Feeding the Ghosts by Fred D'Aguiar

This book is a historicization of the Zong disaster. While its perspective shifts among several of the participations, the most memorable character is Mintah, the woman who climbs back aboard the ship after being thrown over. The book explores what happens when we commodify the human body--the abuses and indignities that humans are willing to perpetrate on one another in the name of getting a good return on an investment. It also explores the role of literacy and the power it confers.

Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace, 4th Edition by Joseph Williams

This book summarizes Joseph Williams's theories of writing well in ten chapters. The book is a condensed version of the longer Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, and I think the condensation may make the book harder to understand and use for someone not already familiar with Little Red Schoolhouse principles. I think the principles themselves are sound--especially for those who want to write persuasively (as opposed to fiction or creative non-fiction). This book would be a good supplement to a course, as long as the instructor is committed to reinforcing the book's principles in class.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynn Truss

This book makes an impassioned plea for the continued importance of punctuation as marker of clarity and style. It consists of several essays (some longer and some shorter) on different punctuation marks including the comma, the dash, the semi-colon, the colon, the apostrophe, the hyphen, the question mark, the exclamation point, and even the emoticon. I agree strongly with some of its observations, and disagree just as strenuously about others (although the latter is hardly surprising as the author punctuates according to British conventions, and I find some of them, especially regarding the location of terminal punctuation marks and closing quotation marks, entirely unsettling). But I applaud her two most important theses: punctuation matters, and some rules about punctuation should be strictly observed, while others are matter of style and taste. The essays themselves cover a wide swath of ground: the history of punctuation, humorous observations on why punctuation is important and why those who care about punctuation are so-self important, and some rules and guidelines to effective (British) English punctuation. If you're just looking for a style guide, there are better places to go. If you're looking for entertainment and someone who cares deeply about language, you've come to the right place, in addition to helpful observations about style.

The Players Come Again by Amanda Cross

I really enjoyed this mystery, which starts with Kate Fansler being asked to write the biography of the wife of a famous modernist, whose masterpiece Ariadne features a female narrator. Kate is persuaded to write the biography by a childhood account written by a woman peripherally connect to the writer's family--but as Kate begins her investigations, she discovers this woman (and her two close friends, also connected to the writer) are alternately encouraging and stonewalling her investigations. This story didn't work like a conventional mystery, but I really enjoyed the literary detective aspect of it. It's definitely one of Cross's finest stories.

All We Know: Three Lives by Lisa Cohen

This book provides three more-or-less well-developed biographical sketches of three women who traveled in similar circles during the years of modernism. It contends that in understanding the lives of these three women (Esther Murphy, Mercedes de Acosta, and Madge Garland) we can uncover a feminine side to high modernism, which seems to consist of a writing side, a fan side, and a fashion side. But I don't think the book makes its case particularly well. Even though all three women knew each other, I had trouble understanding why we needed their stories to be told together. The biographies are certainly entertaining, I just am not sure the premise of the book holds together as well as it might.

In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: The Truth About College by Professor X

This book grew from a pseudonymous article in The Atlantic, also titled "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower." It chronicles one man's journey into adjuncting college writing and literature classes to supplement his income after buying a house just before the housing bubble crashed. Professor X is cynical of the idea that college is the way to wealth for most of his students and argues that we (as a nation) should re-evaluate our college system. While Professor X has come under a lot of attack for giving up on his students (attacks that he meets head-on later in the book), I think the book works as a call to look at our colleges. While I think that anyone could benefit from writing more clearly, I think Professor X is right to question the "go to college or else" mandate and to think about how much remedial work is possible in one semester. The memoir part of the book strikes me as a little bland at times (we bought an expensive house and then we couldn't afford it very well, so we fought about it).

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

I really enjoyed reading this book. It purports to set everything out on the table at the beginning: it's the memoir of a woman who found herself working for MI-5 toward the end of the Cold War, and how falling in love caused her to be fired. But, as you reach the end of the novel, a gorgeous twist shakes our confidence in the entire story. I loved the way the story meditates on lies, the truth, betrayal, and art. This book is a fine example of McEwan at his most deft.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White

This usage guide is full of good, concise information to help readers improve their English prose. The authors forcefully advocate a stripped-down style, where each word must count. Some of the usage notes for words strike me as overly fussy (which may be a matter of taste or a sign of the book's age), but I think Strunk and White's suggestions are a great starting point for developing a tasteful and sound prose style.

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

This book owes a lot of its advice to the little book, Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. Zinsser advocates a clear style that keeps the reader--and human interest--in mind. While at times Zinsser's tone came across as over-bearing, and I'm not sure that I'd want to have dinner with him, I think much of his advice is solid. If you're looking for concrete rules, you might prefer Elements of Style, but if you want more general advice, this book should be helpful.

Swimming Home by Deborah Levy

This book is a quirky novel about a family under pressure and on holiday. The stresses on the family's relationships become clear when they find a woman floating in the pool of the home they've rented. She's invited to stay (no room at the inn, as it turns out) and her presence highlights the unhappiness of the rest of the family. The whole book has a surrealistic, dreamlike quality--the point is as much the objects and other descriptions as the plot. Shortlisted for the 2012 Booker prize.

The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis

This book focuses on the return home of Alun and Rhiannon Weaver. He's a writer who's made his name as one of his generation's great Welsh writers, even though most of his career has been spent in London. When he comes home, decades-old relationships, friendships, and betrayals are reevaluated as Amis skewers everyone with a dark humor. I enjoyed this book, though I have the strong suspicion that I don't find Kingsley Amis as funny as Kingsley Amis finds Kingsley Amis. 1986 Booker Prize winner.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

This book is set in the same world as The Shadow of the Wind--marked especially by the Cemetery of Forgotten Books--but it is set a generation earlier. David Martín is a successful author of lurid gothic tales; many of his friends feel he is wasting his talents, but he's locked into a long-term contract with a publisher who's especially interested in only the lucrative side of his talent. An interested (and apparently rich and influential) publisher, Andreas Corelli, offers to get him out of his contract in order to sign another deal. As Martín delves into the work though, he notices disturbing similarities to the life of his old house's previous owner (a lawyer-turned-writer). Many of the twists in the story were shocking, and I loved its thorough investigation of what we give up when we sell our talents. There were great layers of moral complexity in this story.

A Life by Elia Kazan

This autobiography recounts Kazan's life, in detail until the end of his film career, and then in sketches (mostly focusing on the death of his second wife and friends) until the late nineteen eighties. The tone of the book suggests that Kazan isn't holding anything back (not always true, as he himself admits), although he tends to speak forthrightly about most subjects (it seems the people he wants to impress, or at least not to scandalize, are his children, despite their relatively small parts in the book itself). There's a bit of back and forth--the story doesn't always go strictly chronologically, especially where Kazan's Congressional testimony in 1952 is concerned. It does give Kazan's take on that testimony in fairly straightforward rehearsal of his side of those events. Overall, the book is enjoyable--definitely an entertaining read. It explains a lot about Kazan's behavior, his choices, and his methods of directing, even if its subject is not always sympathetic (the womanizing without apology, in particular, struck me as egregious).

How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One by Stanley Fish

This book makes an argument for the sentence as the primary unit of literature. It tries to simplify the way people understand sentences by arguing that they're thoughts, and that they should be judged not by dangling modifiers but by whether they are clear. Fish argues there are two forms of sentence, generally speaking, worth considering: the subordinating sentence and the additive sentence. I found the text clear, and Fish's love of the language shines through. I wouldn't go so far as to say, however, that this book is particularly better than other books as far as ways to teach grammar go.

Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace

I found this collection of essays to be really refreshing and amusing. Wallace covers a wide range of topics with erudition and grace. From the adult entertainment industry to Dostoevsky and Kafka, and from the 2000 primary campaign trail with John McCain (a deeply ambivalent piece in which Wallace admires McCain's character but deprecates his political positions) and conservative talk radio to the September 11th bombings, from the ethics of eating lobster to a review of Garner's guide to American usage, Wallace is always thoughtful, thought-provoking, and witty. The last-mentioned usage review is the best single piece in the collection, but I enjoyed all the essays.

Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer's Guide to Getting it Right by Bill Bryson

I found this book to comprise a helpful collection of entries on style, usage, and grammar. While some of the entries, as Bryson himself admits, are governed more by Bryson's preference than other authorities, Bryson's clear justifications and entertaining prose demonstrate just how seriously each entry might be taken. Bryson has full respect for the following facts: English is not a language governed by an academy (as French and Spanish are), and use and form change over time. The book may be more helpful as a reference than enjoyable as a straight read, but I learned a lot from this book and would recommend to those people looking to improve their style.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

This book, like If on a Winter's Night A Traveller..., consists of a series of interlocking stories. While at first the shifts in time are disorienting, and the connections between the stories not entirely clear, Mitchell gradually makes a case against colonialism, slavery, and settling to be part of a morally unacceptable system, despite personal cost. Mitchell speculates on the ends of civilization and on the power of writing (and communication more generally) to forge human connections and inspire hope for the future. In addition to containing all of these moving themes, the book is beautifully written. I suspect this book will stay with me. Booker shortlisted, 2004.

Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O'Connor

This book contains a series of essays written by Flannery O'Connor on a range of topics, mostly centered around reading and writing. While they were all well-written and compelling, and some were even funny (in a very dry way), I most liked her reflections on writing and the region. She makes an excellent case for writing what you know and using the gifts you have (although she's under no illusions that everyone's made for a writer). I also thought she was both smart and sensible on the subject of religion: she sticks to her guns, but also contends that a good, Catholic novel must contain both good religion and good writing. She makes a great case for religion being freeing rather than inhibiting to the artist. She was also quite good on the South and the gothic. I'll be returning to this book again, I feel sure.

On Writing by Stephen King

This book is part memoir and part writing handbook. I found the memoir section very interesting--in part because in some ways it continues throughout the book. According to King, he had written this part (entitled "C.V.") and was just getting into the part on how to write when he was hit by the van. He closes with some reflections on the accident. I agreed with a lot of the writing advice King offered (especially the write every day part). I also liked the idea of setting aside a manuscript for six weeks before going back for revisions. I think I would have agreed even more heartily but for two things. First, King is a strong believer in the Strunk and White school. I think Strunk and White are helpful, and often correct--but once you get past basic proficiency, it's more a question of developing your own style. Second, King's style felt patronizing at times, even when I agreed with him. This quibble may be nothing more than a grouchy reading on my part, but there you have it. I do think King offered a lot of great (and practical) advice. He's dead on about his primary point: if you want to be a good writer, you have to write a lot and read a lot.

People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia

This book tells the story of a group of characters, led by Fernando de la Fe whose wife's desertion leads him to decide to go to war against the author, known to the characters as Saturn, who is himself in the throes of grief after being deserted by a woman. The book uses post-modern and post-colonial methods to question everything from religion to immigration to the authority of authors. With all sorts of techniques and innovations that put me in mind of Tristram Shandy (black spaces, words excised from the text, multiple columns), the book tells its story by words and by form. I will certainly return to this playful and beautiful text.