Zen in the Art of Writing

Laura Lemay reviewed Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Bookshelf Read: Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury

2 stars

I gobbled up everything I could read from Ray Bradbury when I was younger, and I still really admire his ability to tell a gripping story. I first read this book years ago and had remembered it as a collection of essays about writing and the creative process. It is indeed a collection of essays, but most of which seem to be forwards written for previous books. Mostly this book reads more like a memoir about Ray Bradbury's creative process (of which he is very enthusiastic!), and does not contain a lot of actual practical advice for other people. I was also somewhat dismayed that Bradbury always refers to the aspiring writer as "he," and the recommended authors are all the standard midcentury white male canon. Unless you are a huge Bradbury fan I think this is a skip. There are lots of better books about writing out there.

surya reviewed Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Review of 'Zen in the Art of Writing' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book not only inspires us to write but is poetic and interesting to read as well.
How can I review a book like this?
How can I review a book that not only has the serene beauty of sunset,
but also the ferocity of a wild storm,
and the surprise of sudden monsoon rain packed into one.

It is not just a book on how to get inspirations to write better.
It is also sort of an auto-biography.
It is also a book on how to write good screenplays.
It is also a book on what direction is not about.
It tells us about the intelligence of editing.
It is also a love song by a poet on his muse.
It is also the dreams of lost childhood.
It is also a library that had come alive.
It is weirdly beautiful.

And in the end when he compares writing …

This book not only inspires us to write but is poetic and interesting to read as well.
How can I review a book like this?
How can I review a book that not only has the serene beauty of sunset,
but also the ferocity of a wild storm,
and the surprise of sudden monsoon rain packed into one.

It is not just a book on how to get inspirations to write better.
It is also sort of an auto-biography.
It is also a book on how to write good screenplays.
It is also a book on what direction is not about.
It tells us about the intelligence of editing.
It is also a love song by a poet on his muse.
It is also the dreams of lost childhood.
It is also a library that had come alive.
It is weirdly beautiful.

And in the end when he compares writing to zen,
well it is true for all professions,
the closer you get to mastery at any profession,
the more it becomes zen.

Definitely worth reading.

B. Zelkovich reviewed Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Review of 'Zen in the Art of Writing' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I won't lie, I got halfway through the poetry at the end and called it good. Look, I love Bradbury's short stories, and there were some gems tucked away in here, but mostly it was... Dare I say it? Boring. Good, probably a solid 3.5, but man you've gotta be dedicated to get through it.

Sean Bala reviewed Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Review of 'Zen in the Art of Writing' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors and this volume, mostly a collection of previously published essays, is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of the giants of twentieth-century American fiction. Not all the essays are great but when they are good, they are very good. He goes into detail about his creative process and how it integrates fully with all of his myriad interests.

In fact, I would argue that even if you have no aspirations to write, many of this book's essays are clarion calls to live a full, passionate, and engaged lives. Bradbury urges us to embrace all of our interests no matter how silly because they are the things that make us who we are. Bradbury is a very lyrical writer. From his novels, short stories, and essays, you can see a deep, passionate fire blazing brightly. I can promise that if you …

Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors and this volume, mostly a collection of previously published essays, is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of the giants of twentieth-century American fiction. Not all the essays are great but when they are good, they are very good. He goes into detail about his creative process and how it integrates fully with all of his myriad interests.

In fact, I would argue that even if you have no aspirations to write, many of this book's essays are clarion calls to live a full, passionate, and engaged lives. Bradbury urges us to embrace all of our interests no matter how silly because they are the things that make us who we are. Bradbury is a very lyrical writer. From his novels, short stories, and essays, you can see a deep, passionate fire blazing brightly. I can promise that if you read this book, you will walk way inspired and with ideas on how to be a better person.

Paul Kater reviewed Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Review of 'Zen in the Art of Writing' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A very good and insightful book, both into the mind of a masterful craftsman as well as his vision/approach to writing. The book reads very easily and showed me a lot of good things, several of which I am already doing. :-)