Research books -- informative AND tax deductible
I bought another book last night to add to my research library: The Great Game: The Myths and Reality of Espionage by Frederick P. Hitz. It was recommeded by Tod Goldberg in his most recent Burn Notice novel, The End Game. (I love that TV series, and so do a lot of my other author friends. It's definitely worth checking out, and so are the books.) Goldberg's first Burn Notice novel is The Fix. The Great Game was one of Goldberg's favorite reference books. Since I'm dealing a lot now with goblin and elven intelligence agencies and their spies, I thought it was a must have.
And a book that's always a winner if you're dealing with intrigue (and the goblin or elven royal courts): Book of Poisons: A Guide for Writers, by Serita Stevens and Anne Bannon. I like how they added "A Guide for Writers" to the title; it makes my reading material choice less frightening for the bookseller when I take it to the checkout. ; )
And the best thing about these books (besides just being fun to read) is that as research books, they're tax deductible for writers.
Do you have any favorite research books connected with your writing? If so, what are they?
Lisa
And a book that's always a winner if you're dealing with intrigue (and the goblin or elven royal courts): Book of Poisons: A Guide for Writers, by Serita Stevens and Anne Bannon. I like how they added "A Guide for Writers" to the title; it makes my reading material choice less frightening for the bookseller when I take it to the checkout. ; )
And the best thing about these books (besides just being fun to read) is that as research books, they're tax deductible for writers.
Do you have any favorite research books connected with your writing? If so, what are they?
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
7:04 AM
11 Comments:
I haven't found a book like this yet (though I'm lazy and usually just use wikipedia instead of going to the bookstore,) but if there was a book listing/explaining the structure of the various royal courts and titles of nobility in different cultures throughout the ages, I would totally get that. My step brother does have this AWESOME book on medieval weaponry that I love to flip through.
My favorite reference book is `The World Guide to Gnomes, Faries, Elves, and Other Little People: A Compedium of International Fairy Folklore' by Thomas Keightley. I found it on a discount table at Borders. I love discount tables. :)
The moment my second novel, Lisa's Way, began taking shape was when I starting reading up on the Santa Fe Trail in the early 1990s. The Trail was for commerce rather than emigration. That got me thinking that Lisa's method of making things better would start through trade. I'm working on the sequel; Lisa's got a fight coming up, so I downloaded Art of War from Project Gutenberg.
Wikipedia is a nice source, so long as you know the sources the entry uses. Oddly enough, I still turn to some of my old GURPS RPG world books, no so much for research, but for ideas about magical systems & such.
The Writers Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s is a nice reference if, you know, you're writing about the 1800s. Otherwise, it's not very useful.:) But there are several books in this series, including The Writers Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages, though all of them are out of print. They're certainly not thorough, but they do give you a nice overview of topics you might want to research further.
I wish my research books were tax deductible. You have to be making money off of your writing for that to happen, though, don't you? (I don't think the ten dollars I've made off of short story sales this year counts.)
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I wanted input from as many people as possible -- a lot of my blog readers are also writers. Your books may be something that someone else needs. Thank you!
Yep Superwench, for research books to be a deduction, you have to have an income from your writing. Hang in there, it'll happen for you. : )
I love the Art Of War and History In A Nutshell...both very informative as far as history books goes. But I've been finding great stuff all the time, so much it surprises me. I recently read a book about assassins in the middle ages. Now that was interesting:D
Hi Victoria,
What was the name of the assassins in the Middle Ages book?
BTW -- I'm also re-reading The Prince by Machiavelli. Great book for goblin royals. ; )
Tax exemption is one of many reaons I wish I lived in the USA. There's nothing like it over here (still, can't complain cos Tax Man is nice to me).
That first book sounds amazing! I'll be dealing with spying at some point so I've just gone and added it to my wish list :)
The second book is awesome! I borrowed it from the library and it's jam packed with info. Couldn't read it all in time, but had a good flick.
I avoided scaring the librarians at one library - I was tempted to pick up book on guns along with the encyclopedia of knives - I resisted.
It actually focused more on groups, I believe, than specific people. It had a lot about assassins in other countries, how a lot of them were holy men. But I think it did mention things about certain kings if I remember correctly. I'll find it and get back to you on that. There is something I'm forgetting I'm sure.
Thank you, Victoria!
Those both sound like great books - thanks for recommending them!
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