Anchor

• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (1994)

  [7/10]

  "Lamott focuses her advice on getting you in tune with your subconscious and on overcoming a lack of self-confidence."

• Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (1994)

  [6/10]

  "Esquivel uses cooking as an extended metaphor throughout her story. The recipes and their preparation fit in with the story and have some obvious (and many more understated) meanings."

• Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk (1999)

  [6/10]

  "I found this the most enjoyable of the Palahniuk novels I have read. The plot keeps taking unexpected turns, and Palahniuk avoids overusing his tendency to repeat key phrases throughout the book."

• Volcano Lover, The: A Romance by Susan Sontag (1992)

  [5/10]

  "Good steady writing. Steady in the sense of very little variation -- in tone, pace, or style."

  Average score: 6.00