Suffering from insomnia, so I'll react to Lamott and be productive.

So the last bit of Bird by Bird blew me away. Lamott went from being witty and funny to really introspective and enlightening. One thing that I liked about this book was the variation in her writing. She's a very strong writer no matter what mood she's trying to take on, and I respect that.
Some excerpts I underlined:

P192: "...maybe this is the only way we ever really have anyone- there is still something to be said for painting portraits of the people we have loved, for trying to express those moments that seem so inexpressibly beautiful, the ones that change us and deepen us."

p913: I liked her reaction to the editor who said she made 'the mistake of thinking that everything that has happened to you is interesting'. In reaction to the editor: he's made the mistake of thinking that his opinion means much. I think that pretty much everything that she has said is interesting. Minus her long excerpts on getting published, because that's not my main goal in life. Although I'm sure that those sections would be of interest to aspiring authors.

p914: (sorry, she was on a role in this part I guess) Where she talks about how since she was writing for people who she loves, she was really careful and soulful with her writing, making sure not to be overly self-indulgent, and because of her selflessness in her writing, it was her best. You have to respect that. Although it's different for everyone. It might not work like that. Some people just write to get what they were keeping in, out. Not just for other people. I think it would be more of a challenge to write about someone else's experience, because it's so seperate from you.
For instance, I think it's an incredible challenge to write a good biography, and I commemorate those who do. I remember reading John Adams by Dave McCullough for my AP History class in highschool, and although large portions of it were amazing, I have a very vivid recollection pulling a little engine that could it was so hard to get through.

On the next pg. (195) she talks about writing in her own voice. And how it's natural to take on the voices of the authors you admire before you find your own voice. And then after you get into your own you write in honor of them. I couldn't help but get self concious at that part....I hope I write in my own voice. I'm going to list my influences real quick and someone can react and call me out on it if I'm too much like any of these writers. I mean, obviously there will be influence, but I dont want to be overbearing.
1. Oscar Wilde
2. Dave Eggers
3. Milan Kundera
4. Jack Kerouac
5. Rainer Maria Rilke
6. Pablo Neruda

Ok now I look at that list and I chuckle at myself.
There's no way I could compare to ANY of their genius.

P196: her use of the word "fantastical" is...fantastical.
....
is that even a word??

Now, page 200 really got to me.
Because it directly hits on my theme for the rest of the semester. Home.
"God is your home," and I pass othis on mostly because all of the interesting characters I've ever worked with-including myself- have had at their center a feeling of otherness, of homesickness. And it's wonderful to watch someone finally open that forbidden door that has kept him or her away. What gets exposed is not people's baseness but their humanity. It turns out that the truth, or reality, is our home."
There. Right there. She nailed it for me. That's my goal for this semester.