Guest Editor Anne Earney Recommends:

This Is Not a Novel, La maîtresse de Wittgenstein(Wittgenstein's Mistress) and Reader's Block (American Literature (Dalkey Archive)) by David Markson.

I was introduced to David Markson's This Is Not a Novel while at a writing workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia last summer. The book isn't a novel, it's more of a collection of tidbits of biographical information, mostly about how various famous personalities met his or her end, and "personal" recollections on the part of the narrator, called "Writer," (who may or may not be Markson), and meta-fictional speculations about writing. Put together, there is an emotional arc to the book similar to what one finds in a novel, but without characters, plot, or setting.

La maîtresse de Wittgenstein(Wittgenstein's Mistress) is more of a traditional novel, but the first-person narrator seems to be the last person on earth. She too has a great arsenal of famous death tidbits.

The main character of Reader's Block (American Literature (Dalkey Archive)) is "Reader," who is accompanied on the page by Protagonist. These books ultimately feel like novels, despite the seeming lack of traditional novel elements, and in some ways are more affecting than traditional novels because the reader is left to consider how it is they do work.

Former Guest Editor (and editor of Mindprints) Paul Fahey Recommends:

Writing from the Inside Out: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within by Dennis Palumbo. Note: Written by a screenwriter turned psychotherapist, this text is very writer friendly. One I've gone back to over and over, especially when I have "writer's block."

Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton. One of the most important aspects of writing is voice, and this text will help you find it.

Barbara Jacksha Recommends:

One book of poetry I return to again and again is Diamonds on the Back of a Snake: Poems, by Pam Wynn. Whether she's talking about illness, faith, family, or the landscapes she's traveled, Ms. Wynn has an uncanny gift for making the ordinary profound and the profound as ordinary and accessible as a cup of steaming tea on a winter afternoon. This book is one of several fine volumes published by the Laurel Poetry Collective, a group of talented Minnesota poets dedicated to publishing beautiful and affordable poetry collections and broadsides.

Fans of Alice Hoffman won't want to miss her magical new novel The Ice Queen : A Novel. The novel tells the story of a woman whose heart has turned to ice and the twist her life takes after meeting a man who's been struck by lightning. If you want to re-believe in the healing power of love, this book is for you.

Debi Orton Recommends:

The Good Wife : A Novel by Stewart O'Nan
If you judge a book by its synopsis, you'd never open the dust jacket of this one. Simply put, it's the story of a pregnant young woman from the Southern Tier of New York State whose husband is convicted of second-degree murder and sent to prison for twenty-five years to life.

I suppose it's possible that my affinity for this novel might be that it describes an environment I'm intimately familiar with. But what fascinated me most was O'Nan's ability to know a woman's mind and heart so completely. His descriptions of the protagonist's love/hate relationship with her mother are complex and completely authentic, and best of all, he makes 25 plus years of nothing but waiting an involving read.

Coaching the Artist Within by Eric Maisel
Eric Maisel has made a career of working with creative artists (writers included), and is arguably America's foremost expert on coaching creatives to help them resolve the issues that keep them from reaching their full potential. With this book, Eric shares his techniques with anyone who wants to boost their creativity. He explores the creative process and intersperses teachings with anecdotes from his practice, along with exercises to help the reader explore his or her own creative drive.

The Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning, and Sexual Power of Red Hair by Marion Roach
I was fortunate enough to study memoir with Marion for one summer, and it's an experience I'll never forget. She has a way of cutting to the heart of the matter, able to find it even when the story is not her own. She's a redhead herself, hence her interest in the topic.

Marion's writing is top-notch — her collaboration with Dr. Michael Baden, Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers, a best seller — but what impresses me most is her utter fearlessness as a writer. Her research is impeccable, and for this book, she not only had to learn the science behind the human genome project, but she had to find a way to explain it in an understandable (not to mention very entertaining) fashion to the lay reader.

Roger Paris Recommends:

Character-Driven Fiction — Oldies But Goodies
Recently I read The Wild Man, a creative nonfiction book by Patricia Nell Warren. It follows a bullfighter in Franco's Spain to California and was an interesting and gripping read. Reading a Warren book reminded me of Warren's book The Front Runner which came out in 1976. I remembered how beautifully the characters had been drawn in that landmark novel. But I was surprised to learn that there were two sequels to The Front Runner. The trilogy was 22 years in the making and I had never read books two and three, Harlan's Race and Billy's Boy. I would heartily recommend all three to any writer interested in character.

Like The Wild Man, Scott Simon's Pretty Birds uses real-life situations to build believable fiction. I also enjoyed My Life So Far by Jane Fonda, which was an extremely intelligent, warts-and-all autobiography.

David Shapiro Recommends:

Poetic Medicine by John Fox (listed at Amazon under the incorrect title of "Poetic Medicines" for $11.53.)
I've been using this book for a healing journal workshop I conduct with a local disability group and find it extremely perceptive — not only on writing poetry for healing, but also on writing poetry in general. The way it combines the concepts of personal journaling and poetic writing is quite intriguing.

Vanitha Sankaran Recommends:

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
Perfume is a sensual, gripping tale of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man born with the ability to discern the slightest of scents, yet who has no scent of his own. Set in 18th century France, this book is a lush telling of how and why Grenouille creates the unique scent that will make him complete. His quest takes him to places no human should go, yet as the readers, we are curiously compelled to take the journey with him. A fascinating tale with vivid descriptions and details!

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
In preparation for the movie release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (LWW) in December of this year, I decided to revisit this old favorites series. For certain, Lewis' saga is written both for children and adults. While the story in this first book seems simple at first, there are levels of meaning embedded within, especially for those who are more familiar with LWW.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
White Teeth follows the lives of two immigrant families in modern day London. Language, or specifically dialogue, is Smiths true skill here; each of the characters has a unique dialect and accent that the reader can hear as she reads the book. I laughed, waxed nostalgic, even cried during this read. A hilarious, cheeky look at modern day British society!

Didi Wood Recommends:

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
I'm re-reading the first three volumes in this series, beginning with A Game of Thrones, in preparation for the release of the fourth in November. Don't be intimidated by its presence in the sci-fi/fantasy section — these are some of the best books I've ever read, in any genre. They read more like historical fiction than fantasy, with compelling characters and complex story lines.

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
The riveting story of a young woman's coming of age, set against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy. Heartbreaking and inspiring, this novel won the Carnegie Medal, the L.A. Times Book Prize, the Borders Original Voices Prize, and a Michael L. Printz Honor. Don't dismiss it just because it's shelved in the Young Adult section.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
This book defies description, incorporating science-fiction, time travel, mystery, romance, and Victorian comedy of manners. It's one of the wittiest and most brilliant books I've ever read.

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