The following nine books are the ones I rely on to help me construct a coherent sentence. These nine are enough, barely, to keep me from writing as though my native language is a total mystery to me. (I hope it need not be said that I also own a variety of dictionaries and thesauruses.)

Owning decent reference books is only 1% of the battle.

Opening the books and reading them is, let's say, another 79%. (Working under the assumption that you're paying attention as you read, you're bound to absorb some of the material.)

Actually referring back to the book and actively trying to improve your writing by using its ideas is the golden egg, the pot at the end of the rainbow. I'm only calling it 20%, but it's the absolute Top Twenty.

It's the difference between writing a real story and half-boring a reader with an almost-but-not-quite-right story, or, god forbid, sharing your intimate sexual fantasies with dozens of horrified and grossed-out strangers. (As an aside, taking a fantasy that plays out in your head and putting it on paper as a story is work. If you don't think it is, and you've written that kind of "story" a dozen times...well, I'm embarrassed for you, that's all.)

Where was I? Oh, yeah. Tools. If you've got a little money, or friends you can go in with, here are some books to try.

The Elements of Style, Strunk and White ($6.95)
The classic. My paper copy is 91 pages long, including the index. Examples are short. Do this. Don't do that.

The Elements of Grammar, Margaret Shertzer ($9.95)
Another short one. Sections on pronouns, verbs, adjectives, conjunctions, subordinate clauses and other parts of speech. Also includes chapters on punctuation and spelling and choosing words.

The Transitive Vampire A Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager and the Doomed, Karen Elizabeth Gordon (Author of The Well-Tempered Sentence.) ($12.95)
In spite of my irritation with the missing comma in the title, I can recommend this as an amusing collection of werewolves, fauns, and gargoyles that help you memorize the rules.

Punctuate it Right!, Harry Shaw ($7.95)
Any book containing a chapter on, "The Primary Purposes of Punctuation and Mechanics" is only for the obsessive. It's very thorough.

Make Your Words Work, Gary Provost ($14.95)
On the other hand, a book that calls adjectives, "the leeches that infest the pond of prose" is my kind of book. 300 pages, including chapters on:
Description (When you write description always remember that people come to see the play, not the sets.)
Characterization (Why do we go to the movies, watch television, and read? To see, to hear, to feel other people.)
Viewpoint (Viewpoint is an emotional camera. When you choose viewpoint you are making a decision not just about camera placement, but about attitude, feelings, vocabulary...everything.)

Getting the Words Right: How to rewrite, edit, and revise, Theodore A. Rees Chaney ($14.99)
I can already hear the collective gasps and see people running in fear. Delete? Me? Take something out of my beautiful story? NO!
Chapter 1: Revision by Reduction
Chapter 2: Rethink and Rearrange
Chapter 3: Revise by Rewording
200 pages and most of us need to read all of them.

Revising Fiction: A Handbook for Writers, David Madden ($12.95)
From the sources of ideas to choosing POV to under and overwriting to characters, narrative flow, dialogue, description, and a lot more. This is one where reading the comprehensive list of chapter and subchapter headings alone is an education. 300 pages, most of them great.

Ahhh...and now we come to my favorites, all from the Elements of Fiction Writing" series. I'd advise you to avoid the one on dialogue like the plague, but these three are written simply and clearly and are always to the point.

Voice and Style, John Payne ($15.99 hb)
Less simplistic than the other two, but it's a more complex topic.

Description, Monica Wood ($15.99 hb)
Subtitle: How to engage readers and keep stories moving by creating vivid, believable depictions of people, places, events, and actions. A complete favorite of mine. I have five "permanent" bookmarks (sticky notes) attached to my copy. I've read it from cover to cover eight or nine times. I keep it next to my chair at all times. I'm lousy at description/exposition but by gosh this book is teaching me!