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laurenxelissa's review
4.0
This was a fun selection of short shorts and writing essays. I found them funny and insightful, though I did favor the essays over some of the stories.
lava77's review
4.0
The essays are excellent, dark, attitude-filled lessons on writing, loaded with practical advice. The flash fiction is at times grim, poignant and funny, making you wish the stories were longer.
donfoolery's review
4.0
An opinion about a book of 30 microessays and 30 flash fiction stories shouldn't be very long. The essay half is on writing; it's now in my top 5 of writing resources. Not every flash tale resonated with me but "Unfriendly Cashiers" is any indication, each story holds a grain of real truth.
erinbrenner's review
3.0
Almond’s writing style is straightforward and no holds barred. - See more at: http://thewritingresource.net/2011/08/04/take-a-minute-to-write-right
sshabein's review
4.0
Half essays on writing, half micro fiction, This Won’t Take But A Minute, Honey can be read entirely in an afternoon, or like the title says, for a moment here and there. It is designed to fit in a back pocket and does away with dense ruminations on inspiration and style. “Writing is decision making,” Almond says. “Nothing more and nothing less.”
Almond’s stories hover between the beautiful past and the potential of a glowing future, all filtered through melancholy. Love and regret both reach their peaks at one crucial moment, and “These are the minutes he wishes were a thousand years” (“Chibás Speaks”). When else do we learn?
His borrowed edict that every word should receive scrutiny is true, and his descriptions are perfect. Even in stories I did not enjoy as much compared with others, I could pluck out at least one sentence that made me say, Yes.
(Full review can be found at Glorified Love Letters.)
Almond’s stories hover between the beautiful past and the potential of a glowing future, all filtered through melancholy. Love and regret both reach their peaks at one crucial moment, and “These are the minutes he wishes were a thousand years” (“Chibás Speaks”). When else do we learn?
His borrowed edict that every word should receive scrutiny is true, and his descriptions are perfect. Even in stories I did not enjoy as much compared with others, I could pluck out at least one sentence that made me say, Yes.
(Full review can be found at Glorified Love Letters.)
karencarlson's review
5.0
Fantastic flashes, great craft essays. Detailed comments at A Just Recompense.
paulieg's review
5.0
I love writing-craft books SO MUCH--just the *thought* is bringing tears to my eyes this very minute. I created an at-home (low-res?) third year to my MFA program by binge-reading craft books as fast as the public library could fulfill my hold requests, and introduced myself to the genius of Jack Bickham, Donald Maass, Julia Cameron, Adair Lara, James Scott Bell, and Stephen King as Ultimate Craft Masters. It took some time to appreciate Anne Lamott's much-loved "Bird by Bird" since it seemed to be more about process than craft (and, even then, was more about *avoiding* process/craft/actual writing, which I find delightful now but was frustrating when seeking structural guidance). Still, I learned so much from these and other authors during that blissful year where not much writing was done, but much education was had.
Steve Almond's book hits my current craft-book sweet spot: stellar, no-nonsense writing tips paired with a hint of realistic exasperation (re: crankiness) that is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. I even really-really liked the flash-fiction half of his book, which is an ASTOUNDING statement if you know anything about me and/or my motto, which is: "The only good thing about flash-fiction is that it takes even less time to NOT read than regular short stories."
(**Author's Note: in unrelated news, IntellectualRefuge.com will publish a flash-essay of mine sometime this fall...)
In a TOTALLY shallow aside that is COMPLETELY unrelated to content, the *size* of this book is ridiculously seductive; I am a Kindle convert because now I can *finally* read comfortably with one hand, etc-etc-etc, but the size & thickness of "This Won't Take But A Minute" is ideal for a print book--I LOVED bending back the pages and creasing the spine and it touched my memory for how pleasureable it can be to hold a paper book.
Don't wait too many minutes, Honeys, before ordering this book (I'm truly sorry, but I HAD to say it)--it offers astute writing instruction & wit-filled delight, both of which are in short order these days.
Steve Almond's book hits my current craft-book sweet spot: stellar, no-nonsense writing tips paired with a hint of realistic exasperation (re: crankiness) that is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. I even really-really liked the flash-fiction half of his book, which is an ASTOUNDING statement if you know anything about me and/or my motto, which is: "The only good thing about flash-fiction is that it takes even less time to NOT read than regular short stories."
(**Author's Note: in unrelated news, IntellectualRefuge.com will publish a flash-essay of mine sometime this fall...)
In a TOTALLY shallow aside that is COMPLETELY unrelated to content, the *size* of this book is ridiculously seductive; I am a Kindle convert because now I can *finally* read comfortably with one hand, etc-etc-etc, but the size & thickness of "This Won't Take But A Minute" is ideal for a print book--I LOVED bending back the pages and creasing the spine and it touched my memory for how pleasureable it can be to hold a paper book.
Don't wait too many minutes, Honeys, before ordering this book (I'm truly sorry, but I HAD to say it)--it offers astute writing instruction & wit-filled delight, both of which are in short order these days.
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