With quite a bit of humor, a dash of thoughtfulness, and a dose of wisdom, Bird by bird is a book on writing that's just a little different. Lamott shares her experiences as a writer, as a teacher of writing, and just as an every day person, and distills them into gems of insight and encouragement with a touch of reality. And the book covers more than your usual writing topics, going beyond the how to's into publication and behind the writing into life. While not every writer will find her advice for writing useful because of a clash in writing styles, there is advice in here for every writer.
Impression: While I do believe there's wisdom for every writer in this book - whether a beginner or author of several published book, quite a bit of her advice doesn't work for me because of conflicting writing styles. It took me a long time to figure out how I need to write and it's definitely not the way she writes, so much of her comments on the 'how to' of writing don't help me in particular.
But there's a great deal in the book beyond these basics that is wonderful. Ways to perceive writing, the various stages of being a writer, and life and being a writer. And the whole is told in a very different way than most writing books. Gone is the typical dry, sometimes arrogant, tone, the "oh this is so serious" attitude. Instead, it's lighthearted, humorous, and very real. So while her actual advice on the writing itself doesn't work for the kind of writer I am, I recommend Bird by Bird anyway. There are other, sometimes deeper, lessons inside that I think every writer should hear at least once.
