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<book id="222900">
  <title><![CDATA[Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[1569243794]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9781569243794]]></isbn13>
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  <default_description>&lt;div&gt;Written with elegance, warmth, and humor, this highly original &quot;teaching memoir&quot; by William Zinsser&amp;#8212;renowned bestselling author of &lt;i&gt;On Writing Well&lt;/i&gt; gives you the tools to organize and recover your past, and the confidence to believe in your life narrative. His method is to take you on a memoir of his own: 13 chapters in which he recalls dramatic, amusing, and often surprising moments in his long and varied life as a writer, editor, teacher, and traveler. Along the way, Zinsser pauses to explain the technical decisions he made as he wrote about his life. They are the same decisions you&amp;#8217;ll have to make as you write about your own life: matters of selection, condensation, focus, attitude, voice, and tone.&lt;/div&gt;</default_description>
  <id type="integer">707193</id>
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  <original_publication_year type="integer">2004</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:29|5:4|4:8|3:11|2:5|1:1|</rating_dist>
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  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.31]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[28]]></ratings_count>
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  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222900.Writing_About_Your_Life_A_Journey_into_the_Past]]></url>
  <authors>
        <author id="64019">
      <name><![CDATA[William Knowlton Zinsser]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/64019.William_Knowlton_Zinsser]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[4.06]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[1183]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[216]]></text_reviews_count>
    </author>
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    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="64">
    <review id="21555431">
    <user id="1034201">
    <name><![CDATA[Whitney]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Rochester, MN]]></location>        
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      <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat May 03 22:46:25 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jul 06 05:49:52 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[My creative writing teacher in college suggested that before attempting any sort of creative writing, you should first write a memoir to both practice your writing and to declutter your own experiences so you don't keep revisiting them in your later fiction. I decided to take her advice and checked ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21555431">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21555431]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="47278294">
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    <name><![CDATA[Sharon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Rexburg, ID]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/162028-sharon]]></url>
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      <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Feb 23 12:19:56 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 23 12:19:56 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Zinsser is always a delight to read, but, at times, he seems to ramble as he meanders down a path of memories from his own life. ]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47278294]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="56214701">
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  <date_added>Fri May 15 15:05:40 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri May 15 15:05:40 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past by William Zinsser (2005)]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56214701]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="9297776">
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    <name><![CDATA[Mia]]></name>
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      <rating>1</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 19 00:06:10 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 19 00:07:58 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It had some good pointers, but I didn't close the book feeling that I had learned anything &quot;new&quot;. In fact, it was a little off-putting that he included only his own work as samples of good/bad pieces. Especially the &quot;good&quot; -- it felt very much like &quot;see what I did here? this...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9297776">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9297776]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="26799015">
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    <name><![CDATA[Amanda]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
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      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 09 17:08:37 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 09 17:30:18 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Another strong book about writing, specifically non-fiction. I think there is something worthy of everyone capturing his or her own history for future generations. Zissner explains &quot;Writers are the custodians of memory.&quot; He appreciates the magnitude of writing a memoir of any scope and bre...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26799015">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26799015]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="11587780">
    <user id="270145">
    <name><![CDATA[Chelsie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lethbridge, AB, Canada]]></location>        
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      <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 03 18:33:43 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 06 16:46:05 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The only thing that I enjoyed about this book was the brief chapter of how to write a memoir. Other than that I found it mostly just an excuse for the author to write an autobiography on himself but make it seem like it was a book of advice to writers. Altogether a disappointment!  ]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11587780]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="30373092">
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    <name><![CDATA[Cindy]]></name>
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  <date_added>Sun Aug 17 09:19:55 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Aug 17 09:20:06 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[This is great for all nonfiction writers...]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30373092]]></url>
</review>
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