Language Arts Books

I LOVE this book. Surprisingly, it is a page-turner, even though it's not a novel. Great concepts, practical ideas, and inspirational. It has re-charged my enthusiasm for teaching writing.

As an 8th grade language arts teacher, I have found _Deeper Reading_ and _Reading Reasons_, Gallagher's other teaching titles, to be positively indispensible, so I expected nothing less from his latest work. Once again, Gallagher delivers! This is a straightforward, practical, and yes, funny, book for effective writing instruction in secondary classrooms. Gallagher's fresh, ready-to-use strategies are based upon what he calls the "six pillars of writing success," which are:

-students need a lot more writing practice;
-students need teachers who model good writing;
-students need the opportunity to read and study other writers;
-students need choice when it comes to writing topics;
-students need to write for authentic purposes and to authentic audiences, and;
-students need meaningful feedback from both the teacher and their peers.

Gallagher offers ideas for daily in-class writing opportunities, activities to help generate high-interest topics, strategies for "attacking" on-demand writing, mini-lessons to guide students through deeper revision, alternatives to peer editing (which he says doesn't work), and suggestions for more effective grading. His lessons are geared to teach students the real-world writing skills they will need not just for success in the English classroom but for the long haul.

This is a must-have for veteran and novice teachers alike. I, too, have had the opportunity to attend one of Gallagher's workshops, and in my view, the man is simply genius. Through it all, Gallagher reminds us that we are not superhuman. In view of the mounting pressure so many of us feel to raise the all-mighty test scores, I found the following quote most reassuring: "With the wide range of ability and overwhelming class sizes, it is unrealistic to think I am going to make every one of my 165 students a strong writer. It *is* realistic, however, to begin each year with the goal that every student of mine, regardless of ability, is going to get better." Armed with Gallagher's book, I feel a renewed sense of confidence that my teaching is going to get better, too. Two thumbs way up!

I attended one of Kelly Gallagher's lectures last summer and was instantly hooked on his honesty, humor, and principles. I purchased Teaching Adolescent Writers and have used it almost daily. Gallagher's ideas and techniques make so much sense and what's even better is that everything he suggests are exactly what we teachers of writing need. I tried the "find the fib" idea and hooked my students immediately. I moved to "the myth of the boring topic" and had lots of fun exchanging questions with the class. Everything I've brought to the classroom has engaged my reluctant teenages who have no interest in school let alone writing. I try to read sections of his book in the morning before school starts because he just makes so much sense and his ideas are so much fun, I often go to work excited.

As a new teacher, I found this book packed with practical guides on everything from motivating students to assessing student work. This book provides not only the reasons why we teach writing, but most importantly HOW to teach writing.

Kelly Gallagher manages to include important information about best practices in a way that is immediately useful for the classroom teacher. An excellent book for high school English teachers or professional developers working with high school teachers!!!

This book is an absolute winner. Every little girl I give it to accepts it immediately as a firm favorite. It all started with my memories of not wanting to return it to the library. Modern little girls like to carry it about with them (Hoping that someone new will read it to them? As an opportunity to admire it in public? Because they can't bear the thought of being parted from it?) Who knows. All I know is that this is a great book.

My fiancee bought this book for my daughter and I was a little doubtful at first, but she loves it and knew it off by heart by the time she was 18 months old! we read it over and over again and she even says good bye, good bye, good bye, good bye to the tiger on the very last page. This was an excellent buy and I'm looking forward to my younger daughter reading it too.

I was a little unsure when a good friend insisted on buying this book for my then 16-month old daughter at a local book shop. Firstly, it wasn't cheap so I was afraid that it would be a waste if my daughter didn't like it and it wasn't a board book (although my daughter did have some paperback books, she had mostly board books at the time). However, my friend said that she'd loved the book as a child and her own 2-year old loved it as well. So, she got it...and I needn't have worried at all. My daughter loved it from the get-go and was willing to sit through the story at least twice at each sitting, which amazed me as it is not a short story. I decided to try another book by the same author - "Mog, the forgetful cat" and my daughter enjoys that too (it's an even longer read!). As an aside, I have found that the best books to get are the ones that you yourself remember reading as a child or ones that someone else you know remembers from their childhood. It's obviously left an impression and it'll do the same again.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! I'M BUYING A 2ND COPY TO HAVE A MINT CONDITION BOOK FOR LATER. OUR TODDLER WANTED THIS READ 7 TIMES IN A ROW UNTIL WE FINALLY SAID IT'S NAP TIME. IT'S NO SURPRISE OVER 3 MILLION COPIES HAVE BEEN SOLD!

It took me nearly twelve years to locate a hardbound copy of this book, and was well worth it. I remember this book vividly from my childhood. My mother read it to my sister and I on rainy days. It is the story of a girl named Sophie who is visited by a hungry tiger with a voracious appetite for tea and biscuits. He ends up eating everything in the cupboards to satisfy his appetite.

It is a sweet story that is easy to follow and read along with your mom, or if you are like me, read all by yourself now that you are an adult. It made me not only want to have a pet tiger, but it made me want to travel to Europe, where the book is set. Sadly, I still do not have a pet tiger, but I have traveled to Europe!

If you are lucky enough to find it in stock - snatch it up quick - they go really fast!

I've taken a class here and there, read a little bit on the subject, but nothing has come close to the craft of writing like this book. The author gets right into the heart of what makes the written word fly off the page and into the readers imagination. The book is broken up into easily digestible chapters and she sites numerous examples to back up her opinions.

The book is definitely about craft and not the fundamentals of writing which, is good if your looking to get past the basics. The narrative is quite laid back and doesn't try to get overly high-brow with the topic.

After reading it, I have a greater appreciation for all that goes into crafting a story. And too, I can look at novels or short stories with a greater understanding and more critical eye, which helps to appreciate the reading even more.

Overall, I was very happy and feel I've been let in on some great secrets for contemporary writing.

The author uses many analogies from theater to put together a way of thinking about writing and reading which can clarify many of the issues which tend to dog fiction writers. I strongly recommend this book.

I've taken several classes from Sands, and she is the only writing instructor that I've come back to repeatedly. Her classes are superb, and I wanted to "live with the book" and use it on it's own before reviewing it.

This is one of those books whose title really does tell you what you need to know about the contents and the approach the author takes to teaching.
This is a fairly broad exploration of writing, but tends to focus on development of scene, voice and point of view. The latter is used as the 'key' or touchstone for exploring and working with the other elements. Within this, Sand really does approach writing as a "craft". The book explores writing in a very concrete and practical way, attempting to define and develop the "tools" in a writer's kit. The exercises are excellent, and are structured to assist in developing those skills or tools. They are second only to the wonderful exercise's in Garder's Art Of Fiction, but less intimidating and more intimately tied to the instruction sections.

In short, one of the most valuable and practical guides I've read, and certainly the most likely to have an immediate impact on your writing.

I read this book and it's terrific! This is a useful, down-to-earth explanation of point of view and what it means to a writer. It teaches writer how to use these tools and bring their writing to a new, more professional level.

I have taken four writing classes with Sands Hall and she is an excellent teacher. She loves teaching want-to-be writers the craft of writing, the nuts and bolts. Like a mechanic, tools are necessary to do the job right. This book is a necessary tool for any writer - we all have writing books on our shelves don't we? This one is a must. I refer to it time and time again to be reminded on the "how to's" of putting words together to create something worth reading. She has a wonderful checklist that can be used when working on your own scenes - it can be laminated and pasted to your work space - any time you finish a scene you can refer to this checklist and see if your scene covers everything - setting, objects, activity, to name a few - to be sure that scene is alive and says what you really want it to say. She teaches on point of view, characterization, metaphor, everything relating to the writer's craft you can possibly need and she uses examples from other works to help you understand clearly what she is getting at. If you are looking for a good book on how to write, this one is a must.

Toxic Feedback totally reinvigorated my interest in my writing group. I was about to give it up because I wasn't feeling great about my work and also had no confidence in the feedback I could offer the other writers. Having worked as an editor, I have no problem taking red-pen-hacking criticism, but this book offers great advice on how to actually use it, if at all. The section on giving feedback has given me more tools and ways to articulate advice and has probably spared my writing group from my overzealous efforts to be a "real" critic. Now I am re committed to the group and to my project. Thanks!

I used to be afraid to show my work to anyone, but now I crave responses. Toxic Feedback really helped me make the transition, and I can't tell you how rewarding it is.

THE most useful book for writers I've read since Anne LaMott's Bird by Bird. Joni B. Cole describes the writing life and the giving and receiving of feedback with the wit and humor and honesty that can only come from personal experience. In Toxic Feedback, Cole provides specific examples from other successful writers (like Grace Paley and Ted Kooser, to name only 2)as well from her own life as a writer, which, it turns out, is a lot like that which the rest of us live ~ right down to the same fears and frustrations and making deals with the cosmos if "someone, oh dear God _anyone_, will just agree to publish me . . . ." If you're a writer you'll find yourself in these pages ~ and you'll also find the information Cole provides singularly helpful in coping with toxic feedback when you receive it and in avoiding being a person who gives it, even unintentionally. Indeed, Toxic Feedback really does what the subtitle promises: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive.

Rebecca Longster
Writer, Writing Teacher (Purdue University), and Creative Writing Student (University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast MFA Program)

Managing feedback -it's something we do all day long, perhaps not even realizing it. So why not see the positive side of feedback -even if it's toxic! That's the perspective of Toxic Feedback's Joni B. Cole -
As a talk show host I've had an opportunity to speak with many writers and one theme is constant - feedback. How necessary the feedback is in order to write, rewrite, rewrite and so on. Learning how to best process this feedback is key in making one's writing as sharp as possible.
Toxic Feedback also speaks to those who are doling out the (sometimes) toxic feedback. It cautions that the way something is said can make all the difference in the writer's world. What would have happened if Khaled Hosseini had given up and not had The Kite Runner published? Thank goodness we'll never know! Joni has included stories from Khaled to fiction writer, Jodi Picoult plus many others. You will know that you are not alone in your quest for publication and that all feedback can be seen in a positive light!

Robin Kall
host, "Reading With Robin" WHJJ, Providence, RI

Joni Cole discusses what to do and what not to do in reviewing others' writing and receiving reviews, and gives pointers for holding writing workshops.

As a writer and a longtime writing workshop member, I found this book very useful. I've experienced most of the forms of toxic feedback she describes (and worse). In particular, I liked what she had to say about learning styles, about not overwhelming the reviewee with too much information or too much large-scale negative commentary, and about assessing a work in terms of what it is trying to do, not trying to make it into something else.

Vengefully, I wanted more castigation of toxic-feedback-givers, but it really wouldn't have been necessary.

I think this book is a must for anyone involved in a writing workshop or creative writing instruction.

I don't want to detract from the great reviews, I share their enthusiasm for the stories in the book. There is a black and white photo on the main page with each story, as well as -on two separate pages -a set of comprehension drawings in boxes with the same story text beneath (one drawing per sentence or two) that tell the story in drawings. These (unlike some books) are skillfully drawn by an able illustrator.
I must point out however, that the follow up questions are not the most artfully crafted but fairly typical of the genre. (e.g. true false or complete the sentence with the correct phrase, where only two phrases given have the right parts of speech for the answer- though these are supposedly comprehension questions.)
But my real beef with the book is that it's a very thin volume made with almost newsprint-weight and type paper. The printing is good quality, just the paper is the kind that is a bit cheap and doesn't stand up to any abuse. For $23 it would be nice to have something that would last. Guess that's one way to crush the used book market, eh? But can't beat the stories.

I am currently using this book as a reader for my ELL low beginning students. The simplified text along with pictures makes reading more comprehensible and meaningful; what's more,the content does not condescend to the high school reader. The accompanying exercises are handy and helpful in the areas of pronunciation, vocabulary, and comprehension. My students are always impressed by the knowledge that these are true stories. Once I tried this book, I bought the rest of Sandra Heyer's true stories books. I consider this book an excellent choice for students of low English proficiency.

Can't say enough positive things about this book and this entire series. I bought True Stories by chance last year and ever since I've slowly been buying every level.

I sent for this level two months ago, a bit concerned because I really had no idea, of how the author had laid the story out. Needn't have worried. The one or two sentence captions under each of the picture frames are so clearly illustrated that virtually any student at any level can figure out what's going on. I have a nine-year-old student who is finally motivated to read and a mature adult student who normally has terrible difficulty understanding new vocabulary, who takes great pleasure in being able to figure out new words without having to ask for a translation.

The vocabulary is repeated and then the story is printed again, in paragraph form, with an actual photograph of the hero of the chapter. The exercises following the story are well-thought out and very useful. I'm ready to get the sequel to this level - All New Very Easy True Stories. Hopefully the author will make a third book - or by then my students will be so skilled that we can go on to the next level!!!

What an incredible resource this is!

I read all the stories in my Very Easy True Stories book. My favorite story was Help! I Can't Find My Apartment. It was about a boy losing his apartment. He forgot which way to go and he didn't like his old place where he used to live. I like it because it was interesting and good and shows what to do when you get lost. All the stories tell what people said when they read it in the newspaper. I would recommend this book to 1st grade because I know a lot of first graders and I think they will enjoy it.

I read all stories in Very Easy True Stories. My favorite was The Big Tip. It was about a person who wins $6,000,000, then gives half of the money to his friend the waitress and it is her tip. I liked this story because it shows marvelous things that happen. I would recommend this book to people who are learning English because it is an easy book.

As a teacher of promotional classes for authors, I cannot recommend this book enough. As an author, I have used it personally, and it has been an excellent resource. I've learned so much about RSS feeds and how to pep up your blog.

Again, I can't recommend it enough.

I read Patrice's blog and am a fellow author of multiple books (one of which is self-published). Patrice has hit upon a maximum-impact minimum-risk strategy of publicizing and marketing your books/articles online. The efforts she outlines seem much more effective and focused than what traditional publishers are able to do for their authors, which is becoming smaller all the time.

Whether you are published by a traditional publisher or self-publish, you can use the strategies in this book to sell more of yours! Those who would benefit most are non-fiction authors with a niche audience. But Patrice does address fiction and novel authors as well.

The only thing I wanted more of was more information about doing Virtual Book Tours. Patrice does say they're a good idea, but gives no specific information on setting one up. I'd love to see that in the future or in a special report!

This is exactly the book I needed. It's essential for savvy writers. This book impacteded writing promotion plan in such a massive way. I can't praise it enough. If you want to be successful as a writer today, you need this book.

The title to THE WEB-SAVVY WRITER, by Patrice-Anne Rutledge, holds a very important key. The reader should be web-savvy. At least more so than I am, because much of this book went over my head. I would have liked more detail on some of the technical stuff, but still, it emphasized my weaknesses and showed me the areas I need to study.

I would consider this a reference manual. This is not a book you should read once and try to retain. This is a book to keep on your shelf and refer to often. This is also not a one stop shop for marketing and promoting your book, but it does cover, quite thoroughly, the aspects of electronic marketing and promotion.

Someone more tech-savvy than me (and that includes most readers) would probably find this book more useful than I did, but I must add I did gain a lot of insight and once I do bone up on some of the technical areas, will read this one again. Even with my limited technical knowledge, I will reference this book often.

Of course Rutledge covers what you would expect here for book promotions - websites, search engine optimization, blogging - but goes much further. There are chapters on such promotional methods as RSS feeds, podcasts, ezines, and even how to sell and promote your book here, on Amazon.

Perhaps the best part of the book, for me at least, was at the end where Rutledge includes several author profiles. Here the reader learns first hand what has worked best for other authors in a variety of genres. Overall, a good book, even is some of it was over my head.

What a lovely book. I'm really glad I purchased a copy for myself. I'm a SCORE volunteer counselor and quite often my clients ask about Web sites and Web site design, and how to incorporate them into their small business' marketing plan. This book is the one that comes to my mind when I recommend a tome for them to read so I don't have to go into a long-winded sermon on the ins-and-outs of building a Web site. The other book I like a lot is Susan Daffron's book entitled Web Business Success (ISBN: 0974924504).

The book has 12 chapters, but I haven't listed them below. The list below includes the topics covered in the book that I have prioritized and grouped the way I would have liked the book to read.

1. How to Design a Web site
2. Add a Blog
3. Add a Podcast
4. Add an Ezine
5. Create eBooks
6. Create audio CDs and DVDs
7. Learn about Shopping Cart technology
8. Learn about RSS technology
9. Learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
10. Learn about Online Advertising
11. Learn about Online Marketing
12. Learn about Using Amazon to Promote and Sell Your Book

My favorite topics were 1, 2, 5, 9 and 11. In my humble opinion they are the meat to putting together a Net presence using a Web site. It is these topics that I recommend my SCORE clients focus on when reading the book. I've tried the ezine thing, and I have found it to be a waste of time and effort. CDs and DVDs are beyond me at this time. But maybe in the future I might consider them as a great marketing vehicle. I think shopping cart technology is good for a retail shop. But an author with only one or two titles may want to skip it. I don't find much use for RSS technology since I don't go heavy on reading blogs. Maybe when there get to be a number of good blogs to read, then I might recommend RSS.

I have recently read a few books on using Amazon to promote and sell POD books. I think they were written after this book, and they seem to do a better job covering topic #12 above. Maybe the material on Amazon in this book is a little dated? But I saw a lot of good stuff on Amazon in this book. Consider also checking out Shepard's book entitled Aiming at Amazon (ISBN: 093849743X) and Weber's book entitled Plug Your Book! (ISBN: 0977240614).

Don't think that this book is only good for authors who want to use the Net to market their book. The principles and techniques beautifully explained in this book are equally applicable to promoting any business. So any wanta-be entrepreneur that doesn't know much about the Net or Web sites will do themselves a favor by getting this book, reading it, and then studying it. 5 stars!

As a first year teacher, I have made it my obligation to get my hands on as many resources as possible to learn my "craft." I am amazed at how much this book has changed my concept of teaching writing. I now understand what it is to "describe" a good piece of work rather than "prescribe" a good piece of work.

When I received this book after having attended a workshop, I did not know what to do with it-how to read it, understand it, but after having a year of experience and assessing my weaknesses (how to teach writing), I now understand.

I thank Katie Wood Ray for sharing herself and her findings with us.

I've taught for 21 years, but I always felt like there must be a better way to teach writing to children. This book tells how. Katie Wood Ray gives specific techniques for teaching structure, ways with words, and teaches you to teach your students to read like writers. For all of this, she uses the most marvelous children's books, most picture books but some young adult novels. I have worked on increasing my library under her direction, and I'm having a ball watching my students learn to love to write.

Katie Wood Ray has made a very readable, very usable book to help teachers teach students to 'read like writers'. I use the ideas when I am reading and reviewing new children's literature and each time I begin writing instruction with my elementary remedial students. Truly shows how to integrate student writing and good children's literature.

I have enjoyed everyword of this book. I am an aspiring English teacher who is fortunate enough to have Katie Ray's guidance as a professor and mentor. This book is one of the few that I will not sell back. This unique way of teaching writing writing is creative, relaxing, and enjoyable for both the teacher and the student. No matter what grade you teach you need this book! Katie has an amazing gift as a teacher and a writer which she expresses wonderfully in this book.

As a writer of children's books and a second grade teacher, I refer to this book often - for support, guidance, affirmation, ideas, writing help, and more. It is perfect!

I hope to have the opportunity to cross paths with the author one day...I'd love to see her speak!

I recommend it all the time to teaching colleagues, friends, writers, and editors.

As mentioned in the previous reviews this book is for the entire family and for all ages. My three-year-old daughter loves the illustrations in the book and wants us to read the book to her. So with a little tweaking she enjoys the book and participating in word play with us. Michael Kline's creativity is incredible. This book will not only improve your verbal skills but also your visual imagination. If you have never had a creative block this book with certainly help you out. I use some of the word games in my classes to increase my student's abilities to visually communicate.

Michael Kline has hit the hail on the nead with WordPlay Cafe. It's an invitation to look at and practice language in a completely different way. It takes some practice but I guarantee, once you let the imagination go, you will want to keep delving into the world of wordplay and punzles!

In WordPlay Cafe Michael Kline's banquet of word fun and lively illustrations guarantee a feast of food for thought. This guy Kline says a mouthful. He knows language and he knows how to make children want to eat their words.
-- Richard Lederer, author of Pun & Games and The Circus of Words

First there were words. Then the words were made fun. And in Wordplay Cafe author Mike Kline shows you, oh so successfully, how to make more fun with words. This interactive book teaches kids of all ages the power of words and ways to be creative with their meanings and sounds. It's a great way for kids and parents to have quality time with each other.
Mary K. Baumann and Will Hopkins
Art Directors, Kids Discover magazine
New York, NY

Kline has a wonderful sense of humour that can be appreciated by any age group. He really challenges kids (and adults) to look at language in a different way - the fun way! The book reads like a rollercoaster ride...or maybe a better analogy would pinball machine: it bounces off topics and tangents in a delightfully free-wheeling manner. Not for ADD kids, this book is meant for children who are willing to engage with subject matter for a wonderful reward. Kline's book belongs in the category of "children's books" the way that Bloom County belonged in the same comics section of the paper with Funky Winkerbean and Family Circus. This book truly works best when the whole family joins in on the fun. The activities are perfect for getting fun discussions going between children and adults. A highly recommended read for anyone (at any age) who wants to re-discover language and have fun along the way.

Tony Collings writes stories of courageous men and women who are fighting to bring the truth to their readers. Collings writes from the vantage point of an international correspondent who has risked his own life to cover world danger spots. This book should be read by anyone who values a free press.

For the American layperson who may not be familiar with the dangerous situations and murky but volatile undercurrents journalists often face in foreign trouble spots, Tony Collings book "Words of Fire" will be revealing in its accounts of journalists who have given much--even their lives--to the cause of truth and democratic ideals. As an international journalist himself, Collings knows well of what he writes. This work might even raise the level of regard in which journalists are held as defenders of the people's right to know. Here Collings is talking about the important issues shaping the growth and development of any of a myriad countries, not the latest American fad-gossip which passes for "news" on tabloid TV in the U.S. For the professional journalist with overseas experience--and I include myself in that category with friend and former CNN colleague Tony Collings--I found his work well researched, well written and a good account of what is the best in our craft.

At a time when print journalism has often been justly criticized in the U.S. as medium of entertainment, without independent moral backbone, Tony Collings has written a moving, brilliant record of the deadly struggle between a free press and totalitarian goverments around the globe. Collings is an experienced broadcast journalist and an eye-witness to much of the corruption and terror hidden and sustained by censorship everywhere, from Russia to Columbia. He argues that press freedom is an essential and enabling condition for the expansion of democratic reform in reactionary regimes. But perhaps what is most moving about WORDS OF FIRE is the many true stories of personal courage, the harrowing dangers faced by journalists in our historical era as they attempt to unmask the face of tyranny with only the truth of their words.

Author Anthony Collings knows how to bring this vital topic alive. In the USA, we take press freedom for granted. If anything, some of us feel there's too much of it about: we often sympathize with Hollywood stars who punch out swarming paparazzi. But in much of the world (and not just the kleptocracies and one-party regimes), simply getting the basic truth to press can be a career-ending or even life-threatening endeavor. Collings wisely decides to illustrate this by focussing on individual cases, many of which will astound you. This is an important book on an important subject.

At a time when print journalism has often been justly criticized in the U.S. as medium of entertainment, without independent moral backbone, Tony Collings has written a moving, brilliant record of the deadly struggle between a free press and totalitarian goverments around the globe. Collings is an experienced broadcast journalist and an eye-witness to much of the corruption and terror hidden and sustained by censorship everywhere, from Russia to Columbia. He argues that press freedom is an essential and enabling condition for the expansion of democratic reform in reactionary regimes. But perhaps what is most moving about WORDS OF FIRE is the many true stories of personal courage, the harrowing dangers faced by journalists in our historical era as they attempt to unmask the face of tyranny with only the truth of their words.

Gus Jones, the once successful author and writing instructor of Geoff Schmidt's WRITE YOUR HEART OUT, attempts to reestablish himself through his last manuscript. In developing this writing manual, however, he examines the decline of his life as he offers his own experiences to illustrate how one should write well. We see his yearning for understanding from those who would read his manual (his "dear readers" should feel compassion for him) and his near-tragic stature as well; he never fully understands all the contributing factors of his failure, although he unwittingly leads us readers to see them.

Schmidt has written an admirable book with accessible complexity. The novel appears to be a manuscript of a writing manual. Yet, Gus Jones habitually breaks his own rules in the manuscript. Further, we learn from the "Foreword" that a prominent, award-winning author, Andrew Shay, has decided to bring about the manuscript's publication. Shay, Jones' former student, has not only played prominent roles in Jones' life, but he also admits to some manipulation of the manuscript in preparing it for publication. It is difficult to resist offering spoilers in this review in order to demonstrate the intricacies of the relationships among characters; I'll just say that reading the novel again offers new rewards.

Of course, it's good the first time through. It's a spot-on parody of writing manuals. It offers rich character development, undercutting Jones' assertion that the "writing of the future" will rely almost solely on plot. It also conveys the challenge of facing a blank page as honestly as it depicts the desire to revise not only our work but our mistakes. I recommend this book highly, but I think writers and aspiring writers will get special pleasure from it.

And if you wonder whether the book is convincing, just notice that Amazon.com has attributed the afterword to a fictional character.

This excellent novel is also a how-to book that manages to be funny and heart-wrenching, sarcastic and sweet and playful but not offensive all in one. A clever parody that never belabors readers like other, ordinary how-to write books, this is a gem that meets your entertainment and your craft needs.

I had Geoff Schmidt as a teacher and sort of a mentor, and have waited for this book from him for quite awhile. Now that it is here, I don't really know what to say about it other than to recommend it to others.

Not just about writing, this is what writing is about. It was pure joy to read and still plays in my mind. A previous reviewer is exactly right: learn from the narrative, although the instructions are so off-beat that they made me think about writing from an altogether new direction. The narrative takes the form of an autobiography of a washed up writer and is entertaining in its own right with poignant characters and clever wording. The "authors" obviously had fun writing this book. In the process, they made the world a better place and made some money. What could be better.

Geoff Schmidt wrote an amazingly funny and sad and good and everything else I can't think to say novel. And the parody of a how-to book never became mean-spirited. I heard him read recently, and he cracked me up. And then he made me very, very sad. Read this one folks. Get your hands on it as quickly as you can.