I wish I could send the first few essays to all my friends. They are specifically about writing and being a writer, but Hurley’s pragmatic views seem transferable to most endeavors. Find you voice, speak up, learn, practice and be persistent. For a variety of reasons, I ended up listening to this as an Audible book, but I would recommend it most as a hard copy. I didn’t love the narrator and as a book of essays, I think it would work best as something […]
Creativity is magic, indeed.
When my friend A and I started up our writing group last semester (which sadly no longer exists in its brick-and-mortar form, as A has moved to another state. Thank goodness for Skype), she got me this book as an inspiration. I’ve been trying to tap into my creativity and try my hand at creative writing after a since-early-college hiatus, as well as develop better discipline with my academic writing. I had tried and rejected Eat, Pray, Love after 40 pages, so I was nervous […]
A helpful book on writing
First of all, I did not mean to take such a long break from CBRing. But I’m back!!! And way behind in book reviews. Sigh. But here’s to keeping better pace in both reading and writing, yes? As an instructor of composition and rhetoric, I often get emails and offers from academic publishers wanting to know if I would be interested in exam copies or discounted copies of their books, especially if I consider implementing them in my classroom. About two years ago, I received […]
Satire that works
“Writing a novel is pathetic and boring. Anyone sensible hates it. It’s all you can do to not play Snood all afternoon.” (100) How I Became A Famous Novelist (2009) by Steve Hely is a fun satire about the publishing industry and the kinds of books that receive the most acclaim. The main character, Pete Tarslaw, is in his early twenties, out of college and without motivation or direction. In fact, he reminded me a lot of Rob Fleming in High Fidelity. Still hung up […]
Reading About Writing
Yes, I’m reviewing a grammar book. Yes, I have such a thing as a “favorite” grammar book which implies that I have read more than one. For fun. Glad you’re still with me, grammar nerds. I picked up this book years ago while searching for a replacement copy of my beloved Strunk & White. The title caught my eye because hey, who doesn’t want a little sinning in their writing? As far as grammar books go, this is less of a reference book and more […]
How to Write–and Live–with Humor
Part memoir, part writing guide, Bird by Bird is a delightful book filled with rib-tickling anecdotes about relationships, parenting, faith, taking risks, following your dreams, and just plain living. I picked it up with hope of getting tips on doing some serious writing, and came away with a notebook filled with thoughts and ideas and suggestions about writing, and lots more. As a person who has often needed to be nudged to get going on projects that posed a serious challenge, I felt that Lamott […]
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