Rating: 
Summary: simply marvelous
Review: BIRD BY BIRD is a bestseller for a reason. Its pragmatic, deft pages (not to mention dead funny) gives authors solid advice with sturdy handles on the writing game. Naysayers be gone! ('missed' has only two S's - FYI to the "professor") This is a winner, and a delight. Pure pleasure, and beautifully written in its own right.
Rating: 
Summary: Of course it's a partial autobiography...
Review: Anne Lamott writes nothing but. As the case with most autobiographies, it depends on whether or not you like the voice, and I don't. I don't see the wit and graceful humor of such phrases as "one reviewer said I was a treadmark on the underpants of life" or "spider puke." (Seems these reviewers may have had a point.) Nor am I interested in her alcholism, her politics (hates Republicans--big surprise there), her eating travails, or her extremely superficial spirituality. What saved this book from a one-star rating was that she had decent advice for writers--just sit down and do it, write badly, carry index cards, etc. But that's probably been covered elsewhere without having to sit through the debris of Bird By Bird.
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Summary: A book on how to pick ourselves up and see the real world.
Review: Bird by Bird offers valuable advice on how to revive oneself from fall outs of paranoia; how to laugh; how to use reality to understand inner feelings. I felt an infinite connection with Lamott and her friends. They were honest and real. Lamott's ideas and chapters flowed with delicate poignancy; it teaches the writer and the soul how to live and to write without sacrificing an inch of oneself.
Rating: 
Summary: Good grief...
Review: I was relieved to see that there were at least a couple of negative reviews here, so I wasn't alone. A much better book for aspiring writers is Julia Cameron's "The Right to Write" (or any of her other books, for that matter), Eric Maisel's "Fearless Creating," or Rita Mae Brown's "Starting from Scratch." These at least take for granted that the reader has some idea that you know why you want to write and are not trying to make you prove that you're "worthy" of Being A Writer. Frankly, I found Lamott's writing crude, her self-absorption depressing, and her advice on writing not terribly useful (what little there was of that). Although she certainly seems to love "teaching her classes" I have to wonder how much regard she actually holds them in, given that she's mocking their anxieties about publication at every turn. I'm not sure what she thinks aspiring writers are looking for, but it's not here.
Rating: 
Summary: Helpful, entertaining and evocative.
Review: A total surprise as I picked it up after "Operating Instructions." It is not only a useful book for all writers; it is a partial autobiography and, in its way, a spiritual guide. Lamott is unsparing in her appraisials of her life and her writing. There is a magnitude of vitality in this book and life lessons as well. I would like to take her writing course.
Rating:
Summary: oxygen
Review: BIRD BY BIRD is oxygen for writers going down for the third time. I refer to it again and again, like a compass as I fumble through the Blair Witch project that is my life. Lamott is just a joy. she does not have my permission to die, ever....or to stop writing. Grace: now available in hardcover or paperback.
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Summary: God bless you Anne Lammott!
Review: I picked up Crooked Little Heart on a whim and loved it. I chose this book by reading other users recommendations. I couldn't be happier or feel more inspired with the words of wisdom inside Bird by Bird.
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Summary: Two by two got me going again.
Review: Much of my job required writing, and I was having difficulty keeping it fresh. I was procrastinating and getting depressed about it. A therapist friend told me to read Bird by Bird and Undoing Depression. Amazing how two such seemingly different subjects can have so much in common--inspirational writing, similar messages, down-to-earth authors; there were even some times I had to check to see which I was reading. Maybe it was just because of the problems I was having at the time, but two by two did the trick for me.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best non-fiction books ever written!
Review: I loved this book so much I ordered the hardcover version and sent my paperback off to another aspiring writer! I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, but I happened upon this in my closet just as I was beginning to focus on freelance writing--I had no memory of buying it--and started reading, hoping it would inspire me. Not only did it inspire me to write, but it was so engaging that I could barely put it down! Anne Lamott is witty and honest, and more than a little wicked, like your ideal best girlfriend...or the writing instructor you dream about! If you're looking for instruction, this is not your book. But if you're in need of inspiration, encouragement, or a little voice to say, "Hey, lighten up!" you'll definitely find it here!
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Anne!
Review: If I could write as well and as honestly as Anne Lamott, I would consider myself a successful writer. The author holds back nothing and will have you laughing and crying and learning all at the same time. Read Bird by Bird and you will begin to understand yourself as a writer and a human being.
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