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Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S.)
 
 
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Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S.) (Paperback)

by Francine Prose (Author)
Key Phrases: great sentences, Francine Prose, Pedro Páramo, John Dashwood (more...)
4.1 out of 5 stars  (77 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Savard has a pleasant voice, a good vocal range and the important ability to emphasize for clarity and drama. She's especially good at the long and very varied quotes Prose has selected to illustrate the elements of close reading, i.e., paying careful attention to words, sentences, paragraphs, narration, character, dialogue, details and gesture (her chapter headings). Prose has taught writing classes for more than 20 years and published 14 books. To be a good writer—or a good reader—she argues, you must develop the ability to focus on language and explore line by line how the best writers use each element of language to create unique and powerful people and stories. She pulls out words and phrases from various authors to show us, for example, precisely how Flannery O'Connor creates the literary equivalent of a fireworks display while Alice Munro writes with the simplicity and beauty of a Shaker box. This is a an excellent listen that belongs in any reader's or writer's library next to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Life is precious, and much of that preciousness lies in the details: the sights, the sounds, the scents we too often ignore in our busy lives. Prose makes a superb application of that concept for readers of fiction. To know how the great writers create their magic, one needs to engage in a close reading of the masters, for that is precisely what successful writers have done for thousands of years. College programs in creative writing and summer workshops serve a purpose, but they can never replace a careful reading of the likes of Austen, Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Salinger, Tolstoy, and Woolf. In this excellent guide, Prose explains exactly what she means by close reading, drawing attention to the brick and mortar of outstanding narratives: words, sentences, paragraphs, character, dialogue, details, and more. In the process, she does no less than escort readers to a heightened level of appreciation of great literature. Many will want to go to the shelves to read again, or for the first time, the books she discusses. And to aid them, she thoughtfully adds a list at the end: Books to Be Read Immediately.–Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details
  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1st Harper Perennial edition (April 10, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060777052
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060777050
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (