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leslielu67's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining. Not as laugh-out-loud as Operating Instructions.
myrtlegl's review against another edition
2.0
I wonder if it is me who is different or Anne Lamott because this book did not make me happy at all? Mostly it made me annoyed.
susanob's review against another edition
5.0
The reason that I love Anne Lamott's books is because I am always given a new way to think about thethings that really matter in life. Thank you again, Anne Lamott.
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
I just finished Lamott's essays titled Help, Thanks, Wow which is about prayers. I bemoaned the fact that the book was very short, but I enjoyed it because I believe Lamott has wonderful things to say about God, faith and religion. I have reread much that she says about those subjects.
I am less enamored in Anne Lamott's fiction and it turns out, I am not very interested in her life as a grandmother either. I understand why Lamott got the contract for this book, but it was hard for me to read. I found her preoccupation with how this grandchild affects her life to be embarrassing. The child was not born to revolve around Anne. Unlike the book about prayers, I found this memoir went on much too long.
I was glad to catch up with Sam. I sympathize with everyone that 20 is too young to become a dad. I understand that grandmothers need to have some input about their grandchildren. However, I believe this book would have been better if Anne Lamott was not the center of attention.
I do recommend this book to any young folks consider having a child. I thought Lamott was very honest about the issues that all parents face and how they can impact young parents as real problems.
I am less enamored in Anne Lamott's fiction and it turns out, I am not very interested in her life as a grandmother either. I understand why Lamott got the contract for this book, but it was hard for me to read. I found her preoccupation with how this grandchild affects her life to be embarrassing. The child was not born to revolve around Anne. Unlike the book about prayers, I found this memoir went on much too long.
I was glad to catch up with Sam. I sympathize with everyone that 20 is too young to become a dad. I understand that grandmothers need to have some input about their grandchildren. However, I believe this book would have been better if Anne Lamott was not the center of attention.
I do recommend this book to any young folks consider having a child. I thought Lamott was very honest about the issues that all parents face and how they can impact young parents as real problems.
mandimsadler's review against another edition
3.0
I loved this journal-style account of a hilarious first year! The audio book was fun to listen to.
nixieknox's review against another edition
3.0
I'm always surprised at how much I like Anne Lamott's books. Every time I start one, fiction or memoir, I think "well this will be the one that turns me off", but she never lets me down. Which is strange, because she's very spiritual, also religious, sober, way into having this sprawling honorary family, and naval gazing in ways that I am so, so not. But she really speaks to something in me that makes me love reading her stuff.
My main criticism of this one was that the interviews she had with Sam (her son) about Jax (Sam's infant son) were super-precocious. Anyone who talks about or to their kid like those two do need to, I don't know, go work retail for a little while. Way too much thought into the minutia of life.
But really, I liked it!
My main criticism of this one was that the interviews she had with Sam (her son) about Jax (Sam's infant son) were super-precocious. Anyone who talks about or to their kid like those two do need to, I don't know, go work retail for a little while. Way too much thought into the minutia of life.
But really, I liked it!
heartofoak1's review against another edition
2.0
this was my first "win." i've decided to re-read it in hopes of liking it more. this is not to say that it's not a wonderfully written, insightful book of a new grandmother's love for her grandson it was definitely that. the problem i had was that i couldn't really connect with the story on many
levels. i'm not a parent or a mother-in-law, i'm not a religious person and all of these were major
themes in the book and i kind of found myself struggling with them. by the same token, the authour herself was struggling with the these issues because she IS all of those things! i did enjoy the section where she described her trip to india though, that was fascinating. also, her descriptions of jax (her grandson's) development and milestone achievements were wonderful.
levels. i'm not a parent or a mother-in-law, i'm not a religious person and all of these were major
themes in the book and i kind of found myself struggling with them. by the same token, the authour herself was struggling with the these issues because she IS all of those things! i did enjoy the section where she described her trip to india though, that was fascinating. also, her descriptions of jax (her grandson's) development and milestone achievements were wonderful.
tobyyy's review against another edition
3.0
I have previously liked what I have read by Lamott, but as other reviewers have written, this book seemed to be pretty self absorbed. Very little of it seemed to be about Lamott's grandson, Jax, and more of it seemed to be about Lamott's journey as a grandmother. This would be fine had the book itself not been subtitled "A Journal of My Son's First Son".
While there were some good moments in the book, where Lamott made some very down to earth comments that really hit home, or where she had some revelations that felt a long time in coming... overall, the book felt repetitive. Lamott talked more about her problems as a grandmother than she did about Jax's growth, although there were some precious moments in Jax's life that were shared. I just got exasperated with Lamott at points throughout the book.
However, I did enjoy reading it, although it felt slightly like it was dragging on by the end. All of the trips that Lamott took and all of the whinging (for lack of a better word) that she did about missing Jax and about how Amy (Sam's girlfriend, Jax's mom) wasn't "doing it right" ...it all just got old.
While there were some good moments in the book, where Lamott made some very down to earth comments that really hit home, or where she had some revelations that felt a long time in coming... overall, the book felt repetitive. Lamott talked more about her problems as a grandmother than she did about Jax's growth, although there were some precious moments in Jax's life that were shared. I just got exasperated with Lamott at points throughout the book.
However, I did enjoy reading it, although it felt slightly like it was dragging on by the end. All of the trips that Lamott took and all of the whinging (for lack of a better word) that she did about missing Jax and about how Amy (Sam's girlfriend, Jax's mom) wasn't "doing it right" ...it all just got old.
courtandspark's review against another edition
4.0
Operating Instructions will always live in a special place in my heart. This was a nice continuation of OI. Her reflections on India were particularly nice and unexpected.
marie_gg's review against another edition
1.0
I've been a fan of Lamott in the past (her nonfiction); in fact, I really enjoyed "Operating Instructions" not long after she read it.
I was listening to this on audio, and I just couldn't get past the first few chapters. I found it whiny and self-indulgent. And a horrible depiction of her grandson's mother. What kind of legacy will this book be for poor Jax?
I would have liked to hear more from Sam, but at least in the beginning, it was mostly Anne.
I gave up on it after my husband told me he didn't like the book much either.
I was listening to this on audio, and I just couldn't get past the first few chapters. I found it whiny and self-indulgent. And a horrible depiction of her grandson's mother. What kind of legacy will this book be for poor Jax?
I would have liked to hear more from Sam, but at least in the beginning, it was mostly Anne.
I gave up on it after my husband told me he didn't like the book much either.