Anne Lamott - Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Pros: Witty and excellent advice

Cons: none

The Bottom Line: Read it. Learn and laugh!

Review: I’ve been writing semi-professionally for about ten years and when I saw a review of Bird By Bird ...

Pros: wonderfully written, entertaining, encouraging and informative

Cons: shows how full of struggle a writer's life is...

The Bottom Line: An excellent book whether you want to write for a living or just to pass a class.

Review: It's nearly four weeks into January, and lamentably my writing aspirations for the year are not well on their way to being realized. I thought this would be a month bristling with productivity; I have far less to do than in December, so it should follow ...

Pros: writing style, phrasing

Cons: none

The Bottom Line: "I know why the caged bird sings
Only joy comes from song
Shes so rare and beautiful to others
Why not just set her free
Alica Keys

Review: Sitting with your hands hovering over the keyboard, or pen/pencil and paper, with thoughts of the great American novel wafting through your head? Think you have a story to tell that no one else can, or has, told? Or do you have a swarm of thoughts ...

Pros: witty book with practical advice

Cons: a fair amount of swearing

Review: About five years ago, I worked at a bookstore staffed by numerous aspiring writers. All of them loved Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott; I was curious as to why. I bought it, read it, and loved it (so much that I even gave a copy to my...

Pros: Inspiring, humorous, witty, honest

Cons: If you aren't willing to accept that being published isn't everything, skip it

The Bottom Line: This is a touching, witty, humorous book for anyone that loves to write, or loves Anne Lamott

Review: 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 at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table...

Pros: Touching, unpretentious, funny and often poignant book about life and writing.

Cons: Will not unlock any magic doors to becoming a writer, but that isn't really the point anyway.

Review: My college roommate introduced me to this gem when her mother sent it to her in a care package. We would be working on our junior year theses and, in the middle of the silence, I would suddenly hear giggling from across the room. Of course, I wanted to...

Pros: Lighthearted and entertaining

Cons: Not for those looking for hard instruction

Review: "Bird by Bird" by Ann Lamott is one of the most entertaining writing books I've ever read. Rather than list all the things one must do to become a "successful writer", Lamott shares her experience as a woman, a mother, a daughter,...

Pros: hysterically funny, practical, wise

Cons: very down on publication

Review: This book, hands down, has to be one of the best books on writing. The first chapter is a introduction of AL's writing life-her father Kenneth Lamott was a writer and taught her that she had to do her writing like scales on a piano; do it everyday, you...

Pros: Easy to Read, Motivational, Honest

Cons: Nothing

Review: With chapter headings like Jealousy, Radio Station KFKD, and Polaroids, you wouldn't think this was a book on writing. But it is--and it's a good one. Ms. Lamott tells it like it is for the writing world--you're not always going to produce great...

Pros: must read for writers

Cons: too short

Review: Anne Lamott comes along and tells me that I am not alone. I purchased this book after a year of being hassled by a writer friend of mine to buy it. She had sent me Operating Instructions prior to the birth of my daughter, and to be honest, I love...