On Writing: Book Review

I'm one of the people that would read Stephen King's grocery list if he published it. A "constant reader," if you will. I haven't read a Stephen King book I did'nt like.

On Writing is an great read even if you have no interest in becoming a author. I've read it twice and wouldn't hesitate to read it again. King is such a pro, he writes in a way that feels conversational. Reading one of his books is like listening to an old friend tell you a real whopper of a story.

On Writing reads like an extended introduction in one of his novels. Less than half of the book is dedicated to the real nuts and bolts of writing, most of it is about his childhood and how he got into writing as well as the time when he got a few of his first books published up to his accident when he was hit by a car. If you ask me On Writing could serve as the framework for a movie about Stephen King.

I highly recommend this book. 5/5 Stars

*Photo from Amazon.com

English Grammar for Dummies

I must be more of a "dummy" than I thought. I Found this great reference book English Grammar for Dummies. All the "For Dummies" books that I have read have really impressed me. When I was first getting into photography, most of what I learned was from Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies.

These books are written very simply. Just about anyone can pick them up and understand what they are reading without getting confused.

My one beef with this book is the examples the author gives. She goes though the trouble of breaking down complicated information about punctuation and sentence structure so it's easy to read and understand and then gives these terrible examples.

Here is one:

"Lochness snatched the atomic secret and quickly stashed it in his navel."

Come again...? Almost all of the examples are like this. They have characters with bizarre names doing bizarre things. Im sure this is intentional to be funny and entertaining, but it is distracting.

Other than the crazy examples I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to get a refresher on English grammar.

*Photo from Amazon.com

Reading Comprehension

I have always loved to read, but have discovered that I have to really work to ensure I comprehend and retain what I read. For some reason I find myself racing through passages and not effectively absorbing what I read. I can finish a book or an article and have totally forgotten what I read later on. There are some advantages to this; I can reread the same book over and over and still be surprised in parts, but I would rather spend that time reading new books.

I found some helpful sites dealing with how to improve your reading comprehension and retaining what you read, and thought I would pass along what I found.

How to Improve Reading Comprehension

How to Read Textbooks

10 Tips to Retain More of What You Read Online