In this column, members of the editing community share what’s on their (physical) bookshelf and highlight a few notable titles. If you’d like to show us your bookshelf, or part of it, let us know!
Andrea Cole (she/her) is a youth facilitator, a 3-time Paralympic swimmer, and a trained editor with a teaching and coaching background. Her bookshelf is in Sioux Lookout, Ontario.
My favourite new dictionary is the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary for Learners of English. It combines definitions with more specific usage notes than a regular dictionary, and I enjoy learning the finer points of American English as I use it (e.g., idioms, related words, and additional usage notes). Or a really fast and fun read is The Well-Tempered Sentence, by Karen Elizabeth Gordon. I was immediately drawn to the witty and concise examples in this punctuation handbook. I will definitely read it again and again. Another valuable resource is A Digital Bundle: Protecting and Promoting Indigenous Knowledge Online, by Jennifer Wemigwans. The book thoroughly explains the effects of colonialism in relation to digital media, referencing FourDirectionsTeachings.com as an important example of how Indigenous communities are shaping their own online presence.
Keith Goddard (he/his) is the editor-in-chief of BoldFace. His bookshelf is in Toronto.
Besides the staples that many editors have, I’ve come across a few excellent books this year. The Freelance Editor’s Handbook: A Complete Guide to Making Your Business Thrive, by Suzy Bills, includes the usual topics like coming up with a business plan, finding clients, and networking. But it also covers imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and procrastination, as well as time management and productivity (apps, templates, shortcuts, macros, etc.). I particularly liked the section on coming up with your unique selling proposition (USP) and appreciated that the author included examples of good and not-so-good propositions. There is also an appendix with editor resources, and a bibliography with suggestions for further reading.
Also, I highly recommend Robert Gottlieb’s memoir, Avid Reader: A Life. (In 2022, his daughter directed a documentary about his working relationship with Robert Caro.) This book has plenty of interesting stories from Gottlieb’s decades-long career at Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf, and The New Yorker. There are a lot of reminiscences packed into this book, but here are a few quotes I appreciated.
On deciding to call President Bill Clinton “Bill” while working on his presidential memoir: “I couldn’t envisage myself saying things like ‘I think we need a semi-colon here, Mr. President.’ “
One of his caveats of book editing: “Take every detail seriously, since we just don’t know what makes certain books do better than others. Except, or course, their innate qualities.”
On working quickly: “It certainly helped my early career that I turned manuscripts around overnight or over a weekend—agents were happy and authors even happier.”
And something that may give us all a confidence boost if we ever need one: “Although I mistrusted myself in many areas of life, I never mistrusted my judgement as a reader.”
Josephine Mo (she/her) is an acquisitions editor at a higher education publisher. Her bookshelf is in Toronto.
On my bookshelf, you’ll find the genres I escape to: fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, and magical realism. I’m a devotee of Haruki Murakami (as you’ll see on the second shelf) because his writing has a distinct simplicity and flow: as soon as you read the first few lines, you’ll surrender yourself (and your disbelief) to the seemingly mundane but surreal story that ensues. Murakami has explained that he “learned the importance of rhythm from music—and mainly from jazz.” I think rhythm is key to good writing, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, because it’s how you guide your readers to grasp an idea, follow a character’s struggle, and reach a breakthrough. From an editor’s standpoint, I think it’s one of the harder things to “edit.”
Though it’s not about words per se, The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, is a book about books. It’s an immersive story about an antiquarian book dealer’s son, Daniel, who becomes obsessed with a book (as one does) and, after deciding to read the author’s complete works within a week, discovers that someone has been destroying every copy of every book that author has written. As Daniel dives deeper into the investigation, you become lost in his journey, the mysterious author’s riveting story, and the uncanny parallels between them. It’s a book with murder, doomed love, and a charismatic sidekick—what else can you ask for?
Admittedly, nearly all my editing-related books were required or recommended by instructors during my publishing certificate program. Of these, Practical Grammar: A Canadian Writer’s Resource (Third Edition), by Maxine Ruvinsky, is one of my favourites because it’s a deceivingly thin book that is packed with information, tips, and exercises for an intense refresher on English grammar. The way that Ruvinsky succinctly covers everything from parts of speech to parallelism is admirable and something I strive for in my own writing. Thanks for visiting my bookshelf, and I hope yours might have space for some of my recommendations!
This article was copy edited by Tim McCauley, a freelance writer, editor, and tutor in Ottawa, Canada.
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