Two Books Every Blogger Should Read
There are two books every blogger should read, and I reveal them to you soon in this post below.
I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no: these aren’t books that talk about the secrets to making lots of money blogging or the optimal way to place AdSense ads on your blog.
These are older books whose first edition was written well before the age of the Internet. They are, however, still very relevant to every blogger, as blogging is all about writing and connecting to your reader through words.
As you might have already guessed these are books about writing: On Writing Well and The Elements of Style.
On Writing Well
On Writing Well, written by William K. Zinsser, should be required reading for all serious bloggers, as it will help you with your writing no matter what audience you target.
Zinsser makes a strong argument for writers to cut out clutter, and he provides classic examples of how clutter confuses the reader. My favorite examples are ones from the political arena that are written to confuse the general population than to mean anything.
The advice in this book is directly applicable to the blogging community, as it’s best to remove clutter from your posts. There are, after all, plenty of other feeds the reader could be reading.
The Elements of Style
The other book that should be in every blogger’s list of required reading should be The Elements of Style. Originally written by William Strunk, Jr. for his students, The Elements of Style was prepared for public consumption by one of his students, E.B. White.
The Elements of Style will help you make everything you write mean something. The author stresses that “every word tell”, and this book will help you get more out of every word you write (or give you the right words to help you along the way).
Cost
Combined these books will cost you a whopping $20.12 plus shipping at Amazon, so there’s no reason not to have these books in your library.
Once you’ve read these books it’s a good idea to have them handy as a reference or re-read them from time to time. The advice is classic and will help make all your posts as great as this one*.
Get these books and use them. Your readers will thank you for it.
*Disclaimer: It’s been awhile since I’ve actually read these books, so I can’t guarantee this post is as good as it could be. You be the judge.
Tags: blogging, required reading, on writing well, the elements of style
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11 Comments so far »
Thilak said
on March 2 2007 @ 4:28 am
Amazon doesn’t ship here in my country. I’ll go the local book store and check if its available.,
Maki said
on March 2 2007 @ 4:56 pm
I read the Elements of Style. Real classic, but might be kinda stuffy for some.
You could always go through Copyblogger’s entire archives.. I think that’s more than adequate for great blog writing.
Ryan J. Parker said
on March 2 2007 @ 5:03 pm
Maki, thanks for the heads up. I’ve never heard of Copyblogger before … consider myself a new subscriber.
Thanks!
dan1el said
on March 2 2007 @ 11:06 pm
Elements of Style is definetly a must read. I’d add Stephen King’s On Writing to that list as well. There’s alot of excellent ideas in his book that don’t just apply to writing a novel.
Paula Mooney said
on March 3 2007 @ 9:13 am
I feel good. I think I’ve read both of these.
The Strunk one is definitely good.
Mike Cane said
on March 15 2007 @ 1:06 pm
Optionally, a third:
Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives (Paperback)
by Lajos Egri
http://tinyurl.com/2pfgo6
(shrunken amazon non-affiliate link)
Ryan J. Parker said
on March 15 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Mike, interesting find there, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on how the book applies to the typical blogger.
Robert Irizarry said
on March 22 2007 @ 8:02 pm
Both are good recommendations. I don’t expect fellow bloggers to be English scholars but I also don’t expect to come across rampant grammatical and spelling errors. Both are largely avoidable and both suggest that the blogger doesn’t particularly care about his or her work.
constructicle boy said
on June 23 2007 @ 2:33 pm
is there like an pdf version available for download somewhere?
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