When Education Actually Is Fun: Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose

Okay, so I must admit that sometimes, it's hard for me to enjoy my favorite subject (coughliteraturecough) when faced with the dull possibilities of a textbook. I usually skim the passages, re-read when I realize my attention's been lagging, get up to find a snack - the usual procrastination techniques perfected by students everywhere.

However, I do make an exception - or at least try to - when it comes to writing books, and since this particular title was highly recommended by a respected author in the business (Maryrose Wood), it wasn't actually that hard to make myself get past the first few pages.

The thing is, Ms. Prose doesn't make it hard, or dull, or preachy. You can tell from just reading her book that she loves reading, writing and everything relating to it - even stuff that another writer would feel trivial, such as sentences or the length of a paragraph.

Not only that, I could really see the difference for myself right away. In case no one looks at the little GoodReads box on the side, I just started Persuasion by Jane Austen (one of my great writing heroes), and I could understand her intricate layers of characterization - using just one or two paragraphs of description - just from reading that chapter of Ms. Prose's book in which she points it out.


So yes. Really good stuff here, and definitely helping with some of the questions that were bothering me.