketch quickly without sacrificing a lot of quality.
I stumbled across this book in a library, it looked interesting and seemed rated well. I remain unimpressed.
