Having just finished Haruki Murakami’s book Novelist as a Vocation, I thought it would be fun to look through some of the various books about the craft of writing. The fact that so many books exist I think is a great indicator that many people are interested either in becoming writers or learning more about writers as people. I’ve read the books below for both purposes. This healthy interest is reassuring that books will continue to thrive in our society.
The number of books out there is also proof that the craft of writing is inherently personal and there is no “standard” to the practice aside from putting words on paper (or in digital program). I often need this reminder, especially of late as I’ve failed to work on any writing projects. I have two sets of “rules” hanging on my office wall to remind me of the important parts of writing. Time is my nemesis at the moment, but I hope to develop a strong discipline to help me work toward my goals of writing several novels.
Now back to the list of books by writers on the craft of writing.
As I mentioned, I recently finished Haruki Murakami’s book Novelist as a Vocation which I found insightful for many reasons. It was first released in 2015 but recently released in English for the first time. This book gives insight into Murakami himself, but also a history of publishing in and outside of Japan, how unstable writing as a career can be, and also how much luck he had in starting and maintaining his career as a writer. In the end, my takeaway was that Murakami stayed true to himself, as we all should, and worked hard, diligently, and persevered. Times have definitely changed since he began writing novels, but this book gives a realistic “look behind the curtain” to what it means to work hard at this craft. He removes some of the romantic notions often circling the image of author which may be one of the most valuable takeaways for most writers.
I haven’t read too many books on writing recently, but I have read several throughout the past decade or so, and I keep a copy readily available of those I liked if I ever want to revisit or look up any particular portion. Continue reading
A new year means new books to read (as if I had any trouble finding something new to read). I am still wrapping up my full readthrough of Vonnegut’s novels. Having recently finished The Sirens of Titan, I am now wrapping up a re-read of Slaughterhouse Five to conclude all 14 novels by Vonnegut in the past 6 months. I also plan to read two non-fiction books I have by Vonnegut. These being A Man Without A Country and Palm Sunday. I’ll move on from Vonnegut after those and get to the many other books I want to read.
I also am reading Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami. I have yet to read any of his novels, but this one has popped up in social channels probably because it was newly released in English translation this year. It originally published in 2015. Murakami has been on my list of authors to read and I have a few of his novels that I may get around to this year. For now, I will at least read this selection of essays on the craft of writing.
The next series I plan to read is The Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Yukio Mishima. The first book is titled Spring Snow. I wanted to read this series after I read The Sound of Waves as my first experience of Mishima’s work. This series is supposedly his masterpiece and definitely jumped up on my TBR. I’m hoping to read the entire series this spring. Since I read The Sound of Waves in a day, I hope I’ll be pulled into this story and read all four books in a short time.
The Sirens of Titan is actually a re-read for me as I venture through all of Vonnegut’s novels. If I recall correctly, I first read this book in 2015 and it was the first Vonnegut book I ever read. My recent re-read is due to my new appreciation of Vonnegut’s works, and I wanted to read this book with my new perspective. I did like it the first time around, but I enjoyed it a bit more this second time. This definitely falls in the genre of science fiction as many of his earlier works do, but it is less a science fiction story than a story that hints at that question: What is the meaning of life?
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
How Not to Die & How Not to Diet by Michael Greger
Fullmetal Alchemist
Kokoro by Natume Soseki
I spent the second half of the year mostly reading Vonnegut’s novels and other works. It all started when I read Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Suzanne Collins and Kurt Vonnegut. It is a book about the craft of writing, but also gives insight into Vonnegut’s life as the two were closely intertwined. In between reading all of his novels, I also read a great biography about Vonnegut written by Chris Shields and titled And So It Goes – Kurt Vonnegut: A Life. It really put his novels in a new perspective and helped me enjoy them more than I otherwise might have.
Ryan Yarber 