Most of my blog visitors are readers or writers. But if you’re a writer, shouldn’t you also be a reader?
After hanging out with writers and authors for the past few years, I’ve noticed something odd. There’s a lot of writers who no longer read.
Now I understand writing sucks up a lot of time. But if the act of reading contributed to our learning as writers, why would we stop?
So, to spur on our reading habits - let’s have some fun!
We all discuss the books we read and write. Let’s break out of our comfort zone for a bit.
Name a recent book (under ten years) you’d recommend that is NOT popular or a best seller or by a best-selling author:
Bad Day for a Fat Boy by Dirk Robertson
Recommend a similar type older book:
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip, a book I reviewed a while back.
Now for a challenge! You’re standing in front of your favorite section of the bookstore. If you’re a writer or author - your genre. Now, move to completely different sections and recommend an author:
Reading and writing eliminate three sections for me, so I'll just wander over to the horror section and recommend H.P. Lovecraft.
What are your recommendations?
Just some quick news:
Elizabeth Spann Craig is visiting on Thursday, so be sure to tune in!
And just found out my eBooks are now available at a reduced cost! Check out Amazon, B&N, iBookstore, or my publisher’s site.
28 comments:
Yes I believe writers should be readers also, it's like me saying I write poetry I am not going to read anyone else's. It's good to see how each individual writer/poet's ideas are.How they vary, what style. and so on.
Have a good day.
Yvonne,
Idon't know those authors, I'm afraid. Currently reading The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (2008 or '09) and from the late '80's, Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordechai Richler
I don't think I could continue writing if I stopped reading. I have to read, just like I have to write.
Uh...recommendation: Just finished Neverland by Douglas Clegg. Amazing. Similar type but older, The Hour Before Dark by Douglas Clegg! Ha! I cheated. :)
He's a great author!!
I don't think I could continue writing if I stopped reading. I have to read, just like I have to write.
Uh...recommendation: Just finished Neverland by Douglas Clegg. Amazing. Similar type but older, The Hour Before Dark by Douglas Clegg! Ha! I cheated. :)
He's a great author!!
I have to admit that I am one of those authors who reads almost solely for the purpose of research, which is something I am trying to change! One of the best books I've read by a relative unknown is Pamela June Kimmell's The Mystery of David's Bridge. I've been eagerly awaiting the next in the series!
Great post. Very thought provoking.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
I do love to read. Voraciously. I'm almost half done the 100 book challenge for 2010!
Recommend - Around the Rock by Ken Campbell
Older book - Cold Nights, Fast Trails by Dave Oleson
author recommend - Kelly Armstrong
This is why I love Goodreads. I can get recommendations and also I am motivated to read more so I can post it online! Here's my recommendation: And Baby Makes Three by Judy Sheehan. I'd never heard of it, picked it up at the for sale shelf of my library and LOVED IT!!
So, you're saying not everyone reads 3 or more books a week? How do they live?
Maribeth
Giggles and Guns
Wonderful post and challenge. Alas I am useless as I've been head down nose to the grindstone for school. But I know you'll bring this back another time when I can add to the conversation. Cheers~
I don't see their books much anymore, so for an older recomendation, I'd say Skip & Spector.
Name a recent book (under ten years) you’d recommend that is NOT popular or a best seller or by a best-selling author:
Sleeping With Skeletons by Doralynn Kennedy
Recommend a similar type older book:
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.
Now for a challenge! You’re standing in front of your favorite section of the bookstore. If you’re a writer or author - your genre. Now, move to completely different sections and recommend an author:
I would wonder into the teen section and read The Guide of Specialists Series by Joshua Mowll
What? Writers who don't read? How is that possible? I LOVE to read. It really inspires me to write as well!
A writer who doesn't read is like a teacher who refuses to learn. It just doesn't make sense to me!
Great post!
I can't imagine not reading - although I'd probably be a lot more productive if I didn't. I usually also have a book with me when I leave the house, just in case I get stuck somewhere.
Some cheating allowed, Palindrome!
Hi Trish! And Pam is such a cool person to boot. Can't wait to see her this fall at Book 'Em.
Good for you, Terry.
Mary - LOL!!
Good choices, Clarissa. Sadly I had to wander away from the YA section.
I spend a lot of time reading and editing unpublished books, but I'm making more time for reading just for pleasure - and I'm expanding my genre or horizons.
I'm glad to say that I am both a reader and a writer. I can't imagine ever giving up on reading!
So first, my not popular but completely awesome book recommendation is Eifelheim by Michael Flynn - it's a mixture of historical fiction and science fiction and it is a wonderful book.
My similar, but older suggestion would be anything by Jack Vance.
As for my bookstore section recommendation I'll head over to the mystery section and recommend Hound by Vincent McCaffrey.
I can't imagine not reading. It's always been such a huge part of my life and my imagination.
Hmm.. I don't actually know who are best sellers etc. Sounds sad, but I don't follow stats, so I don't know how popular these authors/books are...
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is one of the best books I've read recently. It's told from the pov of an autistic teen. It's amazing. I think it's a must read for anyone working with kids of any kind and for anyone who has a person with a learning difference in their life.
I also loved Pretty is as Pretty Dies by Elizabeth Spann Craig - it's a newer book. I LOVED her main character - made me grin time and time again. Kept me guessing too.
I don't read horror - but The Shining by King is very well written - read it decades ago and it still visits me in nightmares. :)
Amen to that, Diane. I once taught a class in writing novels and one of the participants admitted he had never read a novel. The best writers are widely read and they have absorbed technique without even realizing it.
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Tweeting writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo
nice post, like it..
Great post and fabulous blog!
I'm going to have to go with SciFi. I can probably count how many scifi books I've read on one hand, but I loved The Handmaid's Tale. Superb!
Good choices! Stephanie, The Handmaid's Tale is excellent.
And Carolyn, that's a sad writer!
Of course. I read much. I just tried a new author Alafair Burk this month. I'll try someone else new in about a week when I go back to the library.
Stephen Tremp
Got your notice today! Maybe I am back on the list. :) Or, at least glitch is fixed.
Allyn
Woo hoo, Allyn!
I can't imagine being a writer and NOT being a reader. It seems that one informs the other. Plus wouldn't that be the best way to "study" your craft or check out the "competition"? : )
When I was book blogging, I ran across authors who didn't read many books. I was like "What!?!" I guess each of us is different. I was a reader before I wanted to write my own fiction. It's a love that is still going strong.
I replace reading with TV time, so there are no worries about books getting in the way of my writing time.
The last book I picked up by an unknown author was Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth. He might have made it to one of the major best sellers lists by now. At the time I read his book, which was a couple of months back, it wasn't. I can't say this is an out-of-the-norm genre. You know me, I've never met a genre I didn't like. I'll read anything...lol. Though I don't get to read as many as I like, I love picking up books by debut authors. Most turn out like the above - outstanding!
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