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Ask HN: Good books for English writing?

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Ask HN: Good books for English writing?

#1

Post by tsynfeng »

Does anyone have recommendations on good books for English writing?

I want to improve my writing and tried Jason Fried's idea of an essay being written in five versions: a three-page version, a one page version, a three-paragraph version, a one paragraph version and a one sentence version. It worked really well but the side-effect is I became more critical about my writing.

I have read "The Elements of Style", done the googling and have a list of to-read books; but I think the advices from you will help a lot more.

P.S. I'm a Chinese migrant living in Australia.

Re: Ask HN: Good books for English writing?

#2

Post by swombat »

The good thing about learning to write well is that every books is a book about writing - or at least every good book.

Increase the number of top quality books that you read and your language will naturally improve. It's not a magic recipe, and it won't happen overnight, but it will happen.

One way to make sure that what you read is always good is to focus on the classics - Dickens, Twain and so on - and also the (good) translations of foreign classics - Dostoievsky, Hesse, Marques... those are usually very well written and translated, and the more you read of them, the better your written (and spoken) english will be. Try reading one book every week or two or thereabouts.

Between that and constant practice (with feedback where possible), you should see your writing skills go from ok to good and eventually excellent within a matter of years.

Re: Ask HN: Good books for English writing?

#3

Post by [deleted] »

swombat wrote: post #2

The good thing about learning to write well is that every books is a book about writing - or at least every good book. Increase the number of top quality books that you read and your language will naturally improve. It's not a magic recipe, and it won't happen overnight, but it will happen. One way to make sure that what you read is always good is to focus on the classics - Dickens, Twain and so on - and also the (go…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Good books for English writing?

#5

Post by pac21 »

swombat wrote: post #2

The good thing about learning to write well is that every books is a book about writing - or at least every good book. Increase the number of top quality books that you read and your language will naturally improve. It's not a magic recipe, and it won't happen overnight, but it will happen. One way to make sure that what you read is always good is to focus on the classics - Dickens, Twain and so on - and also the (go…

Yes, I myself improved my English by reading good books. I started with Sherlock Holmes as it was interesting as well very well written. Dickens is a very good example to get going. Also as you start reading more and more you should try short stories by Edgar Allan Poe.

Re: Ask HN: Good books for English writing?

#6

Post by vorg »

Many people use too many words. To shorten your post:

"Can anyone recommend good books for improving English writing? I've tried Jason Fried's technique of writing an essay in five versions: three pages, one page, three paragraphs, one paragraph, and one sentence. It worked really well, but I've now become more critical about... ... ..."

Two golden rules: practice, and feedback from others. I'm certainly still learning.

Re: Ask HN: Good books for English writing?

#7

Post by [deleted] »

vorg wrote: post #6

Many people use too many words. To shorten your post: "Can anyone recommend good books for improving English writing? I've tried Jason Fried's technique of writing an essay in five versions: three pages, one page, three paragraphs, one paragraph, and one sentence. It worked really well, but I've now become more critical about... ... ..." Two golden rules: practice, and feedback from others. I'm certainly still learni…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Good books for English writing?

#9

Post by fierarul »

sikakkar wrote: post #4

The best book I have ever read (and continue to re-read) on writing is "On Writing Well" by William K. Zinsser. Mostly the first half of the book - it's incredibly valuable.

Do you also have some another suggestion that might be on Kindle store? "On Writing Well" only seems to have a CD audio collection.
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