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Favourite Books (288) Top Five Books of 2013 (518) » 17 more Female Author (383) Unread books (262) One Book, Many Authors (103) Books tagged favorites (113) Books Read in 2006 (13) Writing (1) 1990s (129) Animals in the Title (42) wish list (14) Craft Books (4) Shelf 101 (16) No current Talk conversations about this book. Bird by Bird : Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (1995) It's amazing how little has changed about the writing life since this book was published in the mid 1990s. Well said, at every turn. Very entertaining and heart-warming. The advice was mostly common sense for me at this point, perhaps also related to its age and the plethora of writing advice books and blogs that have followed it. In spite of this, it was still an inspiring read that is a useful antidote to the isolation of writing in a vacuum. In terms of practical value, this book is most relevant for someone just beginning to write. For example my mother, who is interested in writing memoirs (which is what the author mostly writes), found it very insightful and revelatory. I reread this book—nearly 14 years after my first reading—on the recommendation of author Daniel Pink. Do you have any influencers whose recommendations you often follow? Read my full review here.
A gift to all of us mortals who write or ever wanted to write...sidesplittingly funny, patiently wise and alternately cranky and kind--a reveille to get off our duffs and start writing now, while we still can. Superb writing advice...hilarious, helpful and provocative. A warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer's world and its treacherous swamps.
The author of five books, including the novels Hard Laughter, Rosie and Joe Jones, offers an "inspiring book about writing as a way of finding truth" (San Francisco Chronicle). "A reveille to get off our duffs and start writing now, while we still can".--Seattle Times. "Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'" No library descriptions found.
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Although the author is a Christian believer, she's not a fundamentalist, nor does she write about 'Christian writing'. And some of the language used is much stronger than I'm entirely comfortable with. I found some of the American references, particularly to sports, went right over my head.
But even with all that, I thought it one of the best books I've read on the topic - and there are many! - and would recommend it to anyone wanting a balanced and very honest view of life as a writer.
Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/05/bird-by-bird-by-anne-lamott.html (