Reviews

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

hippoponymous's review against another edition

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informative lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

dylan__'s review against another edition

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informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

kitdunsmore's review against another edition

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5.0

One of the best books on writing I've ever read, mainly because Lamott is brutally honest and funny at the same time. I use a couple of her tools regularly: the concept of a shitty first draft and the one-inch frame (short assignments). I love the stories she tells and that she treats the voices in her head as radio stations. A fun read.

ladylazarus007's review against another edition

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3.0

At times funny, but mostly cloying to my taste.

kaitexpectations's review against another edition

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3.75

I really enjoyed a lot of this book. Chunks of it definitely felt dated. But the author's writing style is humorous and insightful!

authoraugust's review against another edition

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5.0

This is the writing book that calls most clearly to my heart. On nearly every two-page spread, I find myself itching for a highlighter or a pencil, though I've never actually marked my copy (I laboriously copy quotes out of it instead). This time, I digested it slowly, carefully reading each section and trying to let it sink in. I know I'll have to return, as I always do - there's just so much here from Lamott, who is absolutely on point on every page - but each time I return I hope more will stick.

I think Bird works for me because Lamott isn't pretending writing is anything but hard f***ing work. It's hard to do the work. It's hard to dig that deep inside yourself and expose it to the world. It's hard to risk sharing your toils with an audience of any size. It's hard to come to terms with the realities of publishing, that it doesn't change your life magically, that no switches are flipped when millions of people read your work. But she does such an amazing job of convincing me, time and time again, that's it's hard work worth doing. Worth doing for yourself, worth doing for the world.

My words are worth writing. That's what Bird tells me.

lesleykwrites's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

stepanana's review against another edition

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5.0

And now I will go write. Get the truth on paper.

a_little_person's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

grclnntt's review against another edition

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Racism, ableism, sympathizing with cops. Done for now. Only would pick this book back up so that I can review it to say all the atrocities and micro aggressions it has.