Writing

Piano Lessons

Cathy LaGrow 7 Comments

Classification: Non-fiction

My littlest and I were at the library for story time last Wednesday, and I had to return a movie, and the drop slots are right there by the “used books for sale” shelves, so it’s really not my fault.

Of course I had to sidle over, to see if there was anything interesting for sale.

Of course there was. There almost always is.

Within seconds, I found a book I wanted, but I didn’t buy it right away – give me some credit. After all, as I’ve mentioned, my to-be-read collection at home now encompasses nearly two shelves of a bookcase. You do not NEED another book, I scolded myself. You put a moratorium on yourself last week, remember?

So the boy and I went into the kid’s room, where they were doing a special program on the Chinese New Year, which involved them singing songs in Chinese, which I didn’t understand, which gave me plenty of time to think about the book waiting outside on the sale shelf. Continue reading →

Dudes Who Can WRITE

Cathy LaGrow 12 Comments

As promised, here is the equal opportunity follow-up to my Chicks Who can WRITE post.

I’m often asked for book recommendations (and giving them is one of my all-time favorite activities, just so you know), so I came up with these lists as a go-to guide for friends who are looking for their next great read.

This list is a bit more eclectic than my chick’s list – whereas those ladies all write literary fiction, my dudes include some biographers, an adventure writer, a scientist, and a couple of memoirists. (There’s a reason for this lopsidedness, which I’ll explain in a future post, but, hint: I generally prefer the way women write fiction.)

The criteria are the same, this time around: the author must be living, and I must have personally read and enjoyed at least two of their books. I have included my personal favorite(s) from each of them.

Here we go, in no particular order. Continue reading →

Chicks Who Can WRITE

Cathy LaGrow 29 Comments

You can tell a lot about a person by the literary company they keep. Or at least, that’s one of my many theories.

If you’re a writer and you want to improve your own skills, you HAVE to read great writing. Here is a short list of my favorite female authors: chicks who (in my opinion) can write circles around almost everyone else. (Dudes Who Can Write will come in another post.) These women write sentences that are so crazy-good, I often stop and read a particular one over and over.

My own arbitrary criteria for this list are: the writer must be living, and I must have personally read and enjoyed at least 2 of their books. This eliminated a whole lot of one-hit-wonders whose books I LOVED. I’m limiting this post to 10 writers.

With most of these chicks, you can scarcely go wrong by picking up something they wrote. Here they are, in no particular order, along with my personal favorites of their work. Continue reading →

Writing that rocks – A Fine Balance

Cathy LaGrow 6 Comments

Oprah and I have a bit of a checkered past.

I mean, no, we don’t technically have a relationship. If we did, I probably wouldn’t be hanging out on Twitter, or blogging. I’d probably be filming road trips with her and going on month-long vacations to Italy, and I’d have a nanny and a chef and a make-up artist, and I’d wear designer clothes and I’d eat really, really well…

Just look at Gayle.

I’m sorry, where were we? Continue reading →

Short Stories can rock. Honest.

Cathy LaGrow 9 Comments

I used to hate short stories. Well, “hate” is a strong word. But I really, really disliked them.

Short stories, at least to someone who loves Really Big Books, can feel like a gyp. Just when the tale is taking off and gaining momentum and you’re invested in the characters – bam, it’s over. You feel like you’ve been a victim of “bait and switch.”  False advertising. Premature elucidation.

The few short stories I had read weren’t even very good. So for a long while, I steered clear.

Then my oldest brother (those boys crop up here often, don’t they?) went to Canada on vacation, and brought me back a short story collection written by the person who would become my Favorite Living Writer (more on her in a future post, I promise.) My mind was forever changed. Well-executed short stories ROCK. Continue reading →