Last week I bemoaned my lack of wordsmithery and asked for your ideas on who and what I should read. I’m blessed to have brilliant friends, and the response has given me quite a lot of reading to do… maybe a summer reading list?
I thought you might enjoy the responses so you can benefit from their wisdom.
- E.B. White: “His collected essays are a delight. He places just the right amount of responsibility on the reader. Also, co-authored Strunk and White, so has the know-how to write effectively.”
- Shakespeare: “Cliche, I know, but nothing builds a vocabulary better.”
- Annie Dillard: “Fascinating non-fiction and a VERY careful word-smith. She likes words, and isn’t afraid to explore their meanings in front of you.”
- Nina Totenberg: “She takes a complex issue and makes it accessable and easy to understand. That’s the hardest thing to do as a communicator.”
- “Look for collected letters, essays, etc. by your favorite fiction writers – it’s interesting to see how they construct pieces that they might not have been planning for publication, and how their storytelling skills translate into more rhetorical ends.”
- The Best American Essays of the Century edited by Joyce Carol Oates.
- Flannery O’Connor’s collected letters. “Sublime in a totally different way than her stories. I highly recommend it! I think you might get some very valuable insight into the life of a writer–one of the best, in my opinion.”
Ah, to learn from the experience and perspective of others. That’s something I miss about college, being in a community of learners who push each other towards the good, the true, and the beautiful.
Thank you, brilliant friends. Keep adding to my list!
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