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mantaman0a's review against another edition
3.0
This book was hard to pick up again after putting down.
There is a bit too much meandering name-dropping for it to be enjoyably readable. I wished Atwood would have just spoken boldly without feeling the need to reference so many other people.
There is a bit too much meandering name-dropping for it to be enjoyably readable. I wished Atwood would have just spoken boldly without feeling the need to reference so many other people.
bgeorgiam's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
such an interesting yet obvious way of looking at writing and reading. margaret is so knowledgable and shows us exactly what are the pitfalls of this knowledge.
lucy_goosey7's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I've read on considering the craft of writing. Will return to this again and again.
titus_hjelm's review against another edition
4.0
I have to admit that I hadn't read anything by Atwood earlier, but will do for sure now. This is not a 'how to be a writer' guide, nor even an autobiographical account of the craft (although there is a bit of that too). It's a literary, witty, thematic contemplation of the writer's life. Much recommended.
doitnowanna's review against another edition
Not entirely what I expected. I was looking for more like Stephen Kings On Writing, and instead I received an authors discussion of a bunch of other stories and writings and how she sees a writer being pulled out of that.
spentcello's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Suicide
redfae's review against another edition
I didn’t finish this book. It wasn’t for me. Maybe I’ll revisit one day in the future.
It is exactly as the title suggests - Margaret chatting about different writers and writing, and includes some interesting insights on her life and thoughts on the subject.
It is exactly as the title suggests - Margaret chatting about different writers and writing, and includes some interesting insights on her life and thoughts on the subject.
mel_st's review against another edition
3.0
The three-star rating is more a reflection of where I was when reading this rather than the book as such. Five chapters on various aspects of why writers write, and what they are doing when they write. I think the mismatch for me was the very analytical approach which I would normally enjoy but was probably a bit much for the way I was feeling at the time. As always though she has such a way with words. A few delicious phrases:
Referring to the task of writing: "laboring in the wordmines" This phrase really captured that grappling, and bringing out the right word.
On finding that the nickname she had been called was not her real name: "What a revelation it was for me to discover that I was not who I was! And that I had another identity lurking out of sight, like an empty suitcase stashed in a closet, waiting to be filled."
Referring to the task of writing: "laboring in the wordmines" This phrase really captured that grappling, and bringing out the right word.
On finding that the nickname she had been called was not her real name: "What a revelation it was for me to discover that I was not who I was! And that I had another identity lurking out of sight, like an empty suitcase stashed in a closet, waiting to be filled."