Dave Gorman's Googlewhack! Adventure by Dave Gorman

Ah, the perils of turning 30. What is it about that magic number that makes our minds turn away from youthful folly and seek responsibility? In Gorman's case, it meant that he would take a break from his life as a comedy writer/performer in London, focus on writing a novel, and... grow a beard. It all begins when Gorman lands a book deal in a manner that would fill most aspiring writers with rage. Mostly upon the agreement that he grow a beard, Gorman gets a publisher to agree to buy his manuscript. Except that he hasn't written it yet. Or thought of a solid idea that would make a novel. If necessity is the mother of invention, then writing under a deadline is the close relative of work displacement.

Example: in the early days of (not) writing his book, Gorman receives an email - "Dear Dave, did you know you're a googlewhack?". Most people, Dave included, would wonder if they'd just been insulted. As it turns out, the email is the beginning of a modern odyssey. Google, at the time the book was written, indexed 3 billion pages. Enter a term on the search engine, and you're bound to get thousands of hits in return. However, in rare instances, a string of two words will result in one and only one hit: a googlewhack. Dave's was Francophile Namesakes. Putting in google now is useless, as there are countless reviews and retellings of Dave's story.

The idea intrigued him. He decided to give it a try, and soon, he was not only googlewhacking, but developing Dave Gorman's First Theory of Googlewhacking. When he discussed it with a friend (also named David Gorman), the idea was hatched. David bet Dave that is wouldn't be possible for him to meet 10 googlewhacks in a row by his next birthday. This would mean that he could contact two of his googlewhacks, and each one of them could find him two more, etc. until he was able to meet them in a chain of ten. Sounds simple enough... sort of.
A brief digression: Dave Gorman met David Gorman during another pointless quest, this one to meet 54 different men named Dave Gorman, also not coincidentally inspired by a drunken bet(chronicled in "Are You Dave Gorman?").
So, would Dave actually take such a foolhardy bet in the midst of his push to become a Serious Adult? Well, you saw the title of the book. Dave sets off on an incredible journey that spans the globe and boggles the mind. He discovers the triumph of the human spirit and the insidious nature of Starbucks. He's involved in high speed car shenanigans. He meets lesbians. He manages to get a permanent (and highly embarrassing) souvenir of his travels. And he becomes the locus of some truly amazing coincidences.

There's a certain magic at work in the Googlewhack Adventure, and while some of the book feels a bit scattershot, the crazy quest is enough to keep fans of travelogues and stupid bar bets hooked in.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott knows writers. Every insecure, wishy-washy, angst-ridden part of us is exposed in her book for all the world to see. Which is probably why it's one of the better books on writing out there. She deals less with the nuts and bolts of the mechanics of writing and focuses on how to... well, focus. Her lessons are broken down chapter by chapter, with some amazing life stories thrown in to illustrate her points.

Writing about a writing book is never an easy task, so it's best to keep it short and simple. If you're looking for the magic bullet to publishing superstardom, look elsewhere. Anne Lamott is only interested in keeping you at the table, pen in hand (or keyboard at hand), making sure you get your 300 words per day, insisting that if writing is the life you choose, you live it everyday.