FREEDOM by Jonathan Franzen

Well, this was Oprah's Book Club selection.  And I enjoyed the book the author became famous for, The Corrections. 

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It's a family saga.  Rather than following the family member linearily, the author chose to focus on each character in a chapter, much like he did in The Corrections.  It's very well-written, I really felt for the characters, and even the most debasing, disgusting and reprehensible behaviours seem acceptable within the context of this world.

The one issue I had with this book is that there is so much information on each character.  I got bored for about a hundred pages that delved into American politics, and then another fifty or so pages that dealt with saving a bird species.  I think that the author felt too passionately about these subjects to leave them out, and while they were a part of the characters, I didn't really see how they added any real value to the story.


This is a long book - over 700 pages - and definitely not a beach-read.  If you enjoy dissections of humanity and family, and have long commutes to work, then this would be a good addition to your electronic reading device.

THE SKIN TYPE SOLUTION by Leslie Baumann

We've always heard of the four types of skin: dry, oily, combination, and normal.  But I was fascinated by the author's idea of actually breaking our skins down into SIXTEEN different types.

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The author, a practicing dermatologist in Florida, sets out detailed questionnaires that help you determine your specific type.  Not only that, she then explains the difference between the varieties in a way no dertmatologist has ever touched on (in my experience), and even gives lists of examples of ingrédients to look for, and more importantly, to look OUT for.


The information in this book has saved me a pretty penny, and many an avoidable skin-irritation due to a cosmetic that was sold to me simply because the seller needed to reach her weekly target.
HIGHLY recommended!

NO TWO ALIKE by Judith Rich Harris

I've always been interested in why two (or more) siblings who grow up with the same parents in the same home can become so completely different.  I was hoping this book would provide some insight.

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I can't really say that I got much out of this book.  While the author quotes many studies, I never felt like she really got deeply enough into the subject, and I kept waiting for some kind of revelation but sadly, it never came.  I would say, skip this one.

SAVE THE CAT! (series) by Blake Snyder

This is when I discovered how FUN organizing thoughts can be!


SAVE THE CAT!
The first book in the series breaks the entire process down in a clearly understandable way without talking down to you.  It gives you tools and tips you can use, but more importantly it lays everything out visually so that 110 script that you've been dreading to write suddenly appears to you in vivid pictures.
The first book I would recommend to anyone - whether you've never written anything in your life, or if you've produced some of your manuscripts already but are looking for a different way (and more approachable) of doing things.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, this book shows you, step by step, how it's constructed, so that you can recreate it all by yourself.

To purchase or download this book, click below:

http://sh.st/QhNSN

SAVE THE CAT! GOES TO THE MOVIES
The second book in the series takes the theories described in the first book and applies them to a wide range of films across all genres.

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http://sh.st/QhMnJ

Unlike the first book,  this second one doesn't delve into too much detail on the aspects of writing.  This is purely a dissection of fifty films, using the author's method that is shown in detail in the first book.  This book is rather an interesting study of how the author's writing method can be applied to any genre.


SAVE THE CAT! STRIKES BACK
This is my least favorite book of the series, and although I still got some interesting information from some chapters (how do you interpret 'notes' from producers?), I felt like towards the end it was a struggle for the author to complete it.  There is a chapter on 'getting an agent' etc but I didn't find the information any more useful or hopeful than I've gotten from all the other books I've read. 

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http://sh.st/Qh2IM

There was some information I found to be just a rehashing of the first book:  in a nutshell, save yourself the time and money, and concentrate more on the first two books of the series which I truly feel are extremely helpful.

REEL PEOPLE by Howard M. Gluss Ph.D.

This is one of those hidden gems I wish more people would talk about.  It's essentially a list of characteristics of "unusual" or "abnormal" personality types with clear examples taken from films, to give the writer an idea of what ticks, habits, and tendencies a certain character might have.


But it's much more than that.  This reads like an easy-to-digest medical book on various personality disorders.  It's well-written, well-researched, and just really interesting and enjoyable.

To purchase this book, click below:

http://sh.st/mDUAc

And if you're an armchair psychologist, or you're just really curious about people, this book gives some great insights and alternative possibilities that you probably never considered before.
You may even learn a few things about yourself too.
Highly recommended.

COOKED by Jeff Henderson

I really wanted to enjoy this book.  I really really really wanted to.  Mostly because it's a wonderful true uplifting story of a black man who, as a teenager, got into dealing drugs and making tons of money, and not lacking in the female-adoration department. 
Then, as a Young man, he got caught and sent to prison.


What is uplifting about this story is that, while locked up, instead of falling further down the rabbit hole of crime, he learned how to cook, and how to do it well.  And then...  well, perhaps you should read it for yourself to find out.

To purchase or download the book, click below:

http://sh.st/mS5lR

It's heartening to read a story of perseverance like this, it's just that I had a small issue with the writing style.  The author is also a public speaker in schools, and I suspect that his book was written in his voice, as in how people spoke on the street in his time, and how he perceives the world now.   I found the style to be a little jarring, and I found it difficult to concentrate on the story because I felt a lack of flow in his sentences and storyline.
Nevertheless, it's one to give a shot.

CREATIVE SCREENWRITING: Understanding Emotional Structure by Christina Kallas

This is not a sexy book.  Even just by looking at the cover, there is nothing seemingly attractive or 'good' about this book.  It's filled with dense paragraphs, no pictures or illustrations or graphs, there is no humour or ironic phrasing to put you more at ease, and the opening chapter starts with a detailed observation of Aristotlean writing, including some quotes in Greek.


I tried to read that damn first chapter more than a dozen times.  And every time, it felt like more gibberish was piling in my already over-burdened mind.

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But after 2 years of it sitting on my shelf, collecting dust, I was about to throw it out when I randomly opened it somewhere towards the back, and was immediately engrossed in the author's analysis of the ending of the chapter.  She includes numerous exercises, (admittedly I haven't done half of them), but the other half that I took the time to work on really opened my flow of creativity.
This woman knows what she's talking about.


As the ideas and exercises are built up on the preceding chapters, I found myself going back a few pages, then a few more, then a few more, until I decided this was ridiculous and went back to the beginning.
I still can't digest her Aristotlean musings, but the rest of the book, although grey, and densely packed with information, detailed analyses of produced films, and possible interprétations, is fascinating.


This is definitely not for a beginner screenwriter: but if you have a few thousand pages under your belt, I HIGHLY recommend this book to broaden your horizons.

SCENE OF THE CRIME by Anne Wingate Ph.D.

Anne Wingate may have a Ph.D. (in what I'm not quite sure) but she doesn't manage to convey any useful information in her book.  I'm sorry I wasted my time on it.

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Frankly, I don't know how this book got 4 stars on Amazon out of 21 reviews.  There was nothing useful about how a crime looks from an investigator's POV apart from the fact that dead bodies smell really bad, and in the cheaper motels, should there be any blood spilled, the spot in the carpet is cut out (instead of the entire carpet being replaced in the room).
That's it.  That's all I got.  Everything else was so glossed over, I felt like I had more information from watching CSI on tv. 
I'm reluctant to judge the other books in this series based on this one bad apple, but it's left a really bad taste in my mouth.

CREATING UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS by Linda Seger

This is the first book I've read by Linda Seger.  I bought it because her name comes up in almost any other how-to-write book I've read in the recent months, so I thought I would look into her work more deeply, as she's quoted so often in other works.

To purchase or download the book, click below:

http://sh.st/mjm68



While I think she is a good writer, and she obviously has extensive experience in working in film and television, giving concrete examples of the problems one could come across as a writer, I nevertheless felt like I wasted two days of my life reading this.

To me there was nothing new, no different point of view, no brand new aspect of how to solve a writing problem - even with the concrete examples she provided, the book overall felt very generic, like something I would have gotten at a free course provided by a community center.

Even though Ms Seger gives examples of interviews with other writers (holding their own extensive experience), I got the feeling this was more of a general 'here's what can happen in the movie business and especially Hollywood' book rather than 'if you come across this issue in character development, you might consider...' book.

Personally, this was a disappointment, and I won't be rushing out to buy any more of her books.

Who knows, maybe she is a very good lecturer/public speaker.

The WAR of ART/TURNING PRO/DO the WORK by Steven Pressfield

I decided to group these three books together because, well, they just go together.


The War of Art is the one I would suggest starting with:  it is a theoretical kick in the butt not only for writers and other types of artists, but for anyone who just wants to start SOMETHING.  A business, a fitness plan, a hobby, really anything - because, according to Mr Pressfield, we all have to fight Resistance, our enemy #1.

To purchase or download the book, click below:

http://sh.st/n24Lj

The book breaks down all our fears into bite-sized chapters of two or three pages, and really makes you think about why you haven't started whatever it was you've been promising yourself to start for the past decade or two.


The second book in the series kicks you (harder) in the butt, and explains vividly what and how you should pull up your socks and buckle down.  Spoiler alert:  you must work to become a pro!

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http://sh.st/n25WO

The third book in the series is one I would say is the least useful - it is more of a summary of the first two, and easier  to skim through when you need a quick boost.  I definitely feel that this book doesn't stand alone;  if you haven't read the first two, you probably won't get much out of this third one.

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http://sh.st/n2551

Do you need all three?  No.  But you do need the first two.  And after you've read them, you won't have any excuses left to keep procrastinating!





SPIDER BONES by Kathy Reichs

Spider Bones starts off promisingly:  There is a suspicious death (of course) and it looks like either murder or a somewhat bizarre take on erotic games.




Unfortunately, that's where the excitement ends for me.  While the premise is interesting - a body is found of a man who apparently was determined to be dead forty years before - and it takes us to exotic climes (Hawaii) and there is an interesting subplot with Dr Brennan's daughter and the on-off relationship with a detective - all the interest I had got lost in trying to keep track of names and connections between characters who never even make an appearance in the story, only through dialogue spoken by the main characters.

To purchase or download the book click below:

http://sh.st/n2YEb

I think the only book I truly enjoyed of Kathy Reichs' was the first one; after that it seems to me that she takes some jargon, throws in a couple of 'common language' words like "thingy", and has Dr Brennan respond to situations more like a teenager would ("All righty then" and "Okey-dokey") instead of a professional woman, that it feels like she knows her job is difficult and her work vocabulary complicated so she attempts to come down to my level - and ends up talking down to me.


I appreciate that she uses humor when she can, especially when dealing with a subject like death, but with Kathy Reichs it seems forced. 


There are better writers with medical degrees who manage to clarify a situation without using unnecessarily difficult words while not talking down to the reader.


I got very frustrated with the pace of the story and the language used, (including breaking the fourth wall), that I doubt I will be reading any of her upcoming books.  But if you're looking for a light beach read, give this a go.

INVISIBLE INK by Brian McDonald

Don't let the thin spine and small number of pages fool you.  Brian McDonald is a straight-shooter and economical with his words - but the ones he uses are suprisingly visual; his examples are on the money, and with each new paragraph I had a lightbulb go on above my head.

To purchase or download a copy, click below:

http://sh.st/n2LVg

You definitely need prior knowledge of writing.  This is a book aimed at writers who have a few thousand pages under their belts, but for some reason feel stuck at the pivotal points in their stories. 

Highly recommended, I re-read it once a month to keep me on track.

HOW NOT TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY by Denny Martin Flinn

For any aspiring screenwriter, it is beneficial not only to read 'how to' books, but also 'how NOT to' books.  This one is well-written by someone who has experience in screenwriting, who writes passionately about the art, and, very important, gives clear examples from real produced screenplays of how to do it - and examples from the ones that never made it, on how NOT to do it.

To purchase or download the book, click below:

http://sh.st/n2O16

The author's manner of writing is direct but doesn't seem overbearing, and he comes across as talking a friend over coffee and sharing some tips, rather than a master talking down to his ignorant pupils.

It would be helpful to already have some knowledge of how to write screenplays;  this is certainly not a starting block, but more of an added flavour to your multi-layered cake of acquired knowledge.  It really pointed me to some mistakes I was making in my own writing, and I feel all the more grateful for the information that I otherwise would have had to learn by tedious trial and error.

Definitely recommended.



THE BLIND GODDESS by Anne Holt

Even though the story starts out bloody on the first page, this is a quiet thriller, but nonetheless a page-turner.


Anne Holt manages to make us imagine and feel for even the smallest characters, even if they appear only for two pages before being killed off.  I was a bit apprehensive at first that there were so many characters and (to me, foreign) names to keep track of, but she introduces each one with enough detail to make them memorable, but without overloading the images unnecessarily.

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http://sh.st/n2Ohw

The different storylines, althouth separate at first, merge together seamlessly and the author manages to keep the suspense high, even while describing innocuous and innocent scènes.


If you enjoy a good thriller without too much blood, but with a good dose of realism, give this a go.  Anne Holt was a lawyer and she deftly brings her knowledge into the story without burdening us with unnecessary jargon just for the sake of showing off.