Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
It's very insightful, motivating, helpful, and a good page turner
The first quarter of the book has some good advice and an exercise I found genuinely helpful. I can't speak to the rest of the book--I did not read past page 50.
I'm bitter about my experience with this book. It's been recommended to me numerous times. "Every writer should read it," they said. I suppose if a writer is interested in considering life only from their narrow perspective, then yes, please carry on and read this book.
Throughout the first fifty pages, Anne Lamott is often tone deaf regarding several topics. I'm not going to waste my time writing about them all, but I didn't expect it to get any better. Maybe I'm expecting too much from a book that was written in the mid '90s, but I'm okay with that.
As a writer and a reader--do not recommend.
I'm bitter about my experience with this book. It's been recommended to me numerous times. "Every writer should read it," they said. I suppose if a writer is interested in considering life only from their narrow perspective, then yes, please carry on and read this book.
Throughout the first fifty pages, Anne Lamott is often tone deaf regarding several topics. I'm not going to waste my time writing about them all, but I didn't expect it to get any better. Maybe I'm expecting too much from a book that was written in the mid '90s, but I'm okay with that.
As a writer and a reader--do not recommend.
I so struggled to finish this one. I think she said all she had to say within the first 50 pages and the rest is just bad, outdated humor. There is some great writing advice in here, but sadly it is drowning in a sea of memoir that we as readers just really don't resonate with.
4.5-5 stars but you really can't give a rating to someone who has poured a lot from themselves to help you.
This book really hit home towards the end when I was writing down almost everything, line by line, in direct quotes, followed by my immediate thoughts as if Lamotte and I were in simultaneous conversation. Not like a small chat over coffee but one in a room at NASA, in front of a chalkboard riddled in equations and we're scratching our heads and erasing and rewriting things together. We're tapping each other's shoulders and pointing to every corner of the board. The whole time as I'm taking down these notes from her, I'm also learning a bit about myself. and even though this book was written around the time I was born, I don't feel any gap in time. the voice of Lamotte in this book came direct and clear.
While it was kind of confusing at first, I think maybe I wasn't prepared for the many quick references, the Lamotte type of wit, and the detours around different and seemingly unrelated bushes--in towards the middle and especially at the end, the style came together and it was like having a profound moment at the top of a mountain.
This book really hit home towards the end when I was writing down almost everything, line by line, in direct quotes, followed by my immediate thoughts as if Lamotte and I were in simultaneous conversation. Not like a small chat over coffee but one in a room at NASA, in front of a chalkboard riddled in equations and we're scratching our heads and erasing and rewriting things together. We're tapping each other's shoulders and pointing to every corner of the board. The whole time as I'm taking down these notes from her, I'm also learning a bit about myself. and even though this book was written around the time I was born, I don't feel any gap in time. the voice of Lamotte in this book came direct and clear.
While it was kind of confusing at first, I think maybe I wasn't prepared for the many quick references, the Lamotte type of wit, and the detours around different and seemingly unrelated bushes--in towards the middle and especially at the end, the style came together and it was like having a profound moment at the top of a mountain.
I used to write a lot, not in the dreams of publication, but just as an outlet. I haven't done it in years, though this book has inspired me to start up again. I particularly liked her idea of starting out writing about your childhood and then see where it takes you.
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I've read many books about writing. I honestly cannot remember how or why this audiobook wound up on my list, but I'm so glad it did. While much of Lamott's advice is geared toward writers of fiction, the book is invaluable for anyone who writes (or frankly, reads). And if you want to get caught up in the eccentricities of broccoli as metaphor, that's fine, but...please, allow yourself to enjoy the comedy. Some of it is fairly irreverent and may not land 100% in 2025 social mores, but most of it is a lot less offensive than a lot of what comes flying out of the mouths of stand-up comedians. If you've understood life's absurdity through grieving someone close, you'll get it. Lamott's reading is perfect--think Lily Tomlin's character "Frankie" without the woo-woo stuff. And in between the quips and the sometimes a-bit-too-long tongue-in-cheek tirades, lo and behold--there are some sound lessons about "...being militantly on your own side," and how you don't want to "look at your feet to see if you're doing it right--just dance!". Lamott learned through trial and much error perhaps the biggest lesson of all: "being enough was going to have to be an inside job." Mic drop.
Proponents of mindfulness will value Lamott's observations such as: "You get your intuition back when you make space for it and stop the chatter of the rational mind." That seems key to a lot of art and creativity, not just writing. Truly, one of my favorite read-by-the-author audiobooks (sharing company with Anthony Bourdain reading Kitchen Confidential and Stanley Tucci's reading of Taste), and Lamott keeps you laughing while you nod your head in affirmation of the book's wisdom. If you find yourself in a slump (of any kind), give it a listen. Lamott's tell-it-like-it-is isn't doom-and-gloom, but instead very life-affirming. I've got a post-it note on my monitor now that reminds me: "bird by bird!"
Proponents of mindfulness will value Lamott's observations such as: "You get your intuition back when you make space for it and stop the chatter of the rational mind." That seems key to a lot of art and creativity, not just writing. Truly, one of my favorite read-by-the-author audiobooks (sharing company with Anthony Bourdain reading Kitchen Confidential and Stanley Tucci's reading of Taste), and Lamott keeps you laughing while you nod your head in affirmation of the book's wisdom. If you find yourself in a slump (of any kind), give it a listen. Lamott's tell-it-like-it-is isn't doom-and-gloom, but instead very life-affirming. I've got a post-it note on my monitor now that reminds me: "bird by bird!"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent
I loved it. It's not so much a book on being a writer as it is a book on what it's like to truly live the life of a writer. It's also a book on how to let go and just be a writer, if being a writer is who you truly want to be at the end of the day. Not "what," but "who." A lot of the things here won't make a lot of sense to those who do not feel driven to write, but if you feel that urge, if you know what it's like to have writer's block or to complain that you have writer's block when you really just want to pour a glass of scotch, then this book is for you. While reading this, I thought "Anne is funny." I also thought "Anne is cruel" and "Anne is sharp," because she really knows what she's talking about and it's clear that she is writing from the heart and from personal experience. So pick it up, there is a lot to be learned.
It's going to sound cheesy, but this book felt like a warm hug. I'd characterize it as part memoir, part self-help, and part practical advice on writing. Because of its unique makeup, I think it has relevance for even non-writers. Lamott's writing feels honest; she truly has mastered using a voice that is all her own. She brings the reader in, and is able to offer advice with wit and without sounding condescending. I will definitely seek out her other work.
I have read other writing craft books that spoke to me more deeply than this one, but that's just because Lamott and I are two different people. She does give some great thinking points and ideas to help inspire. If you need a bit of a kick in the pants to get back on writing, this book will do the trick.