Reading any good books will help your writing, but these books for writers are written specifically to help you hone your craft.
1. 'Eats, Shoots & Leaves' by Lynne Truss
© Gotham Books
Lynne Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are.
2. 'Maps and Legends' by Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon's book of essays celebrating genre fiction by wandering academically through the detective stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, the fantasy of Philip Pullman, classic works of Norse Myth, and more.3. 'The Elements of Style Illustrated' by Strunk and White, illus. by Maira Kalman
© Penguin Press
Strunk & White's The Elements of Style has for decades been an essential tool for English language writers and students. The 1959 handbook gets a 2005 face lift with the addition of Maira Kalman's fanciful illustrations.
4. 'The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life' by Steve Leveen
© Levenger
What would you read if you had the time? What would you learn if you could?
5. 'The Opposite of Fate' by Amy Tan
© Penguin Group
Amy Tan takes us on a journey from her childhood of tragedy and comedy to the present day and her arrival as one of the world's best-loved novelists.
6. 'The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds' by Peter Bowerman
© Fanove
Peter Bowerman makes the bold claim of being able to teach his readers how to achieve financial self-sufficiency as freelance writers in six months or less.
7. 'The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism' by James Geary
© St Martins Press
For lovers of words and seekers of wisdom, a lively history of aphorisms—the shortest and oldest written art form—and the intriguing people who have penned them, from the Buddha to Emily Dickinson.
8. 'This Year You Write Your Novel' by Walter Mosley
©: Little Brown & Co.
In this essential book of tips, practical advice, and wisdom, Walter Mosley promises that the writer-in-waiting can finish his or her novel in one year.
