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Summary: A turning point
Review: A favorite college professor handed me this book my senior year, after she read a very personal piece of my writing. I can honestly say that reading this book was a turning point in my life. Anne Lamott's writing is so authentic and personal that you feel she is your friend, that she has written this book for you. Lamott gives practical, humorous advice to get you through writing and life, just as the title suggests. Bird by Bird makes you realize that neither writing nor living, nor writing about your life, is as frightening and overwhelming as it sometimes seems. Lamott tells of the trials that have forged her personality...-her decision to be a single mother, overcoming alcoholism--and when you read her nonfiction, you sense you can trust her because she is wise beyond her years. This is someone who has really LIVED her life, with all the pain and joy required.If you have never read anything by Anne Lamott, I suggest Bird by Bird and Traveling Mercies. I also loved her weekly columns..., and hope she resumes writing columns someday.
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Summary: A Generous Work
Review: Anne Lamott manages to pass on some helpful meat-and-potatoes suggestions on writing and living, and let the reader laugh at her and themselves in the bargain. Her writing is warm and sharp and honest, and her story is inspiring. A must-read for anyone who wants to write.
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Summary: I Loved This Book!
Review: Not only is this a beautifully crafted book, it is so full of insight and humor I cannot imagine ANYONE not loving it. It should be required reading in every high school English class. I loved the very human qualities of the author, but did not lose sight of her gifts of wisdom. Her sense of humor had me laughing all the way to the end. I was just sorry it wasn't longer, because I didn't want it to be over. It's a book I'd never loan and will read again and again.
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Summary: Wonderful!!!
Review: When I was in 5th grade, I had a horrible teacher named Mrs. Aldridge. Being only 10, I was still relatively optimistic. The world had not yet made me cynical. I still believed what my parents had always taught me, that I could do whatever I wanted if I set my mind on it. Mrs. Aldridge taught me a good (or, rather, bad) lesson that led me to not believe this. Growing up I had always wanted to be a writer. The mere sight of a freshly sharpened pencil created a burning desire in me to put words to paper. Mrs. Aldridge killed that desire in a matter of minutes. Instead of nurturing and encouraging this desire, she criticized and ridiculed this student's early, unexperienced efforts. The desire of that 10-year-old lay dead and buried for 13 years. Anne Lamott's wonderful book, "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life," served to resurrect a bit of that lost desire. Encouragement served with some laughter and a few tears, Lamott writes honestly about the writing life. She pulls no punches when it comes to matters like publication and all the other highs and lows of a writers life. She gives writing tips, inspiration and the amazing encouragement only a teacher of writing can. Lamott's humor shines through and makes "Bird by Bird" a highly enjoyable, yet educational read. And, sorry, Mrs. Alridge, but Ms. Lamott taught me something that you never could...to follow my heart and write because I enjoy it, whether I am ever published or not. Because to do what you enjoy makes life worth living. And I can do it, if I set my mind to it.
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Summary: Good advice on writing -- bad advice on life
Review: I am at a loss to explain the glowing reviews of this book. Although Bird by Bird contains good advice on writing, I found the author extremely unlikable. Self-absorbed, egotistical, neurotic -- I guess if you take her as an example of how not to live your life, the idea works. I personally don't see how anyone could view her as a role model (cocaine and God? well, that's Northern California for you...). A more helpful book would have at least included some advice for us poor souls who are otherwise employable (and have jobs) but still want to write. She seems to assume that everyone reading her book has the entire day free to write (or whine, or do "retail therapy"). Finally, as a personal note to the author -- Ms. Lamott, it's called "shopping", not retail therapy. Get over yourself. And for your son's sake, stop doing drugs.
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Summary: truth is all
Review: I must disagree with the previous reviewer and stand by Anne Lamott. Truth is everything in storytelling whatever it's genre. It is truth that engages the reader - seeing an element of their own life reflected in the narrative. Without that truth a story will simply not engage. There is as much truth in good Stephen King as in good Anne Tyler because he funnels the emotions and insights from his own life into his own characters. If as a writer you don't do that you will not entertain a reader.
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Summary: A valuable tool for the writer
Review: Wonderfully honest, delightfully funny. Valuable tips on how to handle the writing life. I checked the book out from the library to read, but loved it so much that I had to buy a copy so I could re-read sections at will. If you are a beginning writer who believes that getting published is the answer to everything, then you need to read this book. (Prepare to get a bit miffed!) If you have come to realize that writing is just a way of life and expression and that publishing is icing on the cake (that gets eaten quickly), then you will embrace this book.
I especially liked the sections where Anne tells us quite vividly about how she reacts to having others read her work (they go from friend to hated enemy to lukewarm then back to friend within a matter of hours.) How she realizes that writing is trying to capture the essence of living (and dying) and not just trying to fluff up some nice words on a page so that someone will pay you for it.
And throughout, I found myself laughing out loud from her wit, wry sarcasm, and ability to be brutally honest about her own life and her own shortcomings. Kind of an Erma Bombeck as a writing professor.
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Summary: Definately cool
Review: I love this book! Lamott took me, a mere spectator in the world of writing, on a short journey through her writing life and made me belive I could write, though I think I took away more about living life than writing. The book is full of sound advice that our culture needs to hear more often. I plan to buy it for several of my friends who aspire to write.
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Summary: Practical, Inspiring, Courageous
Review: (...) I read this book through, enjoyed it very much, and even recommended it to friends. There are some that may accuse Ms. Lamott of being chatty and self-absorbed. (...) But I found Ms. Lamott's book to be very practical and inspiring. She is a wonderful, witty, and hard-working writer. Yes, perhaps she curses a bit too much, but this brings authenticity to the work. (...) She is not a fake. She is no coward. And I'm certain that her prose is not composed of an abundance of curse words because she lacks in vocabulary or literary skill. She has allowed her life experiences to be something she can learn from, and that makes her a real trooper. I respect her for it, and I like her writing style. If you are someone that would like to write but experiencing a block about where to start, this book may be a tool to get you off and running. And it truly does contain gems about life and learning through your trials. The title "Bird by Bird" comes from her brother's dilemma about having to turn in a report at school about birds, and he was late on getting started. Their father sat down with him, as her brother asked "how will I get it done?" Their father responded "Bird by Bird". That's a simple philosophy that we often forget about when we are overwhelmed with the demands that we bring before ourselves in life. I like the book and anyone that would like to accomplish a difficult goal, whether it's writing or building a small business or whatever your goal may be, should read this book.
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Summary: Practical, and Insightful
Review: Orrin Judd's review above is pure rubbish. This book was great. Yes, Orrin, you are out of step with the other reviewers and life on this planet too! Anyone who writes or aspires to needs this book. True, Anne Lamott's experiences, which she writes about, may not be of interest to all people. However, for me, I always liked to write at school as a student and on the job too. I always wondered about writers because although I enjoy it, I marvel at those who do it so well. In another of Anne Lamott's books, "Operating Instructions", she writes about her pregnancy and the birth of her son. I am a male, and found that book fascinating. I find her writing about her personal experiences gives me insight into the human condition and that book gave me insights into motherhood, as this book gave me insights into being a writer. Thanks Anne. The title of "Bird by Bird", by the way, refers to an anecdote that the author put in the book about her brother. Her brother almost fatally procrastinated for a school report about Birds.
Anne's father sat down with him, and guided the nascent writer to merely take on this enormous project, "bird by bird". The insight of starting somewhere, and getting some tasks accomplished, is very apropos to many projects in our lives that seem overwhelming. Thus, this anecdote, is not only apropos to writing, but to life in general. The book's chapters are divided into topics like First Drafts, Plot, Characters, Dialogue, Getting Started etc. I found the manner in which Anne parsed/segmented/broke down the writer's tasks into these smaller components helpful.
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