Bird by Bird Analysis

Lamott's setting is pretty simple: it's where she lives, which happens to be the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s. She occasionally tells us stories from her childhood or young adulthood, also i...

It's a package deal. Lamott is telling us her story and telling us everything she knows about writing. And like a lot of package deals, it gives us two for the price of one—two narrative voices,...

This book really is a super great deal: here we get two for the price of one again. In addition to a funny and honest take on Lamott's own life as a writer, we also get a how-to guide for getting t...

Okay, we know it sounds a little weird to describe the tone as snarky and hopeful, but Lamott totally is. You know how Parks and Recreation pokes a bit of fun at Leslie's super ambitious approach t...

Yeah, this title sounds a little loopy to start with. What is this, an ad for a Discovery Channel special? Read a bit further, though, and you'll start to realize what a great title this is. It's b...

Apple pie. Peanut butter and jelly. Chocolate chip cookies. What do all of these things have in common? They're pretty basic, and that's why they're knock-it-out-of-the-park hits. The last chapter...

This is basically a how-to book, with some personal storytelling thrown in as a cherry on top. Translation: this baby's not terribly tough. Lamott lays it all out in a clear structure, she explains...

Ever meet somebody on the bus or at camp who seemed super rambly? Maybe they told you a reaaaaally long story, or two or three, and maybe they kept inserting their opinions on everything from Dorit...

Anne Lamott sure does admire the author of True Grit. (Source)Lamott credits Pippi Longstocking for launching her into feminism. Hey, you gotta start somewhere, we guess, and who doesn't love Pippi...

Lamott is no prude, and she likes a sexy story as much as the next person. She's totally comfortable mentioning affairs, celebrity shockers, or the sex scenes in books that she or her friends and f...

Chariots of Fire (Introduction.52)Bill Murray, Stripes (2.7)Mel Brooks (17.1)Cool Runnings (28.36)Paul McCartney (28.32)