I was expecting a book on how to edit. What I got was an insider's take on the publishing business. It is an interesting book - and I already have enough how to edit books so this was probably a better deal.
The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers, Betsy Lerner
Another Audio book . This one was a free download from Libravox via Guttenberg.
It was OK. The reading got a bit bad towards the end. Some of the readers stumbled over entire paragraphs without stopping th etape and starting again. The odd word is ok but not a paragraph. This was matched by the bad writing – the plot was all right but the repitition tedious. 'He opened the door, he went through the door he had opened.' Did he really – and exactly how wide did he open the door, pray tell?
The Middle Temple Murder, J S Fletcher.
I didn't read this book I got an unabridged CD from the library and listened to it. I listen to audio books when I cycle so I can still hear the traffic.
This one was read by Steve Martin- so it was more like him telling you the story of his life as a stand up comic. I didn't ut it down – or didn't take the ear plugs out – once I had started. I wanted more – more of Saturday Night Live, more of his film career, and his writing career. Maybe there will be more books in the future.
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, Steve Martin.
This is a good reference guide. The end of chapter exercises annoyed me a little bit as I felt they were just a gimmick to fill up space.
I have read a few self-edit and writing books. Before reading this one you should read On Writing by Stephen King and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.
The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, Noah Lukeman
This is the second in the Falco series of Ancient Rome mysteries. I read the first - The Silver Pigs - a couple of months ago. This one picks up from the end of the previous and ties up a lot of the loose ends. You really do need to have read the first one before reading this one - although the first one is self-contained.
I do like the author's prose – there are occasionally moments of beauty in the book. Mainly it is the flippant, amusing, commentary from Falco.
I'll give it a couple of months before I read the next one: I don't want to feel obliged to go charging through all 10 or 12 in one go.
Shadows in Bronze, Lindsey Davis.
