11 must-read reference books like The Elements of Style by E.B. White, William Strunk Jr.

Cover of The Elements of Style by E.B. White, William Strunk Jr.

The Elements of Style

By: E.B. White , William Strunk Jr.

4.18

Format: 105 pages, Hardcover

This style manual offers practical advice on improving writing skills. Throughout, the emphasis is …

"He owned"

-E.B. White, The Elements of Style

"To achieve style, begin by affecting none."

-E.B. White, The Elements of Style

"Writers will often find themselves steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion."

-E.B. White, The Elements of Style

"When a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor."

-E.B. White, The Elements of Style

If you liked the reference plot in The Elements of Style by E.B. White, William Strunk Jr. , here is a list of 11 books like this:

Cover of Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

1. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

By: Lynne Truss

3.87

Format: 209 pages, Hardcover

Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in e-mail and now "txt msgs", we have made … read more

Similar categories in Lynne Truss's Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • language
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
  • education
  • self help
"The rule is: don’t use commas like a stupid person. I mean it."

-Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

"Those spineless types who talk about abolishing the apostrophe are missing the point."

-Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

"I hear there are now Knightsbridge clinics offering semicolonic irrigation – but for many it may be too late."

-Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

"...punctuation marks are the traffic signals of language: they tell us to slow down, notice this, take a detour, and stop."

-Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

Cover of Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

2. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

By: Natalie Goldberg

4.21

Format: 336 pages, Paperback

For more than twenty years Natalie Goldberg has been challenging and cheering on writers with her b… read more

Similar categories in Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • self help
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
"Write about “leaving."

-Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

"keep your hand moving"

-Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

"Begin with “I remember."

-Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

"We learn writing by doing it."

-Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

Cover of Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation's Top Advocates by Ross Guberman

3. Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation's Top Advocates

By: Ross Guberman

3.77

Format: None pages, Paperback

With Point Made, legal writing expert Ross Guberman throws a life preserver to attorneys, who are u… read more

Similar categories in Ross Guberman's Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation's Top Advocates book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • language
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
  • business
  • self help
Cover of On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser

4. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

By: William Zinsser

4.24

Format: 321 pages, Paperback

On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It … read more

Similar categories in William Zinsser's On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • communication
  • language
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
  • education
  • business
  • self help
"Less is more."

-William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

"Truth needs no adornment."

-William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

"Don't be kind of bold. Be bold."

-William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

"Writers are the custodians of memory..."

-William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

Cover of The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner

5. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

By: John Gardner

4.01

Format: 30 pages, Paperback

This classic guide, from the renowned novelist and professor, has helped transform generations of a… read more

Similar categories in John Gardner's The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
Cover of The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker

6. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

By: Steven Pinker

4.10

Format: 224 pages, Hardcover

Why is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English language being corrupt… read more

Similar categories in Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • reference
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • language
Cover of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

7. Bird by Bird

By: Anne Lamott

4.24

Format: 238 pages, Paperback

A newer edition of this title can be found here. "Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten… read more

Similar categories in Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • self help
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
"Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."

-Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

"A writer paradoxically seeks the truth and tells lies every step of the way."

-Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

"You don't always have to chop with the sword of truth. You can point with it too."

-Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

"If your wife locks you out of the house, you don't have a problem with your door."

-Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Cover of The Elements of Style by E.B. White, William Strunk Jr.

8. The Elements of Style

By: E.B. White , William Strunk Jr.

4.18

Format: 105 pages, Hardcover

This style manual offers practical advice on improving writing skills. Throughout, the emphasis is … read more

Similar categories in E.B. White's The Elements of Style book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • communication
  • classics
  • school
  • language
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
  • education
  • business
  • self help
"He owned"

-E.B. White, The Elements of Style

"To achieve style, begin by affecting none."

-E.B. White, The Elements of Style

"Writers will often find themselves steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion."

-E.B. White, The Elements of Style

"When you say something, make sure you have said it. The chances of your having said it are only fair."

-E.B. White, The Elements of Style

9. Zen in the Art of Writing

By: Ray Bradbury

3.75

Format: 368 pages, Paperback

"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a land mine. The land mine is me. After the explosion,… read more

Similar categories in Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

10. Writing to Learn: How to Write--And Think--Clearly about Any Subject at All

By: William Zinsser

3.78

Format: 438 pages, Paperback

This is an essential book for everyone who wants to write clearly about any subject and use writing… read more

Similar categories in William Zinsser's Writing to Learn: How to Write--And Think--Clearly about Any Subject at All book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

11. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them

By: Francine Prose

3.17

Format: 319 pages, Paperback

In her entertaining and edifying New York Timesbestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites … read more

Similar categories in Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

12. Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies

By: Sol Stein

4.36

Format: 303 pages,

read more

Similar categories in Sol Stein's Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

Cover of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne, None

13. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print

By: Renni Browne , None

4.24

Format: 288 pages, Paperback

"A superb tutorial for anyone wanting to learn from pros how to polish fiction writing with panache… read more

Similar categories in Renni Browne's Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • language
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
  • education
  • self help
"Movies and television may be influencing writers to write more visually, using immediate scenes with specific points of view to put their stories across. But fiction can always accomplish something t…"

-Renni Browne, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print

14. Characters and Viewpoint

By: Orson Scott Card

4.35

Format: 255 pages, Paperback

Vivid and memorable characters aren't born: they have to be made. This book is a set of tools: lite… read more

Similar categories in Orson Scott Card's Characters and Viewpoint book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

15. Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew

By: Ursula K. Le Guin

4.00

Format: 274 pages, Paperback

Ursula K. Le Guin generously shares the accumulated wisdom of a lifetime's work. read more

Similar categories in Ursula K. Le Guin's Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

16. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

By: Stephen King

3.96

Format: None pages, Mass Market Paperback

On Writing begins with King's childhood and his uncannily early focus on writing to tell a story. K… read more

Similar categories in Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

17. Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer

By: Roy Peter Clark

4.54

Format: 253 pages, Hardcover

One of America's most influential writing teachers offers a toolbox from which writers of all kinds… read more

Similar categories in Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

18. The Best Punctuation Book, Period: A Comprehensive Guide for Every Writer, Editor, Student, and Businessperson

By: June Casagrande

4.29

Format: 144 pages,

This all-in-one reference is a quick and easy way for book, magazine, online, academic, and busines… read more

Similar categories in June Casagrande's The Best Punctuation Book, Period: A Comprehensive Guide for Every Writer, Editor, Student, and Businessperson book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

19. Essays of E.B. White

By: E.B. White

4.33

Format: None pages, Paperback

The classic collection by one of the greatest essayists of our time. read more

Similar categories in E.B. White's Essays of E.B. White book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

Cover of What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) by Peter Ginna

20. What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

By: Peter Ginna

4.16

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

Editing is an invisible art where the very best work goes undetected. Editors strive to create book… read more

Similar categories in Peter Ginna's What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • school
  • language
  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference
  • business
"Every book is a community event."

-Peter Ginna, What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

Cover of The Last Fifty Pages: The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings (Bell on Writing) by James Scott Bell

21. The Last Fifty Pages: The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings (Bell on Writing)

By: James Scott Bell

4.18

Format: 110 pages, Kindle Edition

“The first page of a book sells that book. The last page sells your next book.” –– Mickey Spillane … read more

Similar categories in James Scott Bell's The Last Fifty Pages: The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings (Bell on Writing) book and E.B. White's The Elements of Style

  • nonfiction
  • writing
  • reference

11 best-selling nonfiction books like The Elements of Style by E.B. White, William Strunk Jr.

Transform Your Habits

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

Lynne Truss

3.87

Transform Your Habits

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

Natalie Goldberg

4.21

Transform Your Habits

Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation's Top Advocates

Ross Guberman

3.77

Transform Your Habits

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

William Zinsser

4.24

View all the books

12 Best audiobook books like The Last Fifty Pages: The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings (Bell on Writing) by James Scott Bell

Transform Your Habits

Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development

K.M. Weiland

4.31

Transform Your Habits

Write to Market: Deliver a Book that Sells (Write Faster, Write Smart, #3)

Chris Fox

4.42

Transform Your Habits

5,000 Words Per Hour: Write Faster, Write Smarter

Chris Fox

4.20

Transform Your Habits

The Rose and the Thorn (The Riyria Chronicles, #2)

Michael J. Sullivan

4.18

View all the books

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