Rating: 
Summary: excellent
Review: This book is about life, death, writing, jealousy, school lunches, voices in your head, and everything in between. Lamott is funny and witty and entertaining. I've never read any of her work before, and after reading Bird by Bird, I want to read all of her other books. Even if you're not a writer, this book is worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: No new insights
Review: I was assigned to read this book in an undergrad advanced creative writing class, and no one in my class was overly thrilled with it. Maybe that's because it was full of the same advice we'd heard from every writing professor; there were no brand new insights -- the kind that make you sit back and say, "ah, so THAT's the way it works." Maybe it would be a better choice for someone pursuing writing without in-person guidance.I did appreciate the oft-repeated advice to carry a notecard around to record those perfect lines that pop into your head or those moments that you know will fit perfectly into a story one day.
Rating:
Summary: A reminder of her powerful words...
Review: Once more, Lamott has applied a poultice for the soul with her words. She possesses the ability to make people laugh out loud, to incite a placid and mildly depressed reader to spew beef vindaloo over the pages of a book while discovering a hilarious passage from the pool of truth. This is an author who makes some of us queasy when one considers her first book, Hard Laughter, which was great and got great reviews and which was published at twenty-three, an age when most of us are trying to find a waitressing job in a fancy restaurant (at least I was). From then on she continued cutting her swath of Hell, with wonderful novels like Joe Jones and Rosie and All New People, which I've read three times. Ironically enough, this is a woman who has professed to know no cosmic reason why she should continue writing. If I, like all people created, am a part of God, and I've heard that I am, then I hereby decree that Lamott must continue to write books. Although she need not do it at breakneck speed, she must definitely do it. So there's your cosmic reason, Ms. Lamott. Additionally, any of you out there who consider yourselves Lamott fans but have not read the book or listened to the recording of Bird by Bird are not being completely honest... Read this wonderful book, and then listen to the recording, for Ms. Lamott's powerful messages resonate through her voice. I recommend you read all of her books. Read it all, preferably with a nice Indian takeout.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful
Review: This book has taught me more about writing and the best part is that this book ties in life's lessons as well. Lamott truely shines in this book because she shares a piece of herself with us. She doesn't exactly go over technique, because as a writer, it's important to have your own voice. Also, I would suggest taking some workshops if you are interested in writing in general. This book is a great companion for workshops and is even used as a part of the curriculum by certain Universities. This book is truely NOT a waste of anyone's time.
Rating: 
Summary: A surprising disappointment
Review: Wow. I so disagree with so many of the reviews. Though well written itself, I found the book meandering and without purpose, certainly not living up to the sub-title, "some instructions on writing and life." Better writing books abound, and as for instructions on life, well, all it inspired in me were periodic eyeball rolls. Natalie Goldberg lite. And I realize the irony.
Rating:
Summary: a witty, intelligent, inspiring book
Review: I have read many, many books about writing, but this one is absolutely the best. Anne Lamott is hysterically funny and deeply wise at the same time. The author conveys that writing is a process, at times painful, difficult, excruciating, but deeply rewarding. She also conveys her belief that publication will not make anyone happy, though many aspiring writers hold onto the illusion that it will. I recommend this book to writers and to those who associate with writers and want to understand the writing process better. It is a fun book to read and reread.
Rating:
Summary: Like hangin' with a friend...a good one.
Review: When my son told me he bought a book for me about writing I was thrilled but inside I wondered...(I have two books published and a degree in Writing Arts).
He'd been reading "Bird by Bird" for a creative writing class and not only bought the book for me, he wrote the following inside the cover, "Mom,
You are my inspiration to dream and live life with no boundaries.
I know you will love this book!" I read the book and my son was right, "I love it!"
Thank you Anne Lamott! I felt as if I was hangin' with a good friend while I was reading, "Bird by Bird" (I was born in 1953...I think we are soul sisters)...love ya!
Rating:
Summary: Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott - Great read
Review: This book is great. I recommend it for any person who enjoys any form of creativity in there life, be it painting or writing or anything else. Ann Lamott has a way of presenting the facts of life in a honest witty way. This book is honest, funny, and sad, and is a great book for life in general.
Rating: 
Summary: I think it works...
Review: ... as a book that describes the discipline of "just write" to hopeful authors. I appreciated her anecdotes, and the fact that many times her own ideas and index cards, saved for whatever work might come in the future, finally find a home in this book as examples of her own search, her own highlights, her own failures. I didn't expect a meat-and-potatoes how-to-write book, and I'm glad this one didn't go there. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to be inspired enough to write and to hopefully write well.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, irreverant, practical and hopeful
Review: I have to credit Ms. Lamott for helping me to get my novel, "Forever Retro Blues" written. Written, but not published, because as Lamott repeats quite frequently, the point of writing is not to get published, but rather to open us to life, to give us hope--and one of my all time favorite quotes is from her book "because hope gives us the ability to remain cheerful in desperate situations."
Anne Lamott is spiritual without being holier-than-thou. She recognized and acknowledges the struggles she went through and we all have to go through to get down the path of life. I have both heard her quoted and quoted her myself at my Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship. I have lent the tape (I own both the book-on-tape and trade paperback) to fellow CT Authors and Publishers Assoc. members. Anne Lamott is truly a writer's best friend. Plus, I know people who aren't even writers who have found this book valuable.
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