Reading and Writing
When I was growing up, one of my teachers had a poster that said, “Read the good books first because you just might not have time.”I thought it was a bit strange. I mean my third grade biological clock wasn’t exactly ticking and I was told it doesn’t really matter what you read – just read. But as I’ve grown older, I tend to agree with the sentiment. There just isn’t time to waste on bad books.
If you agree with this attitude, I recommend Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer. Prose – and I don’t know how she got such an appropriate name – inspires the reader to simply read more carefully. She writes about the basic elements of writing – dialogue, words, sentences and paragraphs. And she gives examples from the greats.
If nothing else, read the book to jog your memory about the truly good books there are to read. Thanks to her, I’m going to pick up some Salinger, Tolstoy and Woolf.
