There are innumerable books (Know Best English Books) out there that claim to help you improve your skills, whether you’re studying English as a second language or want to improve your writing skills. Some of the books are fantastic, while others are completely worthless. Here are two basic truths: strong writers are also readers, and writing abilities can be taught. Reading books on writing is a great way to complete two tasks at once. So, let’s look at some of the top books for improving your English, whether you’re an ESL student, an aspiring author or just someone trying to enhance your reading, writing and speaking skills.
Following are the Best English Books to Enhance your Command
- Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
Best for: Bloggers and content developers
Every day, millions of fresh blog posts and other pieces of material are published on the internet. Ann Handley’s book is a must-have guide for content creators who want to stand out in a crowded market. She covers everything from how to write grammar and how to use the best practices in an approachable manner. Handley’s strategy for developing content with an emphasis on empathizing with the reader and presenting a wonderful tale is everyone’s favorite part. This isn’t simply a how-to manual; it’ll also assist you in determining what to write.
- Write Tight: Say Exactly What You Mean with Precision and Power by William Brohaugh
Best for: All authors
Writers are urged to write in a lean and concise manner. Which is excellent advice, but how do you put it into practice? In this book, Brohaugh, a former Writer’s Digest editor, provides all of the important how-tos. He teaches authors how to reduce redundancy, empty modifiers, and other dead weight that slows down the writing process. Brohaugh’s handbook offers some stunning Aha! moments when you first read it, despite it being criticized for being a little pedantic, which is why it is warmly recommended.
- The Big Book of Words You Should Know, by David Olsen, Michelle Bevilacqua, and Justin Cord Hayes
Best for: All authors
This is the book for you if you want to enhance your vocabulary. Your fluency with this marvelous language will explode in the most brilliant way possible by learning words like “halcyon” and “sagagious” (which you may come across in books or wish to incorporate into your own writing), as well as “schlimazel” and “thaumaturgy” (ask your English teacher to define those on the spot!).
- The Mother Tongue – English, and How It Got That Way, by Bill Bryson
Best for: New learners
This author’s work is consistently brilliant, and The Mother Tongue is no exception. Bryson tells a fascinating story about the beginnings of the English language, peppered with excellent insight into the language’s total oddity.
- The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker
Best for: All authors
Although The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is a timeless classic, its prescriptive approach to language isn’t for everyone. Steven Pinker, a Harvard professor, offers a more modern perspective. His funny approach realises that language is flexible, and although knowing and following the rules when it makes sense is important, expressive writing often depends on breaking them. This book may be difficult for newcomers to writing, but it’s packed with tips for those who already know the basics of grammar and style and want to improve.
- You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) by Jeff Goins
Best for: Bloggers, content providers, and independent writers
Jeff Goins turned his passion for writing into a lucrative profession as a writer, blogger, and speaker. If you want to be a successful writer, Goins will show you how. ‘You Are a Writer’ is more about the business of getting your hard work acknowledged than it is on the art of writing. It’s a terrific place to start if you want to expand your platform and become a professional writer.
- 1001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, and Earn Your Audience by Chuck Wendig
Best for: Authors of fiction
Chuck Wendig’s work isn’t for the faint of heart or easily offended; it’s full of sharp comedy, social satire, and profanity. His book, on the other hand, is a timely guide to becoming a better fiction writer, delivered in bite-sized truth bombs. This is coming from a prominent blogger, screenwriter, and novelist who has written a number of books, including the New York Times bestseller Star Wars: Aftermath.
- On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Best for: Authors of fiction
On Writing should be on everyone’s should-read (or revisit) list if they want to publish a book. King’s book is a contemporary classic that is half writing how-to and part autobiographical. The best part of the book is King’s anecdotes on how his early circumstances shaped him as a writer. You will be struck by King’s story of how he slumped on the floor when his editor called to inform him that the paperback rights to Carrie, his blockbuster book, had sold for $400,000.
On Writing not only tells the narrative of one of the world’s most successful writers, but it also teaches the art of writing in a conversational and natural style, as if he’s a mentor sitting across the table from you, drinking coffee and offering you his finest advise.
- The Chicago Manual of Style
Best for: Everyone
This book is the most important resource for anybody writing for a North American readership. This book will walk you through all of the writing standards you’ll ever need, whether you’re writing a letter to a foreign dignitary, referencing research in an academic paper, or editing someone else’s work. Since a side note, people find the Oxford Style Manual to be quite useful when dealing with customers in the United Kingdom, as there are some significant variances in writing standards on both sides of the Atlantic, and having a thorough understanding of both can only assist any writer.
There is a plethora of additional materials available to writers of all ability levels, but the books on this list are among the finest and most comprehensive. They’ll provide as a solid basis for one’s writing practice, and although it may seem contradictory, authors may be surprised by what they can learn by reviewing some of the fundamentals or diving into manuals that are more advanced than what they’re used to.
- Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within Natalie Goldberg
Best for: Writers that are creative.
Natalie Goldberg’s approach to writing is straightforward: you must connect with yourself if you want to write truly and passionately. She urges authors to trust their brains and bodies by using Zen principles to encourage them to follow their initial ideas. Her inspiring and wildly inventive approaches have been helping authors discover their voices for over thirty years, and her voice is approachable and sometimes vulnerable.
Some additional books that you can read, apart from the above-mentioned ones.
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Best for: Writers that are creative.
Writers have a tendency to take themselves too seriously at times. Anne Lamott takes the sting out of the things that bring authors sorrow, from perfectionism to sleeplessness, by providing readers a look into her own human faults. She pulls it off with her trademark wit and self-deprecating humor. It’s like having a crazy writer aunt to talk to about your problems. In the process, you’ll pick up a few new skills.
- Stein On Writing by Sol Stein
Best for: Best for creative authors.
There are several books that provide guidance on how to cope with writer’s distress, get unstuck creatively, and live a wordsmith’s life. One such book is Stein On Writing. This book is a master class by an experienced editor, author, and instructor if you’re ready to get into the guts and bolts of exceptional writing and genuinely grow at your trade.
- The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers, by John Gardner
Best for: Fiction writers
This book is a must-have for everyone who wants to write fiction. It will teach you how to write a polished sentence, create characters that readers won’t want to dismember, and avoid clichés. Gardner is a challenging teacher, but if you can set your ego aside, you’ll get a lot out of this book.
- The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
Best for: All writers
This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest works on composition and style. If you only have a few English grammar and writing reference books in your collection, make this one of them.
- The Gregg Reference Manual, by William Sabin
Best for: Everyone
It’s perhaps the most thorough reference on style, grammar, use, and formatting, and it’s equally useful for students and professionals. It really contains everything you need to know about writing papers, essays, and letters, as well as advice on how to approach different types of individuals (senators, bishops, military members, and more).
These are some of the best books that you can read to enhance your reading, writing, and speaking skills. Although, these are only 15 books that have been mentioned but there lies a whole world of books that once if you enter, would never want to leave. So, what are you waiting for? Go and begin your reading.
