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najeebafarheen's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
sirenenegra's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
2.0
Most of this book felt autobiographical, with a few pointers here and there, which was disappointing. I was expecting more insight on techniques, coping mechanisms for insecurity, etc. but there was very little of this. Some of the advice that is sparsely offered seems useful, so I’m giving it two stars for that.
book_concierge's review against another edition
2.0
This short collection of essays shows a first-published date of Nov 1973, but each essay was individually published in a variety of magazines or journals, ranging from 1961 through 1986.
I am a fan of Ray Bradbury’s and I initially found it interesting to read about where his story ideas came from. I particularly liked the image of a young (child? teen?) Bradbury keeping a notebook or journal where he jotted random words that struck his fancy, only to have those words percolate in his subconscious mind for years until Voila! a story idea was born. The word might be “baby” or “skeleton” or “carnival” or “dandelion.”
More than anything I get the impression that he was open to anything. He spent his life observing and absorbing as much as possible to fuel his creative engine. And while he is probably best known as a writer of science fiction, he penned love stories and even wrote the screenplay for Moby Dick (yes, the movie starring Gregory Peck as Ahab).
All that being said, and despite my liking his works of fiction, I found this collection dissatisfying as a whole. The fact that the collected essays spanned a couple of decades of his thoughts / writings probably didn’t help. And unlike Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, this work did nothing to improve my own “reading” skill.
I am a fan of Ray Bradbury’s and I initially found it interesting to read about where his story ideas came from. I particularly liked the image of a young (child? teen?) Bradbury keeping a notebook or journal where he jotted random words that struck his fancy, only to have those words percolate in his subconscious mind for years until Voila! a story idea was born. The word might be “baby” or “skeleton” or “carnival” or “dandelion.”
More than anything I get the impression that he was open to anything. He spent his life observing and absorbing as much as possible to fuel his creative engine. And while he is probably best known as a writer of science fiction, he penned love stories and even wrote the screenplay for Moby Dick (yes, the movie starring Gregory Peck as Ahab).
All that being said, and despite my liking his works of fiction, I found this collection dissatisfying as a whole. The fact that the collected essays spanned a couple of decades of his thoughts / writings probably didn’t help. And unlike Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, this work did nothing to improve my own “reading” skill.
samvz's review against another edition
5.0
Never gets old.
I am positive I am going to read it at least once more one day.
I am positive I am going to read it at least once more one day.
pbraue13's review against another edition
3.0
A sweet and decent small collection of essays giving you an inside peak at the writing life of one of the best writers and also giving some great advice. 3.5 stars
sofiacostalima's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
Sei que dizer que não funcionou muito bem para mim se calhar até diz mais sobre mim do que sobre o livro, porque sinto que pode ter pontos fundamentais para muita gente… só que, para mim, esses pontos desapareceram rapidamente e não tirei tanto deste livro quanto achei que tiraria. Recomendo, isso sim, aos fãs do autor, porque acho que deve ser muito bom ter esta visão privilegiada para a forma como o próprio escritor vê a sua obra.