Rating: 
Summary: Not what I was expecting
Review: I read Natalie Goldberg's Wild Mind in 1992 and it changed the way I wrote. Since I was an impressionable 17 she has had a huge influence in my writing and I have made sure to purchase each of her books as they come out. I ordered this book without really knowing that it was for novel writers (I'm a poet) and I found it dissapointing. Natalie sounds tired and unhappy throughout the book. She starts out with a warning about how writing will not bring happiness to your life. Gone is the voice that told us that through writing we could connect with our world differently and digest our lives and make ourselves whole. We don't hear about the energy in writing practice and in being awake and aware. In short, the whole thing was a real downer. Also, the book is 218 pages instead of the 384 that amazon says it is. A short book for the price. On the good side, writers of novels and stories may benefit from this book. It has some good info on character development and dealing with editors. I would recommend getting it from a library even if you are a big Goldberg fan like myself.
Rating:
Summary: Cracking open one writer's life, perhaps...
Review: I really loved Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind, and I like this newest Natalie Goldberg book, too. But something's changed, and the subtitle her publishers have used ("Cracking Open the Writer's Craft") is misleading, to say the least.One of my favourite things about Goldberg's writing, especially in Writing Down the Bones, was the way she -- unlike most authors on writing -- refused to either mince or waste words. In that book, her approach to each chapter was one of "get in, make your point, get out." When you take a Flintstones vitamin, it doesn't matter if you get Wilma or Barney, or orange or purple -- you're still getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. Same thing with Writing Down the Bones. Crack it open at any point, read any chapter, and you'll still come away immeasurably enriched. Don't get me wrong -- I still enjoy Goldberg's writing. But I don't get that "enriched" feeling from Thunder and Lightning. She doesn't really spend as much time on "the writer's craft" as she does on her often rambling reminiscences. If you're interested in the journey of one particular writer, this is an excellent book. But it shouldn't be billed as a book on craft. For that, there are better books out there, perhaps foremost among them Goldberg's own earlier work.
Rating:
Summary: Cracking open one writer's life, perhaps...
Review: I really loved Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind, and I like this newest Natalie Goldberg book, too. But something's changed, and the subtitle her publishers have used ("Cracking Open the Writer's Craft") is misleading, to say the least. One of my favourite things about Goldberg's writing, especially in Writing Down the Bones, was the way she -- unlike most authors on writing -- refused to either mince or waste words. In that book, her approach to each chapter was one of "get in, make your point, get out." When you take a Flintstones vitamin, it doesn't matter if you get Wilma or Barney, or orange or purple -- you're still getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. Same thing with Writing Down the Bones. Crack it open at any point, read any chapter, and you'll still come away immeasurably enriched. Don't get me wrong -- I still enjoy Goldberg's writing. But I don't get that "enriched" feeling from Thunder and Lightning. She doesn't really spend as much time on "the writer's craft" as she does on her often rambling reminiscences. If you're interested in the journey of one particular writer, this is an excellent book. But it shouldn't be billed as a book on craft. For that, there are better books out there, perhaps foremost among them Goldberg's own earlier work.
Rating: 
Summary: GET PAST THE ACCENT
Review: I would have thought that Natalie Goldberg would have had the decency to hire a professional reader for this book. I like some of the things that she says about writing but they lose their credibility because I am constantly holding back my right index finger from hitting the "eject" button on my car's tape player simply because her voice is incredibly annoying! I can only listen to about 10 minutes of this at a time. Also, if you are a guy, you have to get past all of the more feminine comments such as her calling herself "Natalie, darling" a half a dozen times along with other assorted Natalie-only references such as talking about eating, chocolate, and her book "Bananna Rose". I would say that 50% of this book is kind of a self-serving memoir written by Natalie Goldberg (although to hear her say "memoir" still makes me cringe). If you have a convenient "fast-forward" mechanism on your tape player, then there is much that she says that holds water. You just have to wade through a lot of overhead to get to it. If you can't stand the sound of a New York accent then KEEP AWAY! In a regular book your imagination can choose to use whatever voice you are comfortable with - in an audiocasette, you have to listen to the one that's on the tape and in this case (even though I love most of her work) her voice is best kept for scolding kids or shouting across busy poolrooms.
Rating: 
Summary: Want a book about how to write? Go back to grammar school.
Review: I've read all the customer reviews thusfar. Those who look at this new Goldberg book as more of a memoir are the ones who seem to have gotten its message. As with fiction that touches us because we see our own struggles in the characters', so it is with THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. Ms. Goldberg has never said anything about HOW to write except that we SHOULD. As in, just do it. And keep doing it even when you feel like a big weenie. The best teaching is your own experience, and that subjective view is precisely what Natalie Goldberg offers us with her latest book. Take it or leave it, but it's nice to know we as writers are not alone on the long path.
Rating:
Summary: Want a book about how to write? Go back to grammar school.
Review: I've read all the customer reviews thusfar. Those who look at this new Goldberg book as more of a memoir are the ones who seem to have gotten its message. As with fiction that touches us because we see our own struggles in the characters', so it is with THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. Ms. Goldberg has never said anything about HOW to write except that we SHOULD. As in, just do it. And keep doing it even when you feel like a big weenie. The best teaching is your own experience, and that subjective view is precisely what Natalie Goldberg offers us with her latest book. Take it or leave it, but it's nice to know we as writers are not alone on the long path.
Rating: 
Summary: Confessions of an egomaniac
Review: If you're a die-hard Natalie Goldberg fan (or worshipper), you will love this book, but if you're looking for help with your writing, look elsewhere. Thunder & Lightning is an unorganized collection of mostly banal stories and sermons about Goldberg's life and brilliance told with what might be termed passive-aggressive egomania -- throughout the book she tells us how hard she has worked to suppress her ego through studying Zen, and all the while she is celebrating her own amazing accomplishments and insights and kindly passing these pearls on to us. Except there aren't any pearls. There's only Goldberg's self-indulgence. Her earlier books Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind had some useful stuff to say about writing (in amidst all the New Age blather), and Wild Mind had plenty of exercises which would be helpful to writers trying to overcome a block or become more fluent. None of that is present in this book. If you want good advice (both spiritual and practical) on writing, then get Peter Elbow's Writing with Power. If you want to learn what a wonderful person Natalie Goldberg is, get this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Struck by "Lightning."
Review: In this book, Natalie Goldberg shares her insights into how we can explore our "interior territory" through the practice of reading and writing mindfully. Although she begins her book with an introductory "Warning" to aspiring writers, and then ends with her reflections on Allen Ginsberg's death, Goldberg's book is neither discouraging nor depressing. "Do not say you were not warned," she cautions. "To continue this crazy thing called writing might lead to steep precipices, dangerous canyons, craggy cliffs. I make no promises" (p. 7). Goldberg makes "the writer's craft" sound downright exciting! Goldberg equates writing with mindfulness training. Writing, like meditation, is a "place where we can meet ourselves deeply," allowing us to "encounter the imprint of something immense running through us" (p. 43). In other words, writing is a serious practice. A writer's path, Goldberg tells us, "includes concentration, slowing down, commitment, awareness, loneliness, faith, a breakdown of ordinary perceptions--the same qualities attributed to monks or Zen masters" (p. 44). Goldberg sees writing as "a true spiritual path, an authentic Zen way. Writing is an immediate mirror: it reflects back to you. You can't fool anyone, especially yourself. Here you're the doer and the done, the worldly person and the monk" (p. 218). Similarly, the practice of reading mindfully allows us to "wake up to everything about a book . . . it will become alive and take flight" (p. 95). Certainly, you will experience such moments throughout Goldberg's book. It is rich with anecdotes. For instance, she tells us that after reading Wallace Stegner's CROSSING TO SAFETY, she walked around the streets of Taos astonished for "three sizzling summer months" (p. 47). Goldberg confesses to reading books during a Thich Nhat Hanh meditation retreat, explaining "I couldn't get my head out of this novel" (p. 147). While on a Mill Valley writing retreat, she recalls hearing the moon through the redwoods telling her, "Enough is enough. I needed to see what was out in the world beyond writing" (pp. 210-11). For me, this book was not a disappointment written by some negative Natalie. Lightning does not strike the same place twice, and this book is not intended to revisit the same old "Bones" of Goldberg's 1996 book. Whether you are an aspiring writer, an avid reader, or interested in living your life mindfully, I encourage you to experience all the thunder and lightning this book has to offer. G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Lightning does strike three times!
Review: In this excellent sequel to Writing Down The Bones, and Wild Mind. Ms. Goldberg shares a compelling story of her life while giving us lessons on writing. She continues the theme of practice writing and emphasizes how important it is for success. Revealed also, is how important it is to read. From reading we learn what we like and don't like about writers, styles, and techniques. Of course, reading also gives us grist for the mill. Natalie comes through in this book. We know her and what drives her after reading this selection. The fact that we also learn something about her craft is almost secondary. Some may think we also learn more about Natalie than we need or want to, but if you think so, then perhaps the point is missed. It is from our panexperiential existence that we draw meaning for life and Natalie teaches us how to translate that experience to the written word. She does so not only by overt instruction, but by covert story telling all at once. Here books on writing definitely need to be on any writers shelf for frequent reference.
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: It took me a bit to connect with this book because the tone and style are so different from Natalie's previous books. I also found I had to read this a little bit at a time to give myself time to absorb what she was trying to say. But I was really shaken up by the book. After writing a terrible, terrible truly horrible and horribly boring novel myself, I had given up writing (after 35 years). In other words, I was in a similar place as Natalie was in the closing chapter of this book. How she dealt with that and what she relates about that are extraordinary and absolutely inspirational. It got me to pick up a pen again. Natalie has always had a Zen slant to her writing and it is even more evident here. The connection between the disciplines of writing practice and meditation really struck home with me. Especially as it addresses the ultimate point of writing. While this book does deal with issues of structure (and I disagree strongly that this book is just for prose writers), it addresses more the spiritual and personal nature of writing. Why write? it dares us to ask. Why write at all? As usual, Natalie is challenging our basic beliefs of ourselves and particulary ourselves as writers. Why do *you* write? This book will inspire you to seek the answer to that fearsome question for yourself. I am indebted to Natalie for constantly opening herself up to an unknown and naturally critical audience. She does sound older and wiser here and that gives me pause too. It goes back to the fundemental question -- why write? This is not a writing instruction book per se, you can visit her previous books for help in that area. This book is something beyond that. Something almost intangible. I was deeply moved by the book and tremendously inspired. Thank you Natalie for giving so fully yet once again.
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