Before You Write That Novel, Read This Book
Essential reads that will shape your storytelling
Reading is the key to good writing, hands down. There is no arguing that the way to learn any craft is to study the masters, and writing is no exception.
We all want to do our best, but what if we don’t know how? What if we’re still searching for the proper resources?
Stop right here, writers. I’ve compiled a list of books from five mainstream genres that are classics not because of their all-time sales but because of their prose, structure, characters, and all-around endearing and exciting stories.
Reading is a skill just like writing is, so I suggest reading these books in the order listed (light: 1; heavy: 5) so that you can build up your skill. It does take a good amount of concentration to build up a reading skill in a short amount of time, so take as long as you need and as many breaks as necessary.
If you’ve already read some of the books, start with the lightest one you haven’t read and work from there.
Congrats if you’ve already read them all. Go out and find some new books!!
Genre #1: Fantasy
Fantasy has been coming strong for nearly a century now. There is no doubt that it is one of the most popular genres of all time.
If you’re a fantasy writer, then you’re going to want to read these books.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Genre #2: Historical
Historical fiction can be hard to suggest books for, as it can deal with lots of different time periods.
Therefore, this list is not only from light to heavy but ascends from ancient times to early 20th century.
Boy of the Pyramids by Ruth Fosdick Jones (ancient times)
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (medieval times)
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (1700s)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (civil war)
The Chosen by Chiam Potok (World War II)
(I’m reading The Scarlet Pimpernel and reviewing it next month— why not read it with me? Check out the post below for details.)
Genre #3: Mystery
I think we can all agree that Agatha Christie is the queen of the puzzle. She can write mysteries like no other. If you’re aiming to write murder mysteries, then just go read all her books.
Since I’m trying to have some variety, I’m only going to list my favorite of her books and then include some other authors as well.
Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Genre #5: Romance
Romance gets mixed into everything these days. I myself just wrote a Historical Romance. I’ve been hearing no end to the “romantasy” subgenre.
No, here I will simply have romance. Plain classic romance that is purely about the get-together, not the historical setting or the agenda hidden inside. (All titles listed are clean.)
The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Genre #5: Dystopian
I love a good dystopian novel now and then… but in this day and age, which is torn up by “trash” novels like The Hunger Games, I wish someone would send out a plane with a banner behind it listing off a dozen good dystopian novels that are written well.
(That’s not to say that Suzanne Collins isn’t a good author. She clearly is, because she’s done so well. Her ideas are fantastic.)
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
1984 by George Orwell
Read So You Can Write
I shared a note a couple of weeks ago asking whether or not my readers thought that reading was essential to writing. I got a landslide of answers: yes, reading is super important and should never be neglected by a writer!
I thought I had better mention that good writing can only be preceded by good reading, so I wrote this post.
Reading the classics is what puts you on the classics list. I know that I’d like to be there someday… what about you?
Question: what books have inspired you to write?
Wow I loved your list and am pleasantly surprised to discover another Alcott book besides the obvious. I will see if my library carries it immediately.
In all honesty, the one of the top books which inspired me to write was actually The Hunger Games trilogy. When I read it as a young and aspiring author, I saw so much truly lovely writing in it. I probably read the trilogy a good three times in a year and a half after finishing it the first time. That's how good I thought the prose was. I enjoyed the imagery, the characters, and the POV, which all added to the unique reading experience.
Aside from that though, I was very inspired by The Milana Legends by Anna Travis (a book series I personally think everyone should read at least once) and The Wonderland Trials by Sara Ella.
Thanks again for a great post (sorry I'm a little late to the comments, this only just popped up on my home page!) and I look forward to reading your next articles!
Great recommendations! The Narnia series is my favorite fantasy by far! Its a really good palette cleanser too for the usual extreme horror books I review. Keep it up! And you like bluegrass!? I used to play bluegrass at homeless shelters with my parents