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geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy: Advice and Confessions on Writing, Love, and Cannibals' by Dinty W. Moore is a series of questions and answers on a variety of subjects told with some kind of hilarious results.
The book is laid out like an advice column for writers with various questions sent in by famous writers and the answers all being told in the form of various essays. The humor is clever. There is wordplay and lists. There is one essay told with Google map locations (you can look it up in google maps as well). One of my favorites was told with the ubiquitous creativity tool: the cocktail napkin.
I really enjoyed this humorous book about writing. I wasn't as familiar with all the author's mentioned, but that doesn't detract from the fun. And I learned all about Montaigne's obsession with cannibalism along the way.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Ten Speed Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
The book is laid out like an advice column for writers with various questions sent in by famous writers and the answers all being told in the form of various essays. The humor is clever. There is wordplay and lists. There is one essay told with Google map locations (you can look it up in google maps as well). One of my favorites was told with the ubiquitous creativity tool: the cocktail napkin.
I really enjoyed this humorous book about writing. I wasn't as familiar with all the author's mentioned, but that doesn't detract from the fun. And I learned all about Montaigne's obsession with cannibalism along the way.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Ten Speed Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
mwgerard's review against another edition
4.0
Essayist Moore invites his fellow writers to send in their questions about writing. They range from the amusing to the absurd to the insightful. His answers are equally varied. He often references the acknowledged progenitor of the form, Michel de Montaigne.
The father of the essay, it seems, lacked a simple notebook and pencil . This, as a matter of fact, is why we know have university degrees focused on the writing of nonfiction, so that such catastrophic oversights never occur again. ~Loc. 441
Moore answers each question and then follows it with an essay demonstrating the principle. The result is a schizophrenic yet illuminating collection of writings. He explored various styles and structures to great effect.
Read my full review here: http://mwgerard.com/books-for-october-15/
The father of the essay, it seems, lacked a simple notebook and pencil . This, as a matter of fact, is why we know have university degrees focused on the writing of nonfiction, so that such catastrophic oversights never occur again. ~Loc. 441
Moore answers each question and then follows it with an essay demonstrating the principle. The result is a schizophrenic yet illuminating collection of writings. He explored various styles and structures to great effect.
Read my full review here: http://mwgerard.com/books-for-october-15/
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY in exchange for an honest review.)
Moore answers questions from other writers on advice for writing. After answering their questions, Moore then writes an essay to accompany that question. This is definitely not a dry how-to-guide. Moore has a wry and sarcastic sense of humour but it does wear on you sometimes as it is too in your face. It wasn't a book for me but it is well-written.
Moore answers questions from other writers on advice for writing. After answering their questions, Moore then writes an essay to accompany that question. This is definitely not a dry how-to-guide. Moore has a wry and sarcastic sense of humour but it does wear on you sometimes as it is too in your face. It wasn't a book for me but it is well-written.
erin_oriordan_is_reading_again's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this out from Blogging for Books (free book in exchange for review), although I was not familiar with the writer Dinty W. Moore. If Wikipedia is to be believed, the essayist is actually named Dinty W. Moore, not after the Canadian hockey player (or the corned beef sandwich) but after a character in the comic strip 'Bringing Up Father.' That makes him sound ancient, but he is in fact a Baby Boomer, a few years younger than my parents.
Moore won me over early in this essay collection, with this sentence, "I believe the best way to avoid coming off as a male chauvinist pig might be to not be a male chauvinist pig?" The question mark is unnecessary; the advice is sound.
The questions that spark each essay (or, in some cases, doodle) come from other nonfiction writers, including [a:Cheryl Strayed|155717|Cheryl Strayed|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1320771235p2/155717.jpg], [a:Diane Ackerman|6637|Diane Ackerman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1202835118p2/6637.jpg], and [a:Roxane Gay|3360355|Roxane Gay|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1407278304p2/3360355.jpg]. My personal favorites include Moore's anecdotes about other writers; he has one on George Plimpton and another with Nelson Algren.
Moore is funny. Quite funny. He has a quirky sense of humor, which happens to be the kind of sense of humor that most appeals to me. This is one of those books I laughed out loud to, causing my husband to ask, "What are you laughing at?" Just the thing I'm usually laughing at, dear: writers' meta jokes about punctuation and non sequiturs.
Moore won me over early in this essay collection, with this sentence, "I believe the best way to avoid coming off as a male chauvinist pig might be to not be a male chauvinist pig?" The question mark is unnecessary; the advice is sound.
The questions that spark each essay (or, in some cases, doodle) come from other nonfiction writers, including [a:Cheryl Strayed|155717|Cheryl Strayed|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1320771235p2/155717.jpg], [a:Diane Ackerman|6637|Diane Ackerman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1202835118p2/6637.jpg], and [a:Roxane Gay|3360355|Roxane Gay|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1407278304p2/3360355.jpg]. My personal favorites include Moore's anecdotes about other writers; he has one on George Plimpton and another with Nelson Algren.
Moore is funny. Quite funny. He has a quirky sense of humor, which happens to be the kind of sense of humor that most appeals to me. This is one of those books I laughed out loud to, causing my husband to ask, "What are you laughing at?" Just the thing I'm usually laughing at, dear: writers' meta jokes about punctuation and non sequiturs.
lovelife1008's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know what I was expecting when I first started reading this book but I enjoyed it so much. The book made me laugh and really think about my life and the writing process.
katiedermody's review against another edition
3.0
This might be better if you want to read funny, snarky, dry and comedic essays on writing and life. If like me, you're actually looking for advice on writing personal essays, this is really only skim worthy (which is what I did, but I did speed skim every page for the most part, so I'm counting it as read).
c_serpent's review against another edition
2.0
DNF at 70%. I enjoyed the first 60% as mindless entertainment, but after I picked it up again I became suddenly aware of the fact that nothing in this book was actually interesting to me, I was simply reading it the way one reads a magazine in a doctor's office: because it's there. I picked it up and then I read it. But then I picked it up again, and had to ask myself why.
There is no reason. I care very little about the opinion of the average American man. I care even less about the opinion of average American men who talk about how high they were all the time. I feel like I could have written this book, without being high, and the only reason why I haven't is because there is nothing in it worth saying, so why would I.
It gets two stars because it didn't hurt me, and therefore i don't care enough about it to give it only one star.
There is no reason. I care very little about the opinion of the average American man. I care even less about the opinion of average American men who talk about how high they were all the time. I feel like I could have written this book, without being high, and the only reason why I haven't is because there is nothing in it worth saying, so why would I.
It gets two stars because it didn't hurt me, and therefore i don't care enough about it to give it only one star.
jamrobcar's review against another edition
4.0
For most non-writers, the essay is something they did reluctantly and poorly back in the fifth grade.
But in Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy, author Dinty Moore takes the genre of the essay to the next level.
Through a number of essays responding to letters, he demonstrates how essays can be simultaneously creative, funny, interesting, sarcastic, sad, personal and manic.
Think of it as Dear Abby meets Dave Barry.
I'm not usually a fan of nonfiction, but Moore proves that you can cover a wide range and relate to a large audience even while remaining in the realm of reality.
What I enjoyed most about this short book was the variety of formats used. The essays were written in everything from numbered lists, flowcharts, Google Maps, Facebook updates and even cocktail napkins.
Meanwhile, the subject matters are even more diverse. They cover eating zebras, cauliflower jokes, cannibals, wearing shorts, George Plimpton and getting robbed in Spain.
Contrary to what many of us would assume about a collection of essays, this book was downright entertaining. Moore's writing style comes across as effortless and punchy. For these reasons, it's a quick read and only took about a weekend to finish.
This isn't a masterpiece of literature, however, there is still something profound about the truths hidden in each of these short pieces. For what it's worth, I highly enjoyed reading it.
Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book from the fine people at Blogging For Books. But I promise that they didn't bribe me to write nice things, those sentiments are genuine.
But in Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy, author Dinty Moore takes the genre of the essay to the next level.
Through a number of essays responding to letters, he demonstrates how essays can be simultaneously creative, funny, interesting, sarcastic, sad, personal and manic.
Think of it as Dear Abby meets Dave Barry.
I'm not usually a fan of nonfiction, but Moore proves that you can cover a wide range and relate to a large audience even while remaining in the realm of reality.
What I enjoyed most about this short book was the variety of formats used. The essays were written in everything from numbered lists, flowcharts, Google Maps, Facebook updates and even cocktail napkins.
Meanwhile, the subject matters are even more diverse. They cover eating zebras, cauliflower jokes, cannibals, wearing shorts, George Plimpton and getting robbed in Spain.
Contrary to what many of us would assume about a collection of essays, this book was downright entertaining. Moore's writing style comes across as effortless and punchy. For these reasons, it's a quick read and only took about a weekend to finish.
This isn't a masterpiece of literature, however, there is still something profound about the truths hidden in each of these short pieces. For what it's worth, I highly enjoyed reading it.
Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book from the fine people at Blogging For Books. But I promise that they didn't bribe me to write nice things, those sentiments are genuine.
aziz_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This book was funny, informative, and--most important--fit inside my purse. I adored the little illustrations interspersed in the book, especially when the author chose to write an essay entirely on cocktail napkins. I've never read this author in a newspaper, a fact that is not likely to change as I don't read newspapers, but I'll definitely buy the next book if there is one to make up for it.
This book is great for aspiring writers, students, teachers, and fans of grammar. The only thing that I didn't enjoy--though I'm not sure if this was a result of the writing or a result of working while reading, but I lost interest towards the end of the book. I found myself scanning longer essays, reading with a poker face instead of trying to keep from giggling as I had with the previous essays.
In full disclosure, I got this book for free from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.
This book is great for aspiring writers, students, teachers, and fans of grammar. The only thing that I didn't enjoy--though I'm not sure if this was a result of the writing or a result of working while reading, but I lost interest towards the end of the book. I found myself scanning longer essays, reading with a poker face instead of trying to keep from giggling as I had with the previous essays.
In full disclosure, I got this book for free from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.
kep21's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
3.5
Very easy to read over multiple sittings or all at once because of the individual nature of each essay