A King in a Bookstore

Whenever I come across a book on writing I take it as a sign that my writing needs a lot of improvement, right away. When I find any book on writing I like to think that there is something in the book that I need to learn if I am to write well. Though I have bought scores of such books on writing all that reading doesn’t seem to have done any good to my writing considering the way I am writing. However I really feel I’ll come across that book that will finally show me the way. It is in the hope of finding such books that I picked up this book yesterday.

It was at a second hand book store at Nampally that I found Brenda Ueland’s ‘If You Want to Write’ which I have read about somewhere in another book, which, needless to say, was also on writing. The price penciled on the inside cover was hundred bucks, and wordlessly I handed over the money to the guy because on his card was written- “Customer is king and king never bargains’, which is pretty self-explanatory why I did not bargain. One rarely gets to be called a ‘king’ even if it is in a second hand bookstore.

Brenda Ueland wrote ‘If You Want to Write’ way back in 1938 and incidentally she lived to be more than ninety years. Inside, in the preface, Ueland writes about what Carl Sandburg said about her book, which was: ‘That is the best book ever written on writing.’ Much water has flown down the bridge since then and many books written on writing by famous writers. I rate Somerset Maugham’s ‘The Summing Up’ one of the best books on writing I’ve ever read. Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ is another favorite book. Elmore Leonard too has written a book on writing though I haven’t come across it here.

Some day I will attempt a review of ‘If You Want to Write.’