I expected a more focus exploration of writing strategies, illuminating them in ways that would deepen my understanding of technique and strategy to make me a better reviewer of literature. Unfortunately, I struggled to keep focused and pay attention. I was bored. I was not familiar with many of the works referenced. The addition of personal stories was a distraction from technique and strategy.

I still suggested this title for Library Reads. I understand that just because this was not "my book," it might be someone elses.

I make my living as a writer, and I love essays, so I was eager to read Margo Livesey's new book, The Hidden Machinery: Essays on Writing. This is a fine book for all kinds of writers; its advice and insights will be helpful whether you're writing a memoir for your family to keep, or crafting a novel or non-fiction work for publication. Highly recommended.

What a treasure of thoughtful tips and expert advice, given with a gentle but firm hand by a true master.

I was very happy to see the positive professional reviews for THE HIDDEN MACHINERY by Margot Livesey, best-selling author and teacher at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Kirkus described this writing primer as filled with "keen insights and engaging prose" and gave it a starred review. Livesey cleverly comments on others' writing (Austen and Shakespeare, for example) to illustrate her points. For me, the text was not quite as basic as I had expected – I can see this possibly working as a college level text more so than for high school students like mine.

Author Margot Livesey shares the lessons she has learned about being a writer in this essay collection. Each section begins with a quote from a famous author such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Epicurus, or George Herbert. She also uses examples from well-known pieces of literature to illustrate her points. Other writers might have chosen to only use their own work as the examples, but Livesey has chosen to refer to works that are widely known and often considered classics as well as pulling from her own writing. It makes an interesting balance and shows how the principles of writing apply across generations of writing past and present.

There is humor and honest self criticism. Talking about a novel she attempted to write and the problems she encountered, Livesey identifies one issue as her "failure to understand that irrelevance is a sin." She compares Aristotle's claim that "All human happiness and misery takes the form of action," with the advice "Show don't tell." Everything from dialogue, setting, characters, plot - any of the pieces that go together to create a piece of writing that speaks to readers - are discussed and examples are shown and analyzed.

A useful book to read for any aspiring writer or anyone interested in the craft from the perspective of an informed reader.

I can see how this book could be a master class for writers. However, as an avid reader, I found it so interesting.. I kept saying to myself, "oh, I didn't realize that" or "so that's how the author created a certain character." I am definitely buying this book to serve as a reference when re-reading some of the classics as well as Ms.Livesey's books.

I enjoy Margot Livsey's fiction and liked seeing her interview on Well Read TV about MERCURY, but really prefer reading her fiction instead of the machinery behind it.