The Writing Librarian: Resource Books

I will update this list as I go. Most recently read books will always go to the top of their respective lists.

Books exploring what it is to be an author:

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

by Anne Lamott

Writing Great Books for Young Adults: Everything You Need to Know, From Crafting the Idea to Landing a Publishing Deal
by Regina Brooks

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

by Natalie Goldberg

Books for the youth writer:
(as in, 'I am a teenager and I want to write')

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook
by Anne Mazer

Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly

by Gail Carson Levine

What's Your Story: A Young Person's Guide to Writing Fiction
by Marion Dane Bauer

Exploring the craft of writing:

Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern

From Plot to Narrative by Elizabeth Ellis

New Well Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon
(I'm such a sucker for these well-put-together and awesome book titles!)

Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You Will Ever Need

by Blake Snyder

Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies
by Blake Snyder

Save the Cat! Strikes Back: More Trouble for Screenwriters to Get Into by Blake Snyder
... you may ask, why screenwriter's guides? I'll tell you, because they really are that good.

Story Structure Architect: A Writer's Guide to Building Dramatic Situations and Compelling Characters
by Victoria Schmidt

... I think I need this one now too:

Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time

by Jordan Rosenfeld

Spunk and Bite: A Writer's Guide to Punchier, More Engaging Language and Style
by Arthur Plotnik

Beware: This book could be dangerous in an overly zealous newbie-writer's hands. Wise advice I got from a friend, "Never reveal everything all at once, it's nice to have hidden treasures that are there to be discovered by those who are willing to take the walk"

...oooh, this one looks interesting:

Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose

by Constance Hale

Elements of Style
by E. B. White

Analytics and Theory:

Script and Text Analysis
by Katherine Farmer
More information: http://storyconeanalysis.com/?page_id=13
(you'll have to wait for it, it's not published yet)
... really? Do I really need this? I just want to write my feelings, isn't that good enough? Simply put: No

Story: Structure, Substance, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
by Robert McKee

Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence
by Lisa Cron

Books I obsessively read:

Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
by Raymond Kurzweil

Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution and the Birth of America
by Steven Johnson

Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson

Pinball Effect: How Renaissance Water Gardens Made the Carburetor Possible, and other Journeys Through Knowledge
by James Burke

Artist's Way
By Julie Cameron

More Books I enjoy:

Freakonomics : A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

&

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitues, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
by Steven D. Levitt

Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting it Right When You Have to
by Sian Beilock

On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind's Hard-Wired Habits
by Wray Herbert

Editing / Book Recommendations

A collection of books I have either read or reviewed that teach editing, for both writers and editors of books. Not limited to recent publications only--I am a librarian after all. Many of these books are still available in libraries.

As an Editor, or an Author for Self-Education:

Chicago Manual of Style by Chicago University Press

Elements of Style by Strunk and White

Elements of Editing: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists by Arthur Plotnik.

Mostly for journalists and newsmen, but do check out chapter 8 for book editors that includes a great not-to-be-missed description on 'What is a Book Editor?'

For Authors on Editing Themselves:

Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers by Betsy Lerner

Revision and Self Editing for Publication: Techniques for Transforming Your First Draft into a Novel that Sells by James Bell

The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself by Susan Bell

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print by Renni Browne

Rewrite Right: Your Guide to Perfectly Polished Prose by Jan Venolia

Practical, easy to read, and precise. Great for both beginning editors as well as authors.

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Classic guide to writing non-fiction, and/or the informal guide to writing non-fiction. Good reference for clear, understandable and concise writing.

The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well by Paula LaRocque

Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Joseph Williams

For Fun, Reference, and Authorial Education