Rating: 
Summary: If you've read her before, you'll like this
Review: A rambling collection of essays that indeed reveal much about the author of her quirky books. Provides insight into who she is, why she would risk life and limb just to prove a point, how she defines 'home,' her relationships with men and dogs and trucks...
Goes down easy.
Rating:
Summary: An Enlightening--if Disjointed--Collection of Essays
Review: As a journalist and as an author of fiction, Pam Houston has never been afraid to be an explorer. This collection of essays covers topics as far-flung as the topography and culture of Bhutan and as close to home as American women's obsession with weight. In every case, Houston's writing exemplifies the virtues of honesty and clarity.Some might find the collection a bit disjointed (especially those who know Houston's work best from her story collections, "Cowboys Are My Weakness" and "Waltzing the Cat," which share tremendous thematic unity). The fact is that the pieces in this book were written at different times, for different audiences (diverse magazines) and those differences show. The central thread of this collection, though, is Houston's efforts to understand more about herself. Many readers will sympathize and identify with her, as they are ravished by her brilliant, lucid prose. Pam Houston is definitely my weakness.
Rating:
Summary: An Enlightening--if Disjointed--Collection of Essays
Review: As a journalist and as an author of fiction, Pam Houston has never been afraid to be an explorer. This collection of essays covers topics as far-flung as the topography and culture of Bhutan and as close to home as American women's obsession with weight. In every case, Houston's writing exemplifies the virtues of honesty and clarity. Some might find the collection a bit disjointed (especially those who know Houston's work best from her story collections, "Cowboys Are My Weakness" and "Waltzing the Cat," which share tremendous thematic unity). The fact is that the pieces in this book were written at different times, for different audiences (diverse magazines) and those differences show. The central thread of this collection, though, is Houston's efforts to understand more about herself. Many readers will sympathize and identify with her, as they are ravished by her brilliant, lucid prose. Pam Houston is definitely my weakness.
Rating: 
Summary: A few good dogs...
Review: I am ashamed to say I had forgotten about Pam Houston. I read "Cowboys Are My Weakness" back in '92 when it came out and then let this author fall out of my library, until recently when I stumbled (actually tripped in the bookstore) and into the table with this book on it. What more can I say than... This book is wonderful! The prose is simple and elegant, the sentiment is raw and truthful, the stories are humorous and strike a chord in the soul. Ms. Houston writes of her travels, revelations, dogs, men, landscape, body image in such a way that I was not able to put the book down. In fact, I found myself stealing into my office for any scrap of time to finish a chapter, a sentence, the entire book in a day. My recommendation for "A Little More About Me": read it, own it, buy it for a friend!
Rating: 
Summary: Something Missing
Review: I anxiously awaited the arrival of this book from the libray. I LOVED "Cowboys...." it had really touched me inside; I felt like the author really understood the types of experiences I have had in my life as an outdoors woman, and the men I have known. "A little bit about me" was a huge disapointment. It felt to me more like writing as therapy, or journal entries, than stories that I could connect to as I have in the past. She does mention doing some therapy, ( which is always a good thing) but I found something lacking in this book, perhaps a sense of something deeper than " I did this, I have done that..." Only in two places did I find the "Pam houston " I was looking for: There is a fabulaous paragrash in the introduction where she talks about NOT climbing the Grand Teton, and the dog stories. The dog stories are absolutely marvelous; it's worh checking this book out just for those bits.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, thrilling and adventurous
Review: I had never heard of Pam Houston before I saw this book. Her grasp of language, her personality, and experiences in the world transfixed me. I could not put the book down. It was like I was on every plane ride, rafting trip and hike with her; sharing her emotions and reactions to the world around her. I find this book to be one of my all time favorites. If you enjoy first hand accounts of adventurous lives, as well as a stimulating use of language, sharp wit, and a personal vulnerability evidenced in the writing, you will thoroughly enjoy this autobiography!
Rating:
Summary: This book took me adventuring and yet brought me home.
Review: I have read, re-read, and often recommended Pam Houston's book "Cowboys Are My Weakness," so it was with a shudder of anticipation that I found her newest book "A Little More About Me" on the table at my local bookseller. Sure, this book is about her (for those other reviewers who missed the point...). But the book manages to be about her, and also about me, and countless other women as well. Through the course of rich and vivid descriptions of her adventures - essays that so often read like long poems - I realized that (once again) Houston is holding a mirror up to womankind and challenging us to recognize the quirks and patterns that have driven us throughout history. Houston's attraction to danger, her need to please men who prove to be inconsequential, her celebration of female friendship and fascination with the inner workings of the opposite sex, and her desire to detail every meal cooked and eaten at trail's end all feel familiar to me. I loved "In the Company of Fishermen". It made me wish I could be there, fishing alongside them. I read it out loud to my three-year-old son, who remained mesmerized to the end. I was glad to be able to give him a great story about men who remain friends, about a brave woman, and to show him that fishermen can be poets, and the reverse as well. Outside her adventures, Houston's writing is sprinkled with references to so many of my favorite things - movies, books, songs, and foods - that it makes it hard NOT to take her writing personally. To the reader looking for a simple adventure tale: Houston's self-disclosure will make you uncomfortable, guaranteed. Even though I'm interested in what makes Houston tick, I found myself a little unnerved by her descriptions of her childhood. This took the form of the sort of discomfort one feels when a co-worker tells you more than you need to know about their home life. I was stunned her find her chapter detailing her weight and body issues, and yet by the end I was as delighted as I would be if Self magazine called me up tomorrow to tell me I had the ideal body type for the new millennium and asked me to share my diet and exercise secrets (unlikely). So much of this rang true and hit home like a very pointed arrow. Parts of this book made me sorry for Houston and the things she has experienced, but I never felt pity, just the sort of sorry understanding one has for a friend who pulled the short straw and still persevered. At the end I wished I could meet Houston, spend some time with her, maybe drink a little tequila and invite her to help me climb Shasta on my 40th birthday. But realistically, I'm looking for a simple, smooth, safe climb with a great view - no search parties involved. I look forward to more of Houston's writing and will seek out her essays in periodicals as well. She manages to take me away from my own life (differenly colored than hers, and not nearly as dangerous) and still, somehow, bring me home. This was a colorful, introspective (okay, say it - self-indulgent) read that I really enjoyed. However, I suspect it is the sort of book an author only gets away with once.
Rating:
Summary: A Little More About Me
Review: I really enjoyed Pam's "Cowboys...", but LOVE "A Little More About Me." Perhaps I envy Pam, admire her courage and insight, confusion and inquisitive nature... but I think mostly I identify with her free spirit. She is a person who deals with self-doubt, despite her great athletic and adventurous achievements. Her meassage to ME goes SO far beyond adventure travel and physical ability, and rather targets her personal need for challenge (emotional, physical and intellectual)and makes me think about my own challenges. How is it that she has described so many of my EXACT feelings? It is a book I have a hard a hard time putting down, perhaps because I relate to so many of her stories, or maybe because I just love nature (AND horses) and love her vivid desriptions and story-telling. Can't wait for her next collection of essays! I have learned so much about myself from reading her stories.
Rating:
Summary: I want better from Pam Houston
Review: It's always a great disappointment when one of my favorite authors or musicians releases a new work that falls far short of the mark, and Pam Houston's latest belongs in this category. I don't know how many times I've read "Cowboys are My Weakness"; perhaps I should just stick to rereading it again and again rather than expect Houston to ever live up to the grace, intellect and promise contained in that volume. Of course we all need to believe we're special, and Houston possesses a shining talent for writing that I would never deny -- that talent, by itself, renders her very special in my estimation. Still, I can't get past her extreme self-indulgence, and frankly, "knowing" more about her than I did when I first read "Cowboys" has pushed me away from the notion of wanting to learn any more about her. Who was it who said that the people who are happiest are generally those who spend the least amount of time thinking about themselves? Pam Houston has gone inward, and inward, and inward -- her writing is suffocating because of it. Broadening her subject area beyond herself will allow her writing to breathe once again. I'll be the first to look forward to the results, when that day comes.
Rating:
Summary: On the Glacier with Pam
Review: Outdoor writer Pam Houston delivers a great collection of essays which range from dog-sledding in Alaska, mountaineering in Colorado to the exotic reaches of Bolivia, each with a heartfelt dose of humorous self-examination. I loved this book because I never imagined I could possibly have anything in common with a person who was so physically capable; but Houston revealed her doubts and compulsions in such a way that allowed me to find myself relating to her adventures. A wonderfully written book for those who love the outdoors, real adventure or just contemplating adventure.
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