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Books for Writers
When writers talk about books for writers, they are most often referring to books about writing. It can be helpful to pick those up and read through them. There are often little gems that can help a writer fine-tune their own work, even if they have found the path that mostly works for them.
However, I don't often see writers talk about other nonfiction books they read. I think the lack of this type of reading is a true problem because it means the writer is limited in how he or she picks up new ideas and information -- most often limited to the works of other fiction writers or a show or two on television. I believe, in fact, that this can not only make the market repetitive but also limits the individual writer to a restricted field of writing. If the author is never interested in writing anything but the same characters, the same story and the same setting forever, then there's no problem. However, for many of us, imagination often kicks in when we see something new, different -- outside the realm of what we've worked on so far.
People are often afraid of reading nonfiction. They think of it in terms of school, reports and grades -- and not about exploration.
Put those feelings aside. This is for you and not for anyone else. You choose the subject you like. You read as much of a book as you want. You don't write reviews, reports or turn in anything for a grade. But for everything you read, your mind is going to expand and offer you new perspectives. Chances are, you won't use what you learn right away. When you do use it, you'll likely have warped it in some way to fit it to your own, unique story world.
Below is a list of nonfiction I've read so far this year, with links to their page on LibraryThing. You will notice on those pages that I am quite often the only person who has reviewed these books, and in some cases, the only person who owns it. This is because I go out of my way sometimes to find odd and unusual books. I purposely want to learn about strange things.
Wilhelm Hohenzollern, The Last of the Kaisers, Emil Ludwig
http://www.librarything.com/work/617902
This is an excellent look at a personality that is disconnected from the real world, and a person who had too much power to do as he wished. People who are writing about tyrants and dictators, and who want to create a rounded character, would be interested in this book.
The Sumerians: Their History, Culture and Character, Samuel Noah Kramer (ISBN 0-226-45238-7)
http://www.librarything.com/work/86530
If you are creating a non-tech world for fantasy, science fiction or even history (whether Sumerian or not), this book can help you. This civilization had dramatic influence on future civilizations while remaining unique in many aspects -- including the rights of women within the society.
Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968 by Heda Margolius Kovaly (ISBN 0-14-0126630)
http://www.librarything.com/work/737141
If is sometimes difficult to understand how the Soviet world worked and why some people willingly embraced the ideas. This book shows the steps of how one woman went from World War II and Jewish Concentration camps to the despair of Stalin's rule. It explains without apology, and follows Heda's life from one tragedy to another -- a true story that can help a writer examine motives and see how one person continued to push through and survive.
Discontinuity in Greek Civilization by Rhys Carpenter
http://www.librarything.com/work/617277
This book starts with a lovely little piece on Atlantis -- totally unexpected in a book by a recognized historian. After that, the sections deal with a probably drought in pre-Dorian Greece, and what it might have meant to the Dorian Invasion -- which was likely a return of people to their ancestral lands after the drought ended. Very interesting stuff. And very short.
The Oxford History of Italy, Edited by George Holmes (ISBN 019802579)
http://www.librarything.com/work/1136132
This is not a history of Rome, though there is -- of course -- some Roman influence in it. It was fascinating to read something that did not focus on Rome, though, and to read -- for instance -- more about the Greek areas in the southern part of Italy. The battles between the different city-states, something that lasted far past ancient times in Italy, proved to be great for setting up fantasy lands and looking at the relationships between such places.
Another World: 1897 to 1917 by Anthony Eden
http://www.librarything.com/work/617160
This book gave two areas of study -- life in the world of pre-World War I nobility in England and the harsh world of trench warfare in France. Sir Anthony Eden's uncompromising look at the war is especially interesting and in laid out in stark, emotionless words -- even when he loses friends and family to the battles.
The Water Mysteries of Mesa Verde by Kenneth R. Wright (ISBN 13:9781555663803)
http://www.librarything.com/work/9787617
Setting up a fantasy or science fiction world with a limited water supply? This book may be just what you need to give the background a little extra hint of reality. Explanations show where reservoirs were built in this area of the ancient American Southwest and how they were maintained -- and even how long they remained viable until silt filled the area used.
May 10 2010, 22:02:15 UTC 2 years ago