Every book I read for my creative writing degree, rated & reviewed 📚

Описание: From literary fiction to short stories, these 80 books transformed me as a writer. Let's tier-rank and review every single book I read for my Masters degree in Creative Writing.

All opinions are my own

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↠ CHAPTERS ↞
0:00 - let’s talk books ya’ll
1:25 - the rules of the game
2:41 - literary fiction
22:30 - short stories
27:27 - poetry
28:50 - nonfiction
37:28 - to be continued!

↠ MENTIONED ↞
(In order of appearance)

LITERARY FICTION
“The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides: https://amzn.to/4ghmyHN
“Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://amzn.to/3XA9rt1
“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy: https://amzn.to/3MAbnMT
“Sing, Unburied, Sing” by Jesmyn Ward: https://amzn.to/3Xgvdl3
“All The Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr: https://amzn.to/3XwTUeB
“Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://amzn.to/4dR0YIu
“Dream House” by Valerie Laken: https://amzn.to/4dSIp6O
“Lavinia” by Ursula K. Le Guin: https://amzn.to/3XdmEaW
“March” by Geraldine Brooks: https://amzn.to/3XdmEaW
“A Place For Us” by Fatima Farheen Mirza: https://amzn.to/4g7i4nj
“Kaleidoscope” by Cecily Wong: https://amzn.to/3MAUwcY
“If Not For This” by Pete Fromm: https://amzn.to/3ThPuFW
“A Job You Mostly Won’t Know How to Do” by Pete Fromm: https://amzn.to/47wBRIZ
“Practical Magic” by Alice Hoffman: https://amzn.to/47egrQA
“Homecoming” by Kate Morton: https://amzn.to/3ZhnaXV
“Daisy Jones and the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid: https://amzn.to/47fVAw6
“The Falcon’s Eyes” by Francesca Stanfill: https://amzn.to/3Thx8EY
“An Irish Country Doctor” by Patrick Taylor: https://amzn.to/4d0wa70
“This Is Happiness” by Niall Williams: https://amzn.to/4cWY4Rs
“On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong: https://amzn.to/3Xuv52T
“Lighthousekeeping” by Jeanette Winterson: https://amzn.to/4e8ave2
“At Home At the End of the World” by Michael Cunningham: https://amzn.to/4dSc5AX
“Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier: https://amzn.to/4ghnqw3
“The Secret History” by Donna Tartt: https://amzn.to/3zfG0UE

SHORT STORIES
“Stories of Your Life and Others” by Ted Chiang: https://amzn.to/3zgrZWL
“A Good Man is Hard to Find & Other Stories” by Flannery O’Connor: https://amzn.to/4dR1OoC
“Bluebeard’s Egg” by Margaret Atwood: https://amzn.to/4dWW11a
“The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by A.S. Byatt: https://amzn.to/3AQtzzc
“Smoke and Mirrors” by Neil Gaiman: https://amzn.to/47iuV1F
“Snow White, Blood Red” edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling: https://amzn.to/47nmNNG
“Dubliners” by James Joyce: https://amzn.to/3ZgfN2W
“Unforeseen” by Molly Gloss: https://amzn.to/47iv1X5
“Memory Wall” by Anthony Doerr: https://amzn.to/3ZwJZqX
“The Shell Collector” by Anthony Doerr: https://amzn.to/3MzGAQ9

POEMS
“The Historians” by Eavan Boland: https://amzn.to/3Z9afr5
“Beowulf” translated by Seamus Heaney: https://amzn.to/3Zdklas
“The Four Quartets” by T.S. Eliot: https://amzn.to/47hdFdl

NONFICTION
“The Artist’s Journey” by Kent Nerburn: https://amzn.to/47cBqDj
“The Gift of Presence” by Caroline Welch: https://amzn.to/3Xfdg6v
“On Writing” by Stephen King: https://amzn.to/47hCbv1
“Thrill Me” by Benjamin Percy: https://amzn.to/3zaxx5g
“Refuse to Be Done” by Matt Bell: https://amzn.to/3TiRmOq
“The Craft of Revision” by Donald M. Murray: https://amzn.to/3Mvwjoi
“Steering the Craft” by Ursula K. Le Guin: https://amzn.to/3XdKWl4
“Adorning the Dark” by Andrew Peterson: https://amzn.to/4dWTgN9
“Art and Faith” by Makoto Fujimura: https://amzn.to/3AQu3W2
“This Homeward Ache” by Amy Baik Lee: https://amzn.to/3XdGiU4
“Rembrandt Is In The Wind” by Russ Ramsey: https://amzn.to/3ATeFs2

Note: some of these are affiliate links, which means if you choose to purchase anything using those links, I may make a small commission. 🫶

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↠ ABOUT ME ↞
If you’re new here, hi! 👋 I’m Olivia, a twenty-something writer living on the central coast of California. I hold a MFA degree in Creative Writing from Pacific University, and I’m currently revising my debut novel (Project Amaranth)—the first book in a high fantasy series. This YouTube channel is a cozy corner of the internet where I share about all things books, creativity, travel, and life design. My goal is to inspire and encourage you on your own creative journey. Thanks for stopping by! ☀️

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