Bird by Bird : Some Instructions on Writing and Life

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Summary: It made me laugh out loud!
Review: As an English teacher and avid writer, I feared the worst and expected that the book would be a dry, step by step explanation of the writing process. To my surprise, it turned out to be entertaining and amusing. You don't have to be a writer or an English teacher to appreciate Lamott's humor.

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Summary: Bird by Bird Fitting Title
Review: The title's perfect for this book: Bird By Bird offers a bird size portion of writing instruction. What it does provide is a hefty serving of hope for any writer with nothing to say, little talent, and a lot of pages to fill. What's sad is the author's total lack of respect for emerging writers. She cares little about teaching, and instead uses her bully pulpit to justify a very troubled life. Anyone can sympathize with a sad past, but does leading such a life qualify one to advise others? I think not. If you want to learn to write buy any other book. If you want to support those who need helpp with addictions, donate to a worthy charity.

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Summary: Funny, Occasionally Obnoxious, but Never Dull
Review: I think she could have written the actual writing advice in half this book, but at least she did the rest (partial autobiography) in an entertaining way. The first section and the last chapter were the best, but the other parts...were...what...? She urges the reader to write about one's childhood, but what if the aspiring writer doesn't want to begin at this point? Lamott lost me once she started describing character and plot...maybe, I'm just not that smart but she spoke in concepts and I just didn't click with her style. Found Julia Cameron more useful.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.