Writers Gotta Read: Where to Find Book Recs and A Short List of Suggested Reading for YA Authors

I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Next month is National Book Month!

Attend any writing class or conference and someone is bound to tell you if you want to learn how to write well, read a lot of books. This is timeless advice. 

To write well, there are required three necessaries: to read the best authors, observe the best speakers, and much exercise of his own style.

Ben Jonson (1640)

Read your genre, but also read other genres. While craft books are a must, don’t limit yourself to only how-to books, but immerse yourself in novels.

Where to Find Book Recommendations

I asked a bunch of readers where they get most of their recommendations. Goodreads is a popular choice. Facebook book groups, the Bookstagram Community on Instagram, and Booktube also top the list, but let’s not forget the old-fashioned bookstore, friends, and librarian recommendations. 

If you’re looking for a specific genre or type of book, Goodreads is a good place to start. Readers can sort their books by shelves, tagging and categorizing books. Goodreads is great for organizing to-be-read lists, books you’ve read, and posting opinions and reviews.

My all-time favorite place to find bookish friends and book recommendations is in the Bookstagram community on Instagram. It’s fun to connect with readers of all sorts. It’s an easy way to find a genre or type of book.

I write YA Contemporary, but struggle to stay within a single genre for the posts I upload because I love books so much. I tend to roam widely in the Bookstagram community and check out what other bookish folks are reading. What’s a writer without a massive, impossible to finish TBR list?

Genre Specific Recommendations

Some of my YA author friends suggested a few books to specifically help YA writers hone their craft. I am listing both novels and instructional books.

Sara Baysinger writes YA fantasy, and is the author of The Vanishing Spark of Dust, Ashen City, Black Tiger, and White Dawn.

Her recommendations:

Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell is Sara’s go to craft book. I agree with this one wholeheartedly! My copy is dog-eared and highlighted. (This book is part of the Write Great Fiction by Writer’s Digest. The entire series is excellent.) 

For fantasy writers, Sara recommends The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi. 

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Diana Sharples is a multi-published author of Contemporary YA (Running Lean and Running Strong) and Contemporary YA Mysteries (Finding Hero, and The Because…series.) Diana has turned her pen to mostly mystery these days, so I asked her for books to help YA writers interested in that genre.

Her recommendations:

She chose A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (added this one to my list!) and

Writing and Selling your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron.

Diana also recommended Felicia Bridges novels for those interested in YA Historical fiction.

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Tara Ross is the author of the YA Contemporary Fade to White and the host of The Hope Prose podcast for writers.

Her recommendations:

Tara picked Nadine Brandes’ Fawkes for Historical Fantasy and Shawn Smucker’s The Day the Angels Fell for Contemporary Magical Realism. 

She loves The Emotional Craft of Fiction for an inspiring and educational craft book. For practical use, Tara recommends anything by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, but The Emotional Thesaurus is a fav of hers. I second The Emotional Thesaurus. It’s a great, easy to use, tool to help a writer get unstuck when describing emotions.

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My Picks:

In addition to popular fiction, I read classics, curious as to what gives them their staying power. One classic YA writers may want to peruse is The Outsiders. 

I write contemporary young adult and enjoy authors such as Laurie Halse Anderson, Jason Reynolds (The Boy in the Black Suit), Laura Namey (The Library of Lost Things), Alison Gervias (The Silence Between Us), Kasi West and Jenni Han (for romance), and more! 

For craft, books by Writer’s Digest Publishing always seem to provide solid advice.

What about you? Where do you get your book recommendations? Do you have any must reads for young adult writers?

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.