The Best Book About Writing Ever (and other great reads)

The Best Book About Writing Ever (and other great reads) February 7, 2014

I’m not sure if it’s really the best ever, but I am LOVING Ann Patchett’s This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. The title is deceptive, as at least so far I’ve just heard (I’m listening on audiobook) Patchett’s series of essays about the craft and experience of writing both her fiction and her non-fiction. She is a wonderful storyteller with great advice for writers all around. Highly recommend.

I’ve got Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life on my bed stand right now, which, as far as I’m concerned, is good enough to keep going but not great enough to rave about. Interesting idea–a girl who dies repeatedly and then starts her life over–good writing, but for some reason it hasn’t gripped me the way I expected it to.

Paul Miller’s new book, A Loving Life will be the subject of an effusive paragraph like the one I offered above as soon as I’m done with it. A simple, thoughtful, challenging meditation on the book of Ruth and what it means to love.

As for the articles I’ve been interested in this week (a.k.a. what I’m tweeting), here you go:

Disability, Family, and Ethics:

 Building the Better Baby http://ow.ly/t6MWO #bioethics #genetics#DNA

 Does #race become as meaningless as we might hope to those who have lifelong #blindness? http://ow.ly/t6NtB @francielatour

Rich CEO Tells @TheDailyShow The ‘Mentally Retarded’ Are Maaaybe Worth $2 An Hour ow.ly/tejMB #Disability#MinimumWage

“I think having a child with a #disability is similar to learning how to run” @meriahnichols ow.ly/tel63 #parenting #DownSyndrome

“When are prospective #parents justified in discarding embryos?” ow.ly/ti7tu #ethics #GeneticTesting @nytimes

Faith and Society:

How does the inner experience of #faith differ from popular#perceptions of #religion? ow.ly/t9N1G @nytdavidbrooks

Books and Reading:

Why do so many #readers mark up their #books?http://ow.ly/tehEU @nytimes

 


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