WWW Wednesday–8/13/14

August 13, 2014 by bookmammal 13 Comments

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WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

I’m probably the most un-athletic person you could ever meet, but I love reading about sports! I’ve read just about every sports book that John Feinstein has ever written, but I recently discovered that I’d missed reading One On One: Behind The Scenes With The Greats In The Game—his book about how he came to write some of his most popular behind-the-scenes nonfiction about basketball, golf, baseball, and tennis. If you’re not into sports there probably isn’t a whole lot in this book that would appeal to you–but if you’ve read any of Feinstein’s many previous books I think you’d enjoy this! I especially liked his accounts of his relationship with Indiana’s Bob Knight, as well as how he went about “pitching” his book ideas.  If you’re a Feinstein fan, be sure to pick up this book!

I always enjoy reading about the craft of writing–and Poking A Dead Frog: Conversations With Today’s Top Comedy Writers by Mike Sacks is a different take on this subject. Sacks interviewed 40+ writers on the craft of creating comedy–via writing for magazines, movies, TV, or radio. The result is a very interesting look at not only the creative side of comedy writing, but advice on the practical side as well. The common thread of nearly all the writers interviewed can be boiled down to “Don’t do it for the money” and “The only way to get successful is to write, write, write. . . and then keep on writing.” Even if you have absolutely no aspirations to write or perform comedy for a living (I sure don’t!) this is a great addition to any collection of books on the writing process.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I received an ARC of Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo in advance of it’s 8/19/14 publication date. It’s the story of three female cousins  in their thirties who come together to renovate the family home. In the process they learn things about each other, their family, and themselves. The story is told in three parts–one section from the point of view of each of the main characters–which is a narrative technique that I enjoy when it’s done well. So far I’m still in the first section, so I can’t tell yet if the author will be able to effectively pull this off, but I have high hopes! I’m enjoying the story so far and am hoping to finish the book this weekend.

    WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

As usual, I have absolutely no idea! It’ll all depend on what I’m in the mood for next.

How about you? Have you read any of these? What are you reading these days? Please share!