Writing I Couldn't Live Without

Today's the last day to get free shipping on Amazon and have your package arrive by Christmas Eve. I have a feeling that Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss is going to be a big seller this holiday. And that’s great. But if you’re buying for a writer, you might want to dig a little deeper than that. Because writers already know that commas and apostrophes are woefully misused. Trust me.

Buying books on writing for writers can be intimidating. Won’t they be insulted? Well, if you buy a For Dummies book, they might be. But a classic book on writing is a sure thing. It doesn’t even matter if they already have it. Every writer I know has at least two copies of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. An extra copy just means you have one for sharing.

And what if you choose the wrong book? Well, in my opinion, there’s no such thing as a bad book on writing. You can get something out of nearly everything. But there are some books on writing that just stand miles apart from the others. They are the books on writing that you turn to again and again for information and inspiration.

Here is my list of books on writing that inform and inspire, that stand up to multiple readings, that are welcomed to my bookshelves by the bushel, the books on writing that, in fact, I simply couldn't live without:

On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Every writer should have a copy or two of this book.

Writing For Story by Jon Franklin. The best damn book on narrative nonfiction. Period.

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. My all-time favorite book on creative writing. Makes me want to grab my notebook and a pen and head for a café to write my heart out every time I read it.

The Writing Life by Annie Dillard. Not so much a technical guide as a spiritual one, but one that you'll want to read over and over again. The writing is beautiful.

And, to round out the list, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Destined to be a classic. On my to-read-again list.

So I showed you mine. I'd love to see yours. Just click on that comments link at the bottom of the post and tell me which books on writing make your can't-live-without-it list. While I wait, I'll be praying that I didn't make any punctuation mistakes in this post. Is it just me, or does it seem like there are a million apostrophes in this one?