239 pages
English language
Published Jan. 5, 1994 by Pantheon Books.
Anne Lamott gives her perspective on the art and work of writing. The title comes from a family story when her brother had to complete a report on birds. He put it off until the last minute and was overwhelmed. Her father counseled him saying they would take it, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."
Book about life as a writer with some suggestions on how to write and how to become a writer.
In the book, the writer also explains that being a writer impacts your life and how you experiience it, and that that is far more important than having work published.
The book is written in a fun writing style, but with very USA-kind of humor. It stays barabel, though.
Il fallait bien que je sois déçu dans ma série de lectures sur l'écriture. C'est arrivé, avec ce livre de l'autrice américain Anne Lamott.
Cela commençait pourtant bien, avec un ton chaleureux et la promesse de conseils tirés de ses cours d'écriture à l'université. Malheureusement, les anecdotes personnelles prennent trop souvent le pas sur le sujet de l'écriture. Je n'ai rien contre le fait qu'un auteur mette quelque chose de personnel dans ses textes, bien au contraire, c'est souvent ainsi que c'est le meilleur. Mais dans ce cas précis, je me suis perdu dans les histoires personnelles de l'autrice, incapable de faire le tri entre ce qui relève de l'anecdote et ce qui est vraiment utile pour comprendre sa manière d'aborder l'écriture.
Finalement, j'ai l'impression d'avoir lu quelque chose entre les mémoires d'Anne Lamott et ses conseils d'écriture, dans un mélange un peu difforme et indigeste.
Helpful, funny, heartfelt.
Happy to say this book lives up to the hype I’ve been hearing for years. I got it for the writing advice, and didn’t expect to be laughing out loud. Lamott’s humor is sharp, and the audiobook narrator has great delivery. The life lessons, classroom-style structure, memoir, and writing advice are weaved together throughout.
Fun book. I understand why so many writer's group attendees enjoy it but I didn't find the content substantive enough to appreciate it beyond the pleasant and likeable voice of Anne Lamott.
This was a pep talk about writing, and I did get some actionable advice on writing. One of the things Anne is a proponent of is writing about one's childhood which hadn't crossed my radar until she proposed it! I am excited to write something now!
I'm not particularly interested in becoming a writer, but much of what Anne Lamott has to say about life is profound. And humorous. And well-told.
