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Ad Lib
Ad Lib is the kind of book that makes Advertising the kind of business I'd want to be in, if I wasn't in it already. Most of it is about advertising and creativity. The rest of it is interesting stuff that I used to pack around the advertising bits to hold them in place.
It's not a 'how to' book. It's not a book of rules. God forbid. It's a casual kinda book. Often off the cuff. Sometimes off the wall. Now and then off the damned reservation. It isn't a novel. Doesn't have a plot. Doesn't have any chapters. But it has lots of stories. It's a collection of social media articles, written over the space of a year (or half a lifetime, if you prefer). Now it's also a book. This one.
You don't even have to start at the beginning. You can start wherever you want to and go in any direction you like. Forget the destination. Enjoy the journey...
It's not a 'how to' book. It's not a book of rules. God forbid. It's a casual kinda book. Often off the cuff. Sometimes off the wall. Now and then off the damned reservation. It isn't a novel. Doesn't have a plot. Doesn't have any chapters. But it has lots of stories. It's a collection of social media articles, written over the space of a year (or half a lifetime, if you prefer). Now it's also a book. This one.
You don't even have to start at the beginning. You can start wherever you want to and go in any direction you like. Forget the destination. Enjoy the journey...
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 15, 2017
About the author
Bryce Main
9 books11 followersI'm an ancient Scottish writer with with an eternal love of words
I'm older than I'd like to be and younger than I should be at my age.
I'm happily married with two grown-up sons who are better looking, more intelligent, and taller than I was at their age...or any age.
My wife is the author Denise M. Main. Her talent puts mine to shame.
One son is a personal trainer and nutritionist, the other is a sculptor.
We have an adopted cat. I play a little chess. The cat doesn't, although she likes to watch.
I'm older than I'd like to be and younger than I should be at my age.
I'm happily married with two grown-up sons who are better looking, more intelligent, and taller than I was at their age...or any age.
My wife is the author Denise M. Main. Her talent puts mine to shame.
One son is a personal trainer and nutritionist, the other is a sculptor.
We have an adopted cat. I play a little chess. The cat doesn't, although she likes to watch.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 18, 2018
There are times when a reader’s mind wants to nibble on a few choice words -- just a snack, a morsel that goes down easy with a sip of coffee or tea. Or something stronger. A few words that delight, amuse or trigger an easy thought or memory. Or something deeper. Maybe.
If that’s the mood you’re in, pick up Bryce Main’s Ad Lib. Or any of his other books, for that matter, but this review is about his latest offering, Ad Lib. As you might gather from the title, the author used to be in the advertising game. A copy writer. A Mad Man, but he’s Scottish and plied his trade in various British locales.
Reading Main is like listening to a glib, witty and worldly chum while tipping back a few adult beverages in a dark and comfortable bar where the regulars know your name and the man behind the stick frowns on noisy tourists ordering up fruit-laden cocktails.
Your chum might start talking about anything. The writing game. His contradictory love of digitial devices and their analog antecedents -- the pen, the typewriter. His love of ideas and the hunt for the right words that set them free. Make them fly. How the creative mind craves both the hum of a noisy place with lots of people and the dark, quiet nook where the hum turns into magic.
You listen. You might add a few thoughts of your own. Or not. Doesn’t matter because your chum has the gift of gab and he’s convivial and entertaining as hell. His written words are conversational and don’t require a heavy lift from you. They flow and pack a punch -- or a tickle. It’s fast copy, to use a phrase from the old journalism game.
And it’s damn good. Next time you get ready to dash out for a quick cup of coffee or a pint, invite Bryce Main. You’ll be glad you did.
If that’s the mood you’re in, pick up Bryce Main’s Ad Lib. Or any of his other books, for that matter, but this review is about his latest offering, Ad Lib. As you might gather from the title, the author used to be in the advertising game. A copy writer. A Mad Man, but he’s Scottish and plied his trade in various British locales.
Reading Main is like listening to a glib, witty and worldly chum while tipping back a few adult beverages in a dark and comfortable bar where the regulars know your name and the man behind the stick frowns on noisy tourists ordering up fruit-laden cocktails.
Your chum might start talking about anything. The writing game. His contradictory love of digitial devices and their analog antecedents -- the pen, the typewriter. His love of ideas and the hunt for the right words that set them free. Make them fly. How the creative mind craves both the hum of a noisy place with lots of people and the dark, quiet nook where the hum turns into magic.
You listen. You might add a few thoughts of your own. Or not. Doesn’t matter because your chum has the gift of gab and he’s convivial and entertaining as hell. His written words are conversational and don’t require a heavy lift from you. They flow and pack a punch -- or a tickle. It’s fast copy, to use a phrase from the old journalism game.
And it’s damn good. Next time you get ready to dash out for a quick cup of coffee or a pint, invite Bryce Main. You’ll be glad you did.
April 27, 2018
A "coffee-table book" of words/thoughts...not pictures.
Seriously...I had it open (in my Kindle) on a table when a couple of friends stopped by; one picked it up, thumbed through it, read something, and it began a conversation.
Intelligent. Witty. Insightful. Thoughtful. Even brilliant in places.
It isn't a story or a collection of stories. It's a collection of thoughts and ideas. So, you don't have to read it from front to back, in one or two sittings like a novel or an essay or a technical document.
Yes, I recommend this book to just about anyone who enjoys a book that's just a little different, unique, and enjoyable.
Seriously...I had it open (in my Kindle) on a table when a couple of friends stopped by; one picked it up, thumbed through it, read something, and it began a conversation.
Intelligent. Witty. Insightful. Thoughtful. Even brilliant in places.
It isn't a story or a collection of stories. It's a collection of thoughts and ideas. So, you don't have to read it from front to back, in one or two sittings like a novel or an essay or a technical document.
Yes, I recommend this book to just about anyone who enjoys a book that's just a little different, unique, and enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews