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abetterjulie's review
2.0
A bit more of a grab bag than I would have liked. I was very interested in the pieces about his approach to craft and finances, but much of the gossip-rant-opinion pieces fell flat for me. If I were a huge fan of his books, then I might feel differently, but I don't know his work. The tone of the cover made me think it would be more humorous or witty than it was, so that was a bit of a let-down, too.
aweichenlaub's review
4.0
John Scalzi's Don't Live for Your Obituary is a collection of essays--blog entries really--formed into the loose structure of a book. If you're familiar with his Whatever blog, you'll probably recognize a lot of material. I'm not going to go into a lot of details on individual pieces. Scalzi is a great writer, and he, um, knows how to write.
The real question is: should you buy this book?
If you consider yourself a rabid Scalzi fan, then you've probably already bought the special edition of the book and made a place for it on your shrine next to your scrap of Hawaiian print fabric and your complete archive of John Scalzi film reviews from the Fresno Bee.
*slowly backs away*
The book is a treasure for writers. Scalzi has a strong background in financial advice, and he applies that advice to writing as a career. Yes, he makes way, WAY more than most writers will ever make, but he got there by starting with a strong understanding of money. In particular, he teaches the good lesson of valuing your work, and that's something early-career writers absolutely need to hear.
This book also collects quite a few essays regarding the publishing industry. As a writer it's fascinating to see how all the various gears fit together (or don't) in publishing. That stuff will always be interesting to me, and Don't Live for Your Obituary does a fantastic job of shining a light on those dark corners we don't normally get to see and oh my god it's dusty back there when was the last time anyone cleaned?
*ahem*
Part of the book is about various interactions with other authors and famous people. It's fine. If you're into that kind of thing, these stories are just as entertaining as you'd expect Scalzi's stories to be. It's not my thing, but if it's yours, then I think you'll be happy.
Full review here: https://anthonyeichenlaub.com/book-review-dont-live-obituary/
I read a free copy of Don't Live for Your Obituary from NetGalley.
The real question is: should you buy this book?
If you consider yourself a rabid Scalzi fan, then you've probably already bought the special edition of the book and made a place for it on your shrine next to your scrap of Hawaiian print fabric and your complete archive of John Scalzi film reviews from the Fresno Bee.
*slowly backs away*
The book is a treasure for writers. Scalzi has a strong background in financial advice, and he applies that advice to writing as a career. Yes, he makes way, WAY more than most writers will ever make, but he got there by starting with a strong understanding of money. In particular, he teaches the good lesson of valuing your work, and that's something early-career writers absolutely need to hear.
This book also collects quite a few essays regarding the publishing industry. As a writer it's fascinating to see how all the various gears fit together (or don't) in publishing. That stuff will always be interesting to me, and Don't Live for Your Obituary does a fantastic job of shining a light on those dark corners we don't normally get to see and oh my god it's dusty back there when was the last time anyone cleaned?
*ahem*
Part of the book is about various interactions with other authors and famous people. It's fine. If you're into that kind of thing, these stories are just as entertaining as you'd expect Scalzi's stories to be. It's not my thing, but if it's yours, then I think you'll be happy.
Full review here: https://anthonyeichenlaub.com/book-review-dont-live-obituary/
I read a free copy of Don't Live for Your Obituary from NetGalley.
booksam's review
3.0
2021 Bingo - Non fiction (h)
A very fast read, this is selections from Scalzi's blog, of which I was aware, but haven't been a regular reader. A few of the blog posts stood out to me as being good advice, or where I thought Scalzi's point of view was very clear, refreshing, and direct. But more of them didn't stand out to me one way or another, and I found myself skimming through many.
I saw this compared to Stephen King's On Writing, and I can't really agree with that comparison beyond some surface similarities. A more apt comparison might be the Writing Excuses podcast - particularly episodes that focus on the business or work/life realities of writing, with a few entries that touch on craft.
A very fast read, this is selections from Scalzi's blog, of which I was aware, but haven't been a regular reader. A few of the blog posts stood out to me as being good advice, or where I thought Scalzi's point of view was very clear, refreshing, and direct. But more of them didn't stand out to me one way or another, and I found myself skimming through many.
I saw this compared to Stephen King's On Writing, and I can't really agree with that comparison beyond some surface similarities. A more apt comparison might be the Writing Excuses podcast - particularly episodes that focus on the business or work/life realities of writing, with a few entries that touch on craft.
paladinjane's review
4.0
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book is most valuable to aspiring writers. Most of the content, as you might expect from the title, involves Scalzi sharing advice on writing based on his own experiences over the years. He covers a wide range of topics, from time management, the business/financial side of things, and relationships with other writers. He also discusses various controversies in the SF genre and common questions people have for writers. Of course, all of this is done in his trademark honest, quippy style. It's relatable, and funny, and it makes a book of advice and commentary much more interesting to read than perhaps the average book of advice for writers. This is not a particularly detailed book of advice; if you want something exhaustive in its minutiae, you'll want to look elsewhere. This is Scalzi sharing about his life as a writer, I think hoping to be entertaining and helpful and encouraging. I enjoyed this, and I think others will too.
The content of this book is taken from his blog posts from the last 10 years. If you're a frequent visitor to his blog, I imagine some of this might be familiar.
This book is most valuable to aspiring writers. Most of the content, as you might expect from the title, involves Scalzi sharing advice on writing based on his own experiences over the years. He covers a wide range of topics, from time management, the business/financial side of things, and relationships with other writers. He also discusses various controversies in the SF genre and common questions people have for writers. Of course, all of this is done in his trademark honest, quippy style. It's relatable, and funny, and it makes a book of advice and commentary much more interesting to read than perhaps the average book of advice for writers. This is not a particularly detailed book of advice; if you want something exhaustive in its minutiae, you'll want to look elsewhere. This is Scalzi sharing about his life as a writer, I think hoping to be entertaining and helpful and encouraging. I enjoyed this, and I think others will too.
The content of this book is taken from his blog posts from the last 10 years. If you're a frequent visitor to his blog, I imagine some of this might be familiar.
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