Why I Write (Penguin Great Ideas)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good overview of Orwell the Writer and the Man
  • Behind the Writer's Perspective
  • Still Revelant
  • Great short collection of essays
  • The dangers of the political spin cycle.
Why I Write (Penguin Great Ideas)
George Orwell
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0143036351

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Good overview of Orwell the Writer and the Man.......2007-08-03

This book provides a good overview of who Orwell is, in terms of both a writer and a man, in his own words. He explains why he writes, his political views and the imporance he subscribes to political writing. If you are looking to fulfill your curiosity with respect to the above no other book does it better. The only weak spot of the book (why I give it 4 instead of 5 stars) is that it has references to many historical events/facts that, unless you are a student of history (particulary Orwell's times) are not common knowledge. The editors should have placed more footnotes to assist non-students of history. If you are very knowledgeable of the history of the times, however, it should be a five star book for you.

4 out of 5 stars Behind the Writer's Perspective.......2007-07-02

This short (120 pages) book of 4 essays from one of the great modern writers is worth the read for three reasons:

1. The last essay, 'Politics and the English Language' should be required of all political writers and business writers as well. Though 50 years old it is equally pertinent today; well summarized in the 6 rules in the next to the last page.

2. The Hanging showed his descriptive skills, "Eight o'clock and a bugle call, desolately thin in the wet air, floated from the distant barracks." His description of the hanging of a Hindu man had more clarity than any modern photograph.

3. The Lion and the Unicorn, the longest of the essays, described the state of the English culture and its challenge from the growing European Fascists. It is an excellent picture of the British before their moment of truth. "It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and the silly.... A family with the wrong members in control." " A nation trained to think hedonistically cannot survive amid peoples who work like slaves and breed like rabbits, and whose chief national industry is war." Orwell's solution is democratic socialism; more acceptable in its day, less convincing 50- years later with the hindsight of many failures in socialism.

These essays are valuable to students of writing and to those who want to know more about the background of a great modern writer known for the classics Animal Farm and 1984.

4 out of 5 stars Still Revelant.......2007-05-23

Although I grew tired of "The Lion and the Unicorn," the two other essays and the one short story made up for it and then some. It's a fantastic example of good writing and makes clear the reason why George Orwell, who died in 1950, is still a relevant writer today.

5 out of 5 stars Great short collection of essays.......2006-06-24

Why I Write is a collection of four pieces by one of the best writers of the twentieth century. George Orwell is best known for his political fables Animal Farm and 1984, but was also a prolific essayist and author of numerous short stories, many of them based on his own experiences in British-controlled Burma. This books includes three essays--"Why I Write", "The Lion and the Unicorn", and "Politics and the English Language"--and the short story "A Hanging."
"Why I Write" offers the reader a look into one great writer's motivations for writing, as Orwell lays out the only real reasons anyone writes. "The Lion and the Unicorn" is fascinating, not only for its often humorous descriptions of the British national character, but for the political ideas expressed in it and the knowledge, made clear by Orwell at the beginning, that this was written in the midst of the Blitz. "Politics and the English Language" is a brief guide to the fatal flaws of modern writing--all of which have lasted beyond Orwell--and how to mend them. "A Hanging" is reminiscent of another of Orwell's famous short stories, "Shooting the Elephant," as it describes an otherwise mundane action in ominous, metaphoric terms.
While hardly exhaustive, this collection of Orwell's essays is a good introduction to Orwell, his writings, and his political views. Makes very good reading for a trip, which is where I read it.
Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars The dangers of the political spin cycle........2006-03-30

"Political language . . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind" (p.120). "If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought" (p. 116).

"Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism, as I understand it," George Orwell wrote in 1946. Best known for his haunting novels on totalitarianism, Animal Farm (Signet Classics) (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), Orwell (b. Eric Arthur Blair; 1903-50) was a political and cultural visionary in his anti-Stalinist writings. In his two dystopian novels, Orwell envisions a bleak society controlled by the state. His name ("Orwellian") has become synonymous with the government oppression depicted in 1984, and the euphemistic and misleading language employed by the government (e.g., "Ministry of Defence," "collateral damage," and "pacification") as a manipulative tool for its own political purposes. In his essay, "Politics and the English Language," Orwell emphasizes the importance of language that is clear and honest. (It should be noted that this review refers to the 2005 Penguin Great Ideas edition of WHY I WRITE, which includes the essays "Why I Write," "The Lion and the Unicorn, "A Hanging, and "Poloitics and the English Language.")

G. Merritt
Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?: How Ordinary People Are Raking in $100,000.00 or More Writing Niche Books & How You Can Too!
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Very encouraging
  • The Book is a Gem !
  • All about non-fiction, not about passion
  • This Book is a Treasure
  • As practical as it is inspirational
Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?: How Ordinary People Are Raking in $100,000.00 or More Writing Niche Books & How You Can Too!
Marc McCutcheon
Manufacturer: Quill Driver Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1884956556

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Very encouraging.......2007-08-09

I bought this book at Barnes and Noble. I like the statistics in the beginning of the book. He tells how many copies other non-fiction books had sold. It's very encouraging to know this. I myself have written two non-fiction books.

Brandon Simpson, Author of Learning Foreign Languages: Everything You Need To Know and If You Ain't Got No Grammer...

5 out of 5 stars The Book is a Gem !.......2007-07-17

This book is a real gem ! To anyone writing a book, wanting to write a book, or considering the possibility, buy this book !

Here's why. The author shows you how to find a niche and fill it by writing your book, as well as how to sell and promote your book. In addition, you are walked through the steps of negotiating a book deal, shown all the pitfalls, and given sample contracts to use or modify. Even though this book is not directed to those of us who choose to self-publish, don't be dissuaded. I almost didn't buy the book, since this book doesn't focus on self-publishing. Fortunately I bought it and found that there is a bonanza of information for self-publishing types as well as those who choose to be more traditionally published.

In addition,the book is filled with inspiring examples of people who weren't authorities, celebrities, or otherwise newsworthy, and who nonetheless wrote books that sold BIG !!! After reading this book, you are forced to release the mental limitation that only authorities write best selling books, which clearly isn't true. Subject matter, research, discipline, good editing and consistent promotion are apparently the keys to producing a best selling book, with finding a low-density niche within a popular category being most important.

And finally, this is a highly enjoyable book to read. The author's style is clean, concise, and frequently entertaining. The book reads quickly, and every chapter is chockful of meaty morsels of invaluable information. I have read quite a few books on the subject of writing and promoting books and I found this to be the one I pick up most often, to read through again.

The author has done exactly what he writes, CAN be done. He's turned writing into a profitable enjoyable home-based business, and he generously shares all the advantages and insider tips with his readers. Then he lays out how to get there in easy logical steps.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever considered writing a book. Whatever your current knowledge level on the subject, this book will add considerably to it.

3 out of 5 stars All about non-fiction, not about passion.......2007-05-22

Although I was very excited to receive this book, I got disappointed shortly after starting to read it. I would love to write a book but this book here is not about the passion of writing: it's about the passion of selling. Where did the art of writing go? Of course, if you are in to make writing a living, this book will be helpful. The author tells you what subject to go into and how to put all odds on your side. I guess I was mostly disappointed by the fact that it's all about non-fiction (normal considering the title) while crushing fiction books such as children's books and novels. According to the authors...these don't sell. In a few words...not inspiring or supportive. Keywords: non-fiction. Money. Pretty sad...

5 out of 5 stars This Book is a Treasure.......2007-04-11

For a beginning writer, this book is a treasure. It not only gives you ideas for writing a book, but tells you how to submit your book. It also lets you know about marketing your book and why it is necessary for you to do this. It is very important to let the publisher know ways that you will be able to market your book. Now, all I've got to do is start my research and start writing!

5 out of 5 stars As practical as it is inspirational.......2007-04-02

There are few books I read more than once. Mark's "Damn! Why didn't I..." book is one of them. It's as practical as it is inspirational. What I love most about Mark's book is that it gets you excited about the book writing business, without resorting to hype or over promises. Mark tells it like it is alright; but in an adventurous, motivating way.

Why I Write: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction (A Back Bay Book)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • I'm never without this book
  • A Writer's Home Companion
  • The Seductions of Fiction
Why I Write: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction (A Back Bay Book)
Will Blythe
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316115924

Amazon.com

With the enormous quantity of books on the market purporting to teach us how to write, it is with some relief that someone has thought to pull one together on why writers write. Will Blythe, a contributing editor to Harper's and Mirabella and formerly the literary editor at Esquire, has assembled a fine cast of 26 contemporary fiction writers to muse on his assigned topic, "Why I Write." The reasons, boiled down, range from "Because I can't do anything else" to "Because I can't not write." Ho-hum. But these are fiction writers, don't forget, and fiction writers can spin yarns.

Thom Jones's (The Pugilist at Rest, Cold Snap) formation as a writer began, perhaps, during lunch hours spent drawing sharp-witted comics in the principal's office at a Lutheran elementary school. A promising start at the Iowa writing program dead-ended, seemingly, with drunken night shifts as a school janitor. Only an epiphany involving Wile E. Coyote drew him back to writing. Before long, he'd sold three stories in one afternoon, to Harper's, Esquire, and the New Yorker. "Fiction writers often mature at a glacial pace," says Jones. " I was slower than most."

With apparent effortlessness, Elizabeth Gilbert (Pilgrims) weaves together tales of a cursing cowboy, her grade-school diary, a gawky teenager who aspired to be a magician, and a man whose neighbors had stolen his cat. "Sometimes," says Gilbert modestly, "when we are trying to find a calling, it is helpful to confirm that we are not really very good at anything else." Gilbert, it is clear, has found her calling. And Mark Richard (The Ice at the Bottom of the World, Fishboy) tells a sprawling mini-saga about a "special child" whose life is so full of the elements of good fiction (a scorpion-infested sandbox, a homesick mother, a father who accidentally lit a borrowed bulldozer on fire, a mean tomcat named Mr. Priss, a family friend who got shredded in a silage bin) that you can't imagine him not becoming a fiction writer. Also: Lee Smith, Pat Conroy, David Foster Wallace, Tom Chiarella, Jayne Anne Phillips, and others. --Jane Steinberg

Book Description

With the enormous quantity of books on the market purporting to teach us how to write, it is with some relief that someone has thought to pull one together on why writers write. Will Blythe, a contributing editor to Harper's and Mirabella and formerly the literary editor at Esquire, has assembled a fine cast of 26 contemporary fiction writers to muse on his assigned topic, "Why I Write." The reasons, boiled down, range from "Because I can't do anything else" to "Because I can't not write." Ho-hum. But these are fiction writers, don't forget, and fiction writers can spin yarns.Thom Jones's (The Pugilist at Rest,Cold Snap) formation as a writer began, perhaps, during lunch hours spent drawing sharp-witted comics in the principal's office at a Lutheran elementary school. A promising start at the Iowa writing program dead-ended, seemingly, with drunken night shifts as a school janitor. Only an epiphany involving Wile E. Coyote drew him back to writing. Before long, he'd sold three stories in one afternoon, to Harper's, Esquire, and the New Yorker. "Fiction writers often mature at a glacial pace," says Jones. " I was slower than most."With apparent effortlessness, Elizabeth Gilbert(Pilgrims) weaves together tales of a cursing cowboy, her grade-school diary, a gawky teenager who aspired to be a magician, and a man whose neighbors had stolen his cat. "Sometimes," says Gilbert modestly, "when we are trying to find a calling, it is helpful to confirm that we are not really very good at anything else." Gilbert, it is clear, has found her calling. And Mark Richard(The Ice at the Bottom of the World,Fishboy) tells a sprawling mini-saga about a "special child" whose life is so full of the elements of good fiction (a scorpion-infested sandbox, a homesick mother, a father who accidentally lit a borrowed bulldozer on fire, a mean tomcat named Mr. Priss, a family friend who got shredded in a silage bin) that you can't imagine him not becoming a fiction writer. Also: Lee Smith, Pat Conroy, David Foster Wallace, Tom Chiarella, Jayne Anne Phillips, and others. --Jane Steinberg

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars I'm never without this book.......2002-02-09

I'm a produced playwright who has been working hard on writing prose for a few years. I've taken some University Extension classes on writing and was even selected to be a part of a prestigious year-long university novel-writing intensive. I own many wonderful books on the craft of writing and I have to say that this is my favorite. It's the one I always keep with me whereever I go. I can literally open it to any page and find something that will help me at that moment. I read it when I'm stuck or when it's flowing, when I'm bored with my writing or when I'm happy with it. Some of the essays in here I have read literally hundreds of times, and each time I get something new from them. The pieces by Rick Bass, Thom Jones, Mary Gaitskill and William Vollman are, IMHO, worth the price of the book. I have purchased copies for many of my writer friends when they've hit a slump. If you are serious about your writing, are past the beginner stage but every so often need the sage advice of a seasoned pro, then buy this book immediately.

5 out of 5 stars A Writer's Home Companion.......2000-10-12

This is a holy compendium of wisdom for fiction writers to keep themselves from pulling out every single hair of their frustrated heads on any given day. When I need intensive literary therapy, I sit down and read the book from cover to cover; I've done this on at least seven occasions. WHY I WRITE is my intelligent literary cheerleader . Every morning before I begin to write, I randomly open the book and put my finger on a paragraph, and read the section. Invariably, I get the boost I need. It's like having coffee with a witty, brilliant friend that happens to be a writer. Ann Patchett, one of the writers whose essays appear in this book, says that "writers are people who desperately need habits to fill up their days." One of the best habits I've formed is referring to this powerful volume on a daily basis. Will Blythe's introduction is one of the best essays on writing I've ever read; he has brought together a magical cast of writers whose blunt, holy words have the power to heal many an ailing writer.

5 out of 5 stars The Seductions of Fiction.......1999-02-10

Blythe is as fine and impassioned a writer as he is a shrewd and judicious editor, and the real gem of this wonderful anthology is his beautifully drawn, occasionally hilarious and ultimately inspiring introduction. In these literal-minded journalism-crazed days it's hard to imagine any work that exhorts the merits of fiction putting much of a dent in the near-monopoly held by fact-based writing, but this anthology should lure many readers and maybe even a few journalists themselves who are tired of splashing around in the shallow pool of stories that actually happened when they could be diving into the deep water of figurative and imaginative truth.
Damn! Why Didn't I Write That? How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,000.00...or more Writing Nonfiction Books & How You Can Too!
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • I liked this book
  • Effective ideas that leave a bitter taste
  • Ernest Hemingway Swore!
  • A Marginally Useful, If Somewhat Vulgar Book
  • If You Don't Like the First Word in this Title, Get Over It
Damn! Why Didn't I Write That? How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,000.00...or more Writing Nonfiction Books & How You Can Too!
Marc McCutcheon
Manufacturer: Quill Driver Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1884956173

Amazon.com

Forget everything you've heard about the travails of the freelance writer. In Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?, Marc McCutcheon contends that "you can learn the trade and begin making a respectable income much faster than most people think possible." To illustrate, McCutcheon lists 17 pages of bestselling titles, including Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance (150,000 copies sold) and Golfing, a humor book (525,000 copies sold). McCutcheon himself wrote a few well-chosen titles and claims to be "easily support[ing] a family of four, working part-time." How? Think niche, says McCutcheon. Think backlist. Think about perennially hot topics like dieting/weight loss, relationships, parenting, health, low-fat cooking, sex, spirituality, money/finances, cats, career and leadership, and computer and Internet. McCutcheon is quite helpful about things like contract negotiation, agents, proposals, and promotion. He also confers a real can-do attitude on his readers. "In the corporate world," he says, "tall, beautiful people rule. In the writing world, even Yoda can climb to the top of the success ladder." --Jane Steinberg

Book Description

An elderly woman's adventure in solitude, the gay man's guide to pleasuring women, a housewife's battle with obesity, an elementary school teacher's encyclopedia of all things disgusting...best-sellers all. And all written by ordinary people.

Examples of lightning striking? Not at all. Housewives, teenagers, gym teachers, even high school dropouts have cashed in with astonishingly simple best-sellers.According to Marc McCutcheon, author of the new Book-of-the-Month Club selection, Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?: How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,000.00...or More Writing Nonfiction Books & How You Can Too! (Quill Driver Books, $14.95), "The beauty of nonfiction book writing is that the field truly is wide open to anyone, regardless of race, sex, age, education, financial background or personal appearance."

And talent? McCutcheon says talent is overrated. According to McCutcheon, competency and perseverance are more important than talent.

Why nonfiction books instead of novels? Of the 50,000-plus new books published each year, only about 3,500 are fiction. That means publishers need at least 46,000 new nonfiction manuscripts every year. Manuscripts about every subject under the sun.

Thinking you might have a nonfiction book in you? Well, undoubtedly there's a subject in which you have sufficient expertise or one for which you have a passion and would be willing to research that would work to fill one of those 46,000 slots. So how do you learn how to join the ranks of ordinary people cashing in on this bonanza? That's where McCutcheon's new book Damn! Why Didn't I Write That? comes in. In it McCutcheon reveals all his own secrets from how to test your book idea to beating writer's block to negotiating a publishing contract.

And that high school dropout who writes the best-sellers? McCutcheon, with more than a dozen books in print four of them Book-of-the-Month Club selections books that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies, doesn't hide the fact that he is a high school dropout. "I almost invariably get unpublished authors' complete attention when I tell them I dropped out of high school. Something about it fascinates people. Maybe it gives them hope that if I can do it, they can too. And they can!"

Book of The Month CLub Selection. Quality Paperback Bookclub Selection. Writer's Digest Book Club Selection.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars I liked this book.......2007-01-12

I think it is wonderful that someone can make a living writing books on simple and everyday topics. I enjoyed reading which titles and quantities have been sold. It goes to show that ANYONE can make a living from home writing if they will just do it. I do not feel that the purchase of this book was a waste of money. I have gone through it several times since I purchased it and I am glad I added it to my collection.

3 out of 5 stars Effective ideas that leave a bitter taste.......2006-12-22

In recent weeks I have searched Amazon.com for books on how to prepare a query letter and a book proposal. I have found numerous titles and purchased a couple. One of these was "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?"

In reviewing Amazon.com and in reading the volumes I have purchased, I have noticed:
1) that for most of the titles I've seen on Amazon, the same group of (let's say) ten people are writing a majority of the reviews;
2) that all of these "majority reviewers" have books of their own about how to write a "non-fiction book" and get it published. (They use the vague term "non-fiction book" but what they really mean is "'how-to' book");
3) that none of these "majority author/reviewers" has ever written anything that might be deemed "popular" in the conventional sense;
4) that few of these "majority author/reviewers" have written anything other than "how-to" books.

It seems to me that there's a cadre of "how to get published" writers on Amazon who hype each others' works for the sole and specific purpose of encouraging sales of "how to get published" books. Like lawyers referring clients to each other, these guys know that "what goes around, comes around." They know that "how-to" book buyers usually buy more than one title, so that the author who hypes his colleague's book is indirectly selling his own.

Depending on your point of view, this scenario is called either a "network" or a "racket."

Marc McCutcheon's message in "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?" boils down to "find a niche and milk it." Clearly, McCutcheon's niche is aspiring writers. I can testify to the effectiveness of McCutcheon's ideas not because I sold a book, but because I bought one - this one. So far, "Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?" has worked better on me than for me.

I do feel wiser about the publishing game than I did before I bought the book, if not for the reasons the author intended. And I'm sure McCutcheon is just a regular guy like me, trying to make a nice living doing something enjoyable and relatively easy. I can respect that. Perhaps jealousy is the only reason I felt a bit duped by this book. All I'm saying is that, if you buy this book, you may end up feeling duped, too.

5 out of 5 stars Ernest Hemingway Swore!.......2006-11-01

A previous reviewer complains that the "cavalier sprinkling of profanity throughout the text distracts from the credibility of the message." As the author, I must point out that there are exactly TWO swear words in my book. One I take full responsibility for. The other is a direct quote from none other than Ernest Hemingway, on the quality of first drafts. Caveat emptor!

3 out of 5 stars A Marginally Useful, If Somewhat Vulgar Book.......2006-10-28

There's useful information in this book - especially if you're a beginner. The author has "been there, done that" and liberally shares his years of knowledge and experience with the reader in this condensed, 260 page book. But when I read a nonfiction title I look for the "meat" of the subject. I don't like fluff, wordiness, or poor organization of the material. For me, in the nonfiction genre content is king. However, I'm afraid this book falls short of those expectations.

There seems to be "adequate" content but for the most part it lacks true substance. I got the impression that the author wrote this book in a hurry and without much passion or conviction. He throws information onto the page in a shotgun approach and leaves the reader to sort it out. That's too bad because if the author had put just a little more effort into his project, it could have been much better.

The author's caviler sprinkling of profanity throughout the text truly distracts from the credibility of his message. Does he think foul language adds to the artistic value of his work? No, vulgarity only demonstrates a lack of command of the English language. That's a sad thing to say about a book that supposedly instructs the reader in the craft of writing and publishing. Yes, I realize he wrote "Roget's Super Thesaurus" and that he got rave reviews from several sources. But what could he have possibly been thinking when he wrote THIS book??? I guess the first word in the title should have given me a clue. Lesson learned.

To be fair, there is a good list of resources in the appendix. The author offers up a section of rudimentary writing tips and a few good ideas on how writers can negotiate his or her own contract. But he airbrushes important topics such as the pros and cons of hiring an agent and how to develop writing discipline. Skills that are truly valuable to the aspiring writer who wants to earn a living at his or her craft. But not to worry, most of the information in this book can be found in many other books for writers that are better written, better organized, and presented with better taste.

5 out of 5 stars If You Don't Like the First Word in this Title, Get Over It.......2006-06-08

Some readers will be put off from the title of this book. Get over it. Marc McCutcheon has written a well-done motivation book to encourage someone who knows very little about publishing. Step-by-step this book introduces you to the world of nonfiction writing.

As he says at the conclusion of the first chapter, "Okay. Ordinary people can write extraordinary books. We've just seen a few examples to prove it. Are you inspired? Is your adrenaline flowing? Is your heart beating paradiddle in your chest? If a little voice inside your head is shouting, "Good heavens, I could do this," run, don't walk, to the next chapter. The fact is, if you think you can, you can."

Every writer whether you are a beginner or a professional can gain something from this how-to title. I recommend it.
Why I'm Still Married : Women Write Their Hearts Out on Love, Loss, Sex, and Who Does the Dishes
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Good Idea Falls Short
  • Interesting...
  • Better than I expected
  • Engaging look at marriage
  • Why Am I Still Married?
Why I'm Still Married : Women Write Their Hearts Out on Love, Loss, Sex, and Who Does the Dishes
Karen Propp , and Jean Trounstine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Love & RomanceLove & Romance | Health, Mind & Body | Bargain Books | Stores | Books
PsychologyPsychology | Nonfiction | Bargain Books | Stores | Books
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ASIN: B000FZDKX4

Book Description

Twenty-four bestselling and award-winning women writers explore one of life's most challenging and rewarding relationships

In the spirit of the bestselling The Bitch in the House, Why I'm Still Married captures the passion, loss, joy, friendship, and humor that marks lifelong commitment through a brilliant kaleidoscope of voices, such as Julia Alvarez, Susan Cheever, Elizabeth Graver, Erica Jong, Aimee Liu, Bharati Mukherjee, ZZ Packer, and Marge Piercy.

Revealing the myriad ways in which women navigate the bumpy terrain of emotional intimacy, weather arguments and separations, adjust to parenting, avoid-or succumb to-the temptation of infidelity, and decide who does the dishes, this riveting collection is at once unique and universal, and will speak to any woman who's ever been in a long-term relationship.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Good Idea Falls Short.......2007-04-10

I didn't finish this book. In the beginning it was enjoyable to hear other women's stories, but they all started to sound the same after a while. It was also disturbing to note that several of these women were on their second or third marriage.

3 out of 5 stars Interesting..........2006-12-16

This novel is a collection of bestselling and award winning female writers telling their stories about marriage. These brave souls let readers walk right into their private lives for an up close and personal look. Some were married for very brief times before the divorces happened. Others were married for decades, yet Divorce, the meanie, still reared his ugly head.

So WHY do we still get married and/or remarried? For the answer to that puzzling question, the following authors speak up: Anne Bernays, Marge Piercy, Susan Dworkin, Aimee Lius, Kathleen Aguero, Bharati Mukherjee, Erica Jong, Julia Alvarez, Jean Trounstine, Susan Cheever, Maria Hinojosa, Eve LaPlante, Jennifer Heath, Elizabeth Graver, Helen Fremont, Liza Wieland, Audrey Schulman, Hannah Pine, Karen Propp, ZZ Packer, Kamy Wicoff, Meredith Maran, Diana Abu-Jaber, and Nell Casey.

*** This book will not only make you think, but even laugh a bit due to many humorous tales. Very good reading! ***

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

4 out of 5 stars Better than I expected.......2006-08-05

I was expecting this to be a collection of "old fashioned" love stories-- women who found their mates early on and had longtime (20+ years) marriages that had endured hardships due to the stamina, patience, and tolerance of the women. However, that was the exception to the rule (thankfully). Most of the women had been married more than once, had loved and lost and found something better the second or even third time around. It was very interesting to read about the different types of relationships, both conventional and unconventional, in which love was so strong that commitment was a natural and desireable outcome.

4 out of 5 stars Engaging look at marriage.......2006-06-29


Propp and Trounstine's book is terrific. The 24 contributors are all talented writers who tell the intimate stories of their marriages with honesty and integrity.

The book did not answer why I am still married after 30+ years.
Still, it made me feel good to know that other women have found the journey a worthwhile one. This book is a keeper.

5 out of 5 stars Why Am I Still Married?.......2006-02-23

Each marriage had commonalities - conflict, love, lust, anger. And they all shared a deep desire to work hard, change when needed and support loved ones in their times of change. That is not to say that any two stories were alike or that any marriage is the same. It made me wonder "Why am I still married after 18 years?" And it prompted me to discuss it with my husband, which brought us closer together. Thanks to the wonderful authors for being so powerfully frank about their lives.
THE CLOCK STRIKES (Twelve) 12: Why I Write Ghost Stories; Into Outer Darkness; The Alley; Jay Walkers; Ingredient X; I Recognized the Voice; Farewell Performance; In Collaboration; Lucky's Grove; Happy Ending; The First Sheaf; Used Car; Death of a Poacher
Average customer rating: Not rated
    THE CLOCK STRIKES (Twelve) 12: Why I Write Ghost Stories; Into Outer Darkness; The Alley; Jay Walkers; Ingredient X; I Recognized the Voice; Farewell Performance; In Collaboration; Lucky's Grove; Happy Ending; The First Sheaf; Used Car; Death of a Poacher
    H. Russel Wakefield
    Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback
    ASIN: B000GVT64O
    For Those About to Write: How I Learned to Love Books and Why I Had to Write Them
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      For Those About to Write: How I Learned to Love Books and Why I Had to Write Them
      Dave Bidini
      Manufacturer: Tundra Books
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

      CareersCareers | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
      Composition & Creative WritingComposition & Creative Writing | Language Arts | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
      ASIN: 0887767699
      Release Date: 2007-10-09

      Book Description

      Dave Bidini’s quirky personal path to becoming a writer (as well as a well-known rock musician and sports enthusiast) began when he was very young and loved to pick at the typewriter.
      How and Why I Write: Redefining Hispanic Women's Writing and Experience (Currents in Comparative Romance Languages and Literatures, V. 131)
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        How and Why I Write: Redefining Hispanic Women's Writing and Experience (Currents in Comparative Romance Languages and Literatures, V. 131)
        Marisa Herrera Postlewate
        Manufacturer: Peter Lang Publishing
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Hardcover

        Women Writers & Feminist TheoryWomen Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | Criticism & Theory | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
        Women WritersWomen Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
        ASIN: 0820468355

        Book Description

        Recent Spanish and Latin American narratives—particularly those written by women—have engaged in a renewed identity search. Combining a broad range of genres associated with both fiction and nonfiction, the works of Isabel Allende, Julia Alvarez, Rosa Montero and Soledad Puértolas transgress traditional generic boundaries in order to recreate an identity. Furthermore, the authors place importance on both the writing technique and the story itself. By foregrounding the writing process the authors aim to reconstruct their professional identities as writers while narrating a story. The resulting works provide an insight into the alternatives available to women and writers in the wake of the millennium.
        HOW I WRITE SONGS : Why You Can
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          HOW I WRITE SONGS : Why You Can
          Tom T. Hall
          Manufacturer: Chappell Music
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover
          ASIN: B000NZFB4M
          How I Write Songs, Why You Can
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            How I Write Songs, Why You Can
            Tom T. Hall
            Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover
            ASIN: 0882544233

            Books:

            1. Wie geht's?: An Introductory German Course (with Student Text Audio CD)
            2. Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School
            3. Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis
            4. Zolar's Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Dreams: Fully Revised and Updated for the 21st Century
            5. 2005 Children's Writers & Illustrator's Market (Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market)
            6. 501 Spanish Verbs: with CD-ROM (Barron's Foreign Language Guides)
            7. About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design
            8. Al-kitaab fii Ta'allum Al-'Arabiyya with DVD's A Textbok For Begining Arabic
            9. Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar (Dover Books on Language)
            10. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors

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