How to Read Like a Writer: 10 Lessons to Elevate Your Reading and Writing Practice

“Writers read words the way mechanics study engines,” suggests Pushman, director of the writing center at Limestone College, in her helpful debut. Reading and writing are similar crafts, according to Pushman, and “reading like a writer” means paying attention to how a piece of writing, whether a micro-essay on social media or a novel, was constructed. To that end, she offers advice in chapters organized by genre, including hybrid works (which “offer a new trip over otherwise-familiar terrain”) and online dispatches (which require “an additional layer of reading skills”). She then touches on plot (watching for conflict helps), structure (go back after finishing to really look at it), and character development (“sketch out the physical details you’ve read about a character”). Smart writing prompts round out each section, and Pushman has a handful of example texts she refers to throughout—she draws upon passages from Zadie Smith’s “The Embassy of Cambodia” several times, for instance, to explore the ways Smith builds detail. The approach is methodical, and Pushman’s “how they did it” explanations are reliably insightful. Those looking to get the most out of their reading experience and get the pen moving should give this a look. (Jan.)