Loading...
96th out of 102 books
—
94 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure
Deceptively simple and surprisingly addictive, Not Quite What I Was Planning is a thousand glimpses of humanity—six words at a time.
When Ernest Hemingway famously wrote, "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn," he proved that an entire story can be told using a half-dozen words. When the online storytelling magazine SMITH asked readers to submit six-word memoirs
...morePaperback, 225 pages
Published
February 5th 2008
by Harper Perennial
(first published February 1st 2008)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,456)
This book comes out in January 08 but I just read the galley. And yes, it really is a collection of 6-word memoirs. About 1,000 of them. They're compulsive reading and many hold the mystery of a good haiku (but shorter!). The people at the great non-fiction web site, Smith Magazine put this together. To my surprise, I have one in here too (if you ask nicely I'll share it). I remember submitting it months ago but never heard back. Strange.
But I'm excited to be in it, right after Myfanwy Col...more
But I'm excited to be in it, right after Myfanwy Col...more
view all 10 comments
Kind of cute; got old quickly.
And for all you wise-crackers out there - that's my review of the book, not my own six-word memoir.
Smith magazine, inspired by Hemingway's six-word story "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn" invited its readers to submit their own six-word memoirs. The results were published in this book, along with some submissions by famous writers and celebrities.
Here are some that I liked:
Couldn't cope so I wrote songs....more
And for all you wise-crackers out there - that's my review of the book, not my own six-word memoir.
Smith magazine, inspired by Hemingway's six-word story "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn" invited its readers to submit their own six-word memoirs. The results were published in this book, along with some submissions by famous writers and celebrities.
Here are some that I liked:
Couldn't cope so I wrote songs....more
Emily
marked it as to-read
My attention span only lasts about five words these days, but when I work up to six, I'll give this a shot.
This is the most hilarious book ever!!! It was inspired by a challenge issued to Ernest Hemingway to come up write a story in six words. He wrote,"For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Celebrities and regular people submitted their own six word memoirs in response to a Smith Magazine post. Some of my favorites include:
She walked barefoot in wet cement
My life's a bunch of almosts
Fact checker by day, liar by night
After reading this you won't be able to resist wr...more
She walked barefoot in wet cement
My life's a bunch of almosts
Fact checker by day, liar by night
After reading this you won't be able to resist wr...more
I was disappointed. It was neither as pithy nor as funny as I had hoped.
i love work that is driven by the method, not the material. this is often my biggest complaint about crafting books. well, this is definitely not a crafting book. however, it is decidedly driven by the method and not by the materials! challenging a bunch of writers *famous & not* to write their own memoirs in exactly six words, not quite what i was planning is a peek into the thousands of different ways people can tell their stories. i think that having some very strict rules and limits can give...more
This is a good book to read while on a quick break. It's best put down & read in small batches.
I enjoyed it. Some of the memoirs are funny; some are tragic.
Great examples of a few found in book:
"Soul'd out so I could prophet"
"Born Free, but lost my Country."
"Followed white rabbit. Became black sheep."
"Painful nerd kid. Happy nerd adult."
"Took scenic route, got in late."...more
I enjoyed it. Some of the memoirs are funny; some are tragic.
Great examples of a few found in book:
"Soul'd out so I could prophet"
"Born Free, but lost my Country."
"Followed white rabbit. Became black sheep."
"Painful nerd kid. Happy nerd adult."
"Took scenic route, got in late."...more
I love this book, if only because it makes me want to write a six-word memoir for my life. My junior American Studies students wrote their own:
A little rough around the edges.
My conscience: brought to you by…
Dear mom, how is your cell?
I love god. Love me more.
I wonder what my cat’s doing.
What’s broken can always be rebuilt.
I am not quite there yet.
Would you like fries with that?
When do I get to leave?
Homesick for somewhere I’ve n...more
A little rough around the edges.
My conscience: brought to you by…
Dear mom, how is your cell?
I love god. Love me more.
I wonder what my cat’s doing.
What’s broken can always be rebuilt.
I am not quite there yet.
Would you like fries with that?
When do I get to leave?
Homesick for somewhere I’ve n...more
WARNING- SOME ADULT LANGUAGE AND SUBJECT MATTER.
Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a story in six words. "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
In 2006, Smith Magazine offered to its readers the opportinuty to write a six-word memoir. This book contains some ot the entries they received.
Cursed by cancer. Blessed by friends.
I was born, some assembly required.
Creative and destructive in many ways.
On her birthday, my lif...more
Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a story in six words. "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
In 2006, Smith Magazine offered to its readers the opportinuty to write a six-word memoir. This book contains some ot the entries they received.
Cursed by cancer. Blessed by friends.
I was born, some assembly required.
Creative and destructive in many ways.
On her birthday, my lif...more
Barky
rated it
SMITH Magazine wanted to challenge writers to express themselves in as few words as possible – by writing six-word memoirs – this collection is a result of their experiment. You might not recognize many or most of these names/authors, but you’ll find yourself paying attention to the six words that each of them chose – imagining how they picked these words, that sentence to sum themselves up. (I think I’d have to write several six-word memoirs to cover the salient details.) Some of these are c...more
Mostly obscure writers to me. But the memoirs--really, memoirs?--range from clever to common, thoughtful to obtuse, funny to lame. But they are mostly entertaining, and the best of them remind me of haiku--or epitaphs. SMITH magazine launched www.sixwordmemoir.com in 2006, and this book is an edited compilation.
My favorite is the title, "Not Quite What I Was Planning." No attribution.
Others that I liked as I randomly selected flipped through pages:
...more
My favorite is the title, "Not Quite What I Was Planning." No attribution.
Others that I liked as I randomly selected flipped through pages:
...more
Found great happiness,
in insignificant details. Page: 50
Six words; that is all it took for people to express how they felt about their lives, what summed up their lives. They did this with six words; they couldn’t describe anything over six words because it wouldn’t be the Six-Word Memories if the word count went over six. I have never read anything like this; I was surprised and intrigued. I had moments of laughter, moments of sadness and moments of con...more
in insignificant details. Page: 50
Six words; that is all it took for people to express how they felt about their lives, what summed up their lives. They did this with six words; they couldn’t describe anything over six words because it wouldn’t be the Six-Word Memories if the word count went over six. I have never read anything like this; I was surprised and intrigued. I had moments of laughter, moments of sadness and moments of con...more
I heard about this book from a listserv that challenged us to sum up our career in six words. Mine: "My students enrich my life daily." The book is at times funny, irreverent, reflective. Other times it's off the mark. But when this many authors are involved, the quality will be spotty. I had my seniors, who are winding down their last week of public school, write their own six-word memoirs. My favorite: "Done. Let's not do this again."
I finally DID categorize this is 'memoir' -- that's what it says on the cover...love this concept...love these books.
My favorites:
Almost a victim of my family
Painful nerd kid, happy nerd adult
Never really finished anything, except cake
With three cats I'm never unloved
Revenge is living well, without you -- Joyce Carol Oates
And:
Well, I thought it was funny -- Stephen Colbert
My favorites:
Almost a victim of my family
Painful nerd kid, happy nerd adult
Never really finished anything, except cake
With three cats I'm never unloved
Revenge is living well, without you -- Joyce Carol Oates
And:
Well, I thought it was funny -- Stephen Colbert
Interesting, probably closer to a four, if only because it makes you want to try and write your own memoir in six words. Only issue was how did none of the editors notice that one of the "memoirs" was, verbatim, an Oscar Wilde quote: "I can resist everything except temptation" and not made up by the girl who submitted it??
picked this up at bookstore during a hurricane evacuation, and just couldn't get into it enough to buy it. They were clever but not inspiring enough to add to what may be total chaos back home after the storm.....maybe it was just the context and better timing would make me more open later.
Several years ago, SMITH magazine asked readers to submit their six-word memoirs. This book contains 1,000 of these brief biographies which range from the amusing (Hope my obituary spells “debonair” correctly) to the heartbreaking (My baby’s name was Sydney Jane). With one thousand different authors, readers are bound to find a few favorite entries and will be hard pressed not to try their hand at writing a mini memoir of their own. Some of the ones that caught my attention are below:
...more
...more
Not quite what I was planning either... these are more like 6-word aphorisms than memoirs. Or, if I'm wrong about this, than most lives are boring and redundant.
Although the concept of writing one's memoir in six words seems to be a cool and novel idea that can be easily completed by anyone in a small amount of time, and quickly read by millions in a smaller amount of time, this book is a mixed bag. I say this because I at first was intrigued by this idea and further interested in discovering that this book was a part of a contest, I mean who wouldn't love to see their name in print, right? It's definitely packed full of some really candid, funny, touch...more
Very interesting concept.
Loved some of them.
As others have said in the reviews section here, a couple were direct quotes, not attributed to their original authors. That lost a star for it immediately.
Some were very melodramatic. Some were very insightful.
It was a quick read, and it makes you think. That's why I bought it and I enjoyed it for that. Not sure what my own six word memoir would be, but I've been working on it...
Also,...more
Loved some of them.
As others have said in the reviews section here, a couple were direct quotes, not attributed to their original authors. That lost a star for it immediately.
Some were very melodramatic. Some were very insightful.
It was a quick read, and it makes you think. That's why I bought it and I enjoyed it for that. Not sure what my own six word memoir would be, but I've been working on it...
Also,...more
The perfect coffee table book. Nice and short pieces (can't get much shorter than six words), but they will promote discussion. Brice and I talked a bunch about what our memoirs would be, and I spent days afterward trying to polish an idea or event in my life down to six really significant words. Yes, there are several memoirs that are inappropriate in varying ways, but the bulk of them were fun or interesting or thoughtful or... lots of things.
My favorites:
"Without me, ...more
My favorites:
"Without me, ...more
A collection of memoirs, written in six words. I bought this as a gift, and have enjoyed "previewing" it (reading the whole thing). Obviously it's not that deep, but it definitely prompted me to create my own. My kids got into it too, and now my son wants to suggest the idea to his teacher.
My favorites from the book:
"abc's, mtv, sat, thc, ira, npr"-Jancee Dunn
"Adopted? Are you f-ing sh#$ing me?"- Darius Logan.
Mine for myself......more
My favorites from the book:
"abc's, mtv, sat, thc, ira, npr"-Jancee Dunn
"Adopted? Are you f-ing sh#$ing me?"- Darius Logan.
Mine for myself......more
From the silly to the profound to the sad to the "huh?" to the wow. Six word memoirs from nobodies, somebodies, and everyone in between.
Some of my faves:
"Born free, but lost my country."
"Followed rules, not dreams. Never again."
"My spiritual path is 100 proof."
"I hope to outlive my regrets."
"Happiness is a warm salami sandwich."
"My life's a bunch of almosts."
"I couldn't...more
Some of my faves:
"Born free, but lost my country."
"Followed rules, not dreams. Never again."
"My spiritual path is 100 proof."
"I hope to outlive my regrets."
"Happiness is a warm salami sandwich."
"My life's a bunch of almosts."
"I couldn't...more
First of all, I love when I can read books in 30 minutes. I sped through this one, only stopping to add my favorites to my myspace and facebook pages. And I found tons of poems that I loved.[return][return]All of this started when Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a story in six words. He wrote, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Wow. That gets you thinking, doesn't it? And most of the 6 word memoirs in this book will, too.[return][return]Some of my favs.....[return][return]Pai...more
Talk about economy of words!!! The editors of Smith magazine issued a challenge to its readers to write a summary of their lives in a single sentence of six words--no more, no less. The resulting book (Not Quite What I Was Planning) is delightful and depressing; humorous and morose; endearing and disenchanting. I love words and their power, so this book spoke to me on that level alone. It is amazing how much you can say without saying hardly anything (was that a double negative? If so, I'm ...more
Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers 4Q 2P J S A YA {Review}
“Take six and call me later” It’s amazing how six words can make you smile, cry and ponder. Sitting at the diner counter and reading these small memoirs I started to notice it didn’t matter if I knew who the famous or obscure writers were…I could connect with a lot of the quotes on many levels. It became so apparent to me that six simple words could describe so many of my own experiences, and motivate me to express myself with six wo...more
“Take six and call me later” It’s amazing how six words can make you smile, cry and ponder. Sitting at the diner counter and reading these small memoirs I started to notice it didn’t matter if I knew who the famous or obscure writers were…I could connect with a lot of the quotes on many levels. It became so apparent to me that six simple words could describe so many of my own experiences, and motivate me to express myself with six wo...more
This was a fun little read. Here are some of my favorites:
"Watching quietly from every door frame." --Nicole Resseguie (1)
"Wolf! She cried. No one listened." --May Lee (6)
"Wasted time regretted so life reinvented." --Vicky Oppus (9)
"Followed white rabbit. Became black sheep." --Gabrielle Maconi (13)
"I am still trying in every regard." --Lionel Shriver (16)
"Likes everythi...more
"Watching quietly from every door frame." --Nicole Resseguie (1)
"Wolf! She cried. No one listened." --May Lee (6)
"Wasted time regretted so life reinvented." --Vicky Oppus (9)
"Followed white rabbit. Became black sheep." --Gabrielle Maconi (13)
"I am still trying in every regard." --Lionel Shriver (16)
"Likes everythi...more
I like that this collection mixes famous authors with unfamous ones.
"I asked. They answered. I wrote." --Sebastian Junger
"The psychic said I'd be richer." --Elizabeth Bernstein
"I thought I was someone else." --Tysa Goodrich
"Happiness is a warm salami sandwich." --Stanley Bing
"I'm enjoying even this downward dance." --Column McCann
"Dad died, mom crazy, me too." --Mob...more
"I asked. They answered. I wrote." --Sebastian Junger
"The psychic said I'd be richer." --Elizabeth Bernstein
"I thought I was someone else." --Tysa Goodrich
"Happiness is a warm salami sandwich." --Stanley Bing
"I'm enjoying even this downward dance." --Column McCann
"Dad died, mom crazy, me too." --Mob...more
Take one part "Life's Little Instruction Book" and one part angsty teenage diary entries, combine and shake lazily, then leave out in the sun to grow moldy and spoiled. There, now you have "Not Quite What I Was Planning."
Seriously, this book is a wreck. It's 219 pages of roughly 5 entries per page -- and almost all are inside-jokes-sorta and/or blatant attempts to be profound and artsy. When I closed the back cover, I felt more like I'd gained nothing than afte...more
Seriously, this book is a wreck. It's 219 pages of roughly 5 entries per page -- and almost all are inside-jokes-sorta and/or blatant attempts to be profound and artsy. When I closed the back cover, I felt more like I'd gained nothing than afte...more
This quick read is both funny and sad, as pros and amateurs sum up their lives in six words. Examples:
After Harvard, had baby with crackhead.
—Robin Templeton
Savior complex makes for many disappointments.
—Alanna Schubach
Fifteen years since last professional haircut.
-Dave Eggers
She said she was negative. Damn.
—Ryan McRae
Mom died, Dad screwed us over.
- Lesley Kysely
The psychic said I'd be richer. ...more
After Harvard, had baby with crackhead.
—Robin Templeton
Savior complex makes for many disappointments.
—Alanna Schubach
Fifteen years since last professional haircut.
-Dave Eggers
She said she was negative. Damn.
—Ryan McRae
Mom died, Dad screwed us over.
- Lesley Kysely
The psychic said I'd be richer. ...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Our book features nearly 1,000 six-word memoirs by famous folks, as well as unknown writers from SMITH Mag's storytelling community.
More about Larry Smith...
More than 200,000 people have submitted Six-Word Memoirs at SMITH Magazine (smithmag.net) and its younger cousin, SMITH Teens (smithteens.com). Thanks to the devoted admiration of writers, critics
and educators alike, the six-word memoir concept has spread to classroom
...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
