Many of us probably own a potentially embarrassing number of books that deal with the craft of writing. Unsurprisingly, I have bought more than I have actually studied. My usual routine is that I pick up a new writing book and by the time it arrives, I have convinced myself that the best way to improve is by reading, and that method books are distracting and a form of procrastination. (I buy most non-fiction books in paper format, so it always takes a bit before they get here.)
My latest purchases include: Steering The Craft (Ursula Le Guin), Sin And Syntax (Constance Hale), The Making Of A Story (Alice LaPlante), Reading Like A Writer (Francine Prose), Monkeys With Typewriters (Scarlett Thomas), and Zen in the Art of Writing (Ray Bradbury). The ones I already own, well, too many to list! I intend to actually read through those I mentioned (here we go, a public declaration!), as some kind of DIY "course". (I got the idea from
this blog.)
Are there any books on writing that you particularly loved and learned much from? (Those may be different answers. I greatly enjoyed reading Stephen King's On Writing, and found it immensely entertaining, but it was inspiring more than it was educating.)