Pros: wonderfully written, entertaining, encouraging and informative Cons: shows how full of struggle a writer's life is...
It's nearly four weeks into January, and lamentably my writing aspirations for the year are not well on their way to being realized. I thought this would be a month bristling with productivity; I have far less to do than in December, so it should follow ...
Sitting with your hands hovering over the keyboard, or pen/pencil and paper, with thoughts of the great American novel wafting through your head? Think you have a story to tell that no one else can, or has, told? Or do you have a swarm of thoughts ...
Pros: witty book with practical advice Cons: a fair amount of swearing
About five years ago, I worked at a bookstore staffed by numerous aspiring writers. All of them loved Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott; I was curious as to why. I bought it, read it, and loved it (so much that I even gave a copy to my...
Pros: Inspiring, humorous, witty, honest Cons: If you aren't willing to accept that being published isn't everything, skip it
Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table...
Pros: Touching, unpretentious, funny and often poignant book about life and writing. Cons: Will not unlock any magic doors to becoming a writer, but that isn't really the point anyway.
My college roommate introduced me to this gem when her mother sent it to her in a care package. We would be working on our junior year theses and, in the middle of the silence, I would suddenly hear giggling from across the room. Of course, I wanted to...
Pros: Lighthearted and entertaining Cons: Not for those looking for hard instruction
"Bird by Bird" by Ann Lamott is one of the most entertaining writing books I've ever read. Rather than list all the things one must do to become a "successful writer", Lamott shares her experience as a woman, a mother, a daughter,...
Pros: After reading this, you'll want to write! Cons: A few too many unrelated personal anecdotes.
A friend recommended this book to me recently. She had read it after another friend had recommended it to her. Since it came doubly recommended, I ran out to Barnes and Noble almost immediately. I just finished it today. The book definitely has some...
Pros: hysterically funny, practical, wise Cons: very down on publication
This book, hands down, has to be one of the best books on writing. The first chapter is a introduction of AL's writing life-her father Kenneth Lamott was a writer and taught her that she had to do her writing like scales on a piano; do it everyday, you...
Pros: Easy to Read, Motivational, Honest Cons: Nothing
With chapter headings like Jealousy, Radio Station KFKD, and Polaroids, you wouldn't think this was a book on writing. But it is--and it's a good one. Ms. Lamott tells it like it is for the writing world--you're not always going to produce great...
Anne Lamott comes along and tells me that I am not alone. I purchased this book after a year of being hassled by a writer friend of mine to buy it. She had sent me Operating Instructions prior to the birth of my daughter, and to be honest, I love...
Pros: Entertaining, witty, fun to read and absolutely dead on. Cons: No ego-stroking.
Yes, you guessed it, this is one of those dreaded things that Mom(tm) suggested I read, in that vaguely all-knowing way that mothers seem to have when they sense an impending victory. Sort of like telling an eight-year-old that broccoli may be...
Pros: honest, humorous, kind Cons: You'd rather be writing?
I first encountered this book when a college professor read a section to us out loud (the fatherly advice from which the book takes its title). The class was on the teaching of reading and writing, and this book reminds us how we can look to our...
Upon deciding to write my memoirs at age 87, I sought a helpful book
and hit the jackpot on the first try. Weaving principles of living and writing into an amusing and...
Pros: Well written, touching, educational Cons: None found
Bird By Bird is not your typical how-to-sell-what-you-write writing book. It's located with those books in libraries and book stores, but you won't find the standard lists of publishing dos and don'ts in it's pages.
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