There is only one thing that inspires me more than life: reading.
With every amazing book I read, I’m inspired to write.
With every well-crafted story, I learn.
With every author’s bio, I believe in the possibilities.
If you want to write, READ!
The “H’s” and then some
The following are a few of my favorite books that I have either found 1) inspiring, 2) learned from or 3) thrilled by the author–and in no particular order.
New(ish) as in I read roughly this past year:
Yes, Yes Cherries, Mary Otis (triple threat)
Johnathan Unleashed, Meg Rosoff (love the character building)
A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman (character, character, inspiring, inspiring)
Watching Edie, Camilla Way (POV lesson)
Harmony, Carolyn Parkhurst (POV lesson and voice!)
How to Build a Girl, Caitlin Moran (gritty character and badass author)
Butterflies in November, Audur Ava Olafsdottir (inspiring and characters!)
The Woman who Walked into Doors, Roddy Doyle (inspiring)
Older (as in I read more than a couple years ago, but not in school):
Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
Geek Love, Katherine Dunn
Anything by Raold Dahl
The Stranger, Albert Camus (okay, I read it in high school, but still love)
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver (I was living in Minnesota)
Lush Life, Richard Price
Love Medicine, Louis Erdrich (I was living in Minnesota)
The Van, Roddy Doyle (my Irish period)
I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
And the list goes on…. Read on while you write on. The two go hand in hand.
The “Ts” and “Vs” and then some…
The Writings of J Clay 
OMG, your books are alphabetical! I’m too lame to do that, but Mary Otis book is by my bed, that much I know! Oddly, I just read a nonfiction book (bought based on a review!) of someone I’ve never even heard of and loved it! (The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson)
Of course they are alpha! Is there any other way 🙂 And the nonfiction are alpha at the end… just before the writing books that are alpha. You should know me!