Confessions of a Writing Book Junkie

I love learning new things. When I start delving into something that interests me, I tend to be a bit...obsessive. Writing is, and has been over the years, one of my passions, so it's probably no surprise that I've amassed quite a few books on the subject. Some I've only skimmed or read just bits and pieces of, looking for nuggets of enlightenment. There are a few, though, that I've read cover to cover. These are the books I return to whenever I feel I need a refresher, or in some cases, inspiration. These are the ones I'd keep, even if I had to give the rest away.

Here's my list of must-haves, the books I return to often:

1. The Writer's Journey by Chris Vogler -- I have two different editions of this book and I've read both of them
2. Writing and Selling Your Novel by Jack Bickham -- so much good information crammed into one book!
3. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
4. The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
5. The Deluxe Transitive Vampire by Karen Gordon -- the most enjoyable grammar book I've ever read!
6. The Complete Writer's Guide to Heros & Heroines by Cowden, LaFever and Viders

Then there are the research books. I can't tell you how many books I've bought because I was feverishly reading everything I could find about whatever subject I was writing about at the time. I've got books on winemaking, glassmaking, mythology, history (Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the Silk Road, WWII and more!), time travel, physics, chemistry, genetics and psychology, to name just a few. Some books are great for inspiration, even when I'm not writing about their particular subject.

Here's my list of must-have research books, the ones that inspire me no matter what I'm writing about:

1. New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology
2. About Time by Paul Davies
3. Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman
4. The Silk Road by Frances Wood
5. Roosevelt's Secret War by Joseph Persico

It's kind of an eclectic list and probably odd, considering I look through them at some point during almost every book I write.

So, what about you? Do you have favorite writing and/or research books? Books that continually teach you something new or inspire you?