It is summertime, and it is hot and nobody feels like doing anything. So, in my book (hahahaha) that means it is time for a lot of reading. Hot summer afternoons are made for lying on a hammock, or in air-conditioned comfort, giving yourself over to a book.
Who has time for such things? You do. You must. Please don’t tell me you don’t have time to read. Because if you are a writer and you’re not reading, then you are not a writer, period. Writing is your first job. Reading is your second. And it is almost as important.
I think most writers come to writing because of their love of reading. I know I did.
When I was a kid, we lived about five blocks away from the library. My sister and neighborhood friends and I used to walk to the library (back in the days when you didn’t need as much adult supervision) and stagger home carrying huge stacks of books. Then we’d lie on cots under our car port and while away hot afternoons reading, every once in a while stopping to run through the sprinkler to cool off. I still go to the library—but now I walk to my car with stacks of books cradled in my arms.
These trips to the library drastically influenced my future career. Thank God. I don’t remember the moment when it occurred to me that all those books I loved to read were actually written by somebody. But I do remember thinking there ought to be a career for readers. And guess what? There is. It’s called writing.
Because one of the best things about being a writer is that reading is actually part of your job. During my first semester in my MFA program, I remember lolling on the couch reading a novel that my mentor had assigned me, luxuriating in the feeling that I was actually working.
It’s no surprise that many MFA programs base their programs on reading, because it is one way you can teach yourself to write. And it is no surprise that writers like Inglath Cooper say, “Everything I know about writing books I learned from reading books.”
Lately I’ve been trawling the pages of Amazon (it’s too damn hot to get to the bookstore) looking at best book lists for two reasons:
–We are looking for a suitable title for our book-in-common for the France workshop
–I’m looking for a couple of books I can study that have good twists and turns.
Here’s why:
During the France workshop we always select a book to assign everyone and then we use it as a teaching tool. For some reason this year we are having a hard time coming up with one that Debbie and I agree on. Some titles we have read before include Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, and They May Not Mean To But They Do by Cathleen Schine. Any suggestions?
And I’m looking for examples of books with twists and turns, preferably not too dark, because I got notes from my agent. She’s happy with my novel the way it is and we could go out with it this way….but she also thinks that if I added a twist or two, we could go bigger. And I’m all for bigger! So, people, tell me—books with twists and turns?
So, upshot of the story—if you have any recommendations for either of these categories, do hit reply and tell me. Or just leave a comment and tell me what you’ve been reading!
