Top 5 best books by Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell is a very popular Swedish writer known around the world. His books have been translated into over 40 languages. On my blog I will only concentrate on his novels where Kurt Wallander is the main character although Mankell is not only a crime novels author.

Kurt Wallander is a fictional police inspector living and working in Ystad. This character has brought Mankell his fame and made ​​him one of the best-selling writers in the world. This is another example that a interesting, memorable character is already a half of success in writting a bestseller novel :).

I like to read the Mankell's books, because they always have a well-constructed plot, carefully and curiously described. Sometimes the pace of the action is pretty slow, but after reading a few thrillers in a row, where the action is practically on every page, this is a nice change.

Therefore, I recommend to read Mankell's novels were we can expect long conversations, descriptions of tedious witnesses' questioning and Kurt checking all leads, because the story always illustrates what changes are taking place in modern Swedish society as the whole world changes, what problems people are facing nowadays etc.

So if you are looking for a good crime story, with a intresting and troubled policeman in the lead role, the novels of Kurt Wallander will be perfect for you!

Since Kurt as the main character appeared in only nine novels, I decided to choose five titles that I think are absolutely worth reading.

So below is a list of books which in my opinion are the best novels written by Henning Mankell with Kurt Wallander.

1. Faceless Killers (see description)

2. One Step Behind (see description)

3. Sidetracked (see description)

4. The Pyramid - short stories about Wallanders' early years in the police (see description)

5. The Fifth Woman (see description)

Of course, when you read those books, get the rest :).

Top 5 novels by Dan Brown

Usually, I make a list of the ten best books of the author, but with Dan Brown this is not possible, because he wrote only five novels :). That's why this time I created a list of all novels sorted from the best to the weakest.

First Dan Brown's novel I have read was The Da Vinci Code - like I guess most people did. The novel had spectacular marketing, but for me all the things which are associated with this book, all the conspiracy theories, criticism of the Catholic Church, etc. didn't really matter.

What matters is that The Da Vinci Code reads really well. I was fascinated by the writer's workshop, the narration (short chapters ending at an important time, which force you to read further just to see what happens next) and the general plot and characters. This is a good thriller.

I got interested in other novels by Dan Brown and that is why I read his earlier books: Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons, Deception Point, and his newest - Last Symbol - which came six years after the publication of The Da Vinci Code.

I recommend to read The Da Vinci Code first, which is probably not surprising. I think that the plot is more interesting is Angels & Demons, but the structure of this book is not quite as good as in The Da Vinci Code (narration is slow in the beginning, there are too much explanations, the real action starts just somewhere in the middle). That's why Angels & Demons you should read second :).

This is my list of best novels by Dan Brown:

1. The Da Vinci Code (see description)

2. Angels & Demons (see description)

3. Deception Point (see description)

4. The Lost Symbol (see description)

5. Digital Fortress (see description)

If you already known adventures of world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, get the Deception Point – very interesting, surprising and well-written political thriller, where NASA is involved in the plot. You certainly won't be bored!

10 great books about writing fiction

I love to read novels, but I am also interested in the writer's workshop. I want to know what are the different ways to create a good story and why sometimes even a great idea does not work and after reading a few pages the book turn out to be disappointing. If you are also interested in the process of creating the novel or you are a beginning writer, check out what is worth reading to learn about writing fiction.

I looked for guides how to write novels and create a bestseller to know the tools that a writer must learn to use to create interesting, memorable story with good narration, a credible background and psychologically convincing characters. Knowing that I can read novels more consciously, sometimes I can figure out why story does not convince me or what is main problem with someone's style (e.g. I think: hey, you should read a book on how to write dialogues, because these are terrible :)).

Of course I realize that there are some brilliant books that had been written against the advice given in these guides, but - as they say - to break the rules, you should first know them. Therefore, in view of all aspiring writers and people who are interested in the process of the creation of the novel, I made a list of ten great books about how to write a good novel.

What every aspiring writer should read and what every reader interested in the writer's workshop should know? Here is my list of ten guides to creative writing!

1. Writing the Blockbuster Novel by Albert Zuckerman
2. How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling by James Frey
3. Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain
5. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
4. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne
6. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner
7. Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity by Ray Bradbury
8. On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner
9. Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint: Proven advice and timeless techniques for creating compelling characters by an award-winning author - Orson Scott Card
10. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

This is the initial list of books that I think are worth exploring. If you are writing in English you should also read The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. However, if you write in another language, look for a good manual of style and grammar. Even if you feel strong with grammar, you should still read about it!

If you know other interesting guides about writing books - I encourage you to publish their titles on my blog!