Books on Writing
Storycraft, Jack Hart
Fast-Draft Your Memoir, Rachael Herron (Companion workbook)
Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, Janet Burroway (I know, says fiction, but it’s all about good writing)
Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style, Virginia Tufte
The Faith of a Writer, Joyce Carol Oates
On Writing, Stephen King
Nonfiction Reading List
Memoir
Strangers, Belle Burden (2026)
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed (2012)
Sonny Boy, Al Pacino, (2025)
Hunger, Roxane Gay (2017)
Sociopath: A Memoir, Patric Gagne (2024)
The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments, Hadley Vlahos, R.N. (2023)
The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and Tragedy of Good Intentions, Jonathan Rosen (2024)
From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir, Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough (2025)
Everything All at Once, Steph Catudal (2023)
Foster, Claire Keegan (2022)
In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss, Amy Bloom (2022)
Notes on a Silencing: A Memoir, Lacy Crawford (2022)
Townie: A Memoir, Andre Dubus, III (2012)
Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1999)
A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson (1999)
The House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus, III (1999)
Vinegar Hill, A. Manette Ansay (2006)
An American Marriage, Tayari Jones (2019)
The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese (2023)
Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver (2022)
The Lamb, Lucy Rose (2025)
North Woods, Daniel Mason (2023)
Whale Fall, Elizabeth O'Connor (2025)
The Passenger Seat, Vijay Khurana (2025)
The Long Walk, Stephen King (1979)
The Mad Wife, Meagan Church (2025)
This is Happiness, Niall Williams (2021)
The Safekeep, Yael van der Wouden (2024)
The Most, Jessica Anthony (2024)
Clear: A Novel, Carys Davies (2024)
The Four Winds: A Novel, Kristin Hannah (2023)
Shuggie Bain, Douglas Stuart (2020)
Biography
Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, Heather Clark (2021)
King: A Life, Jonathan Eig (2023)
Crime
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001, Garrett M. Graff, Holter Graham (2019)
Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida, Gilbert King (2025)
American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road, Nick Bilton (2017)
True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray, James Renner (2017)
Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After "Serial," Rabia Chaudry (2019)
The Stranger Beside Me: The Shocking Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy, Ann Rule (1981)
Fiction Reading List
Resources
I’ve curated a list of writing resources and books that are worth checking out. I wish I had more time to write about why these books made the list. If you’re thinking, “That’s great, but I don’t have time to read entire books, Stephen King once advised to never feel guilty about reading a book. Besides writing, that’s a writer’s best use of time.
I’ve also included books of fiction where the writing and/or the story lingered after I’d read the last word. Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” haunted me for years.
You’ll want to check back here periodically, as I’ll be updating when I discover new ways to continue supporting you as a writer.
Must-haves within Reach
The Elements of Style, William Strunk & E.B. White
Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., The University of Chicago Press
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, William Zinsser