This novel is in the play-in round for the Tournament of Books and is by far my favorite to continue on. It is a bit different from the other books I'This novel is in the play-in round for the Tournament of Books and is by far my favorite to continue on. It is a bit different from the other books I've read by this author, although I'm relatively new to her and haven't read everything by far. But it does one of my favorite things a book can do - take me on a journey. It starts with a woman stealing a dead body for a friend and ends in a hospital during pandemic times. In between is a bookstore owner named Louise Erdrich, several indigenous characters and others who wish they were, a bookstore ghost, one memorable customer, the protest landscape of Minneapolis, and more. It felt like a book that let the author talk about books she loves without that being the central plot point. And narrated by the author - what a treat. ...more
Glory Edim asked a handful of black women writers when they first saw themselves in literature, and this essay collection includes their answers. I liGlory Edim asked a handful of black women writers when they first saw themselves in literature, and this essay collection includes their answers. I listened to the audio which I would not recommend. It would have been great if the contributors had narrated their own essays, but they're all read by the editor, making some of it feel a bit repetitive an hard to separate out. Also it's much harder to mark up an audiobook and there's just no way to read this without adding to your TBR list! I've already started readings collection from a poet I learned about from one of the essays.
Contributors include Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Unburied, Sing), Lynn Nottage (Sweat), Jacqueline Woodson (Another Brooklyn), Gabourey Sidibe (This Is Just My Face), Morgan Jerkins (This Will Be My Undoing), Tayari Jones (An American Marriage), Rebecca Walker (Black, White and Jewish), and Barbara Smith (Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology). <-- I copied this list from Audible. ...more
This is kind of about a library but it's more about how a small group of people tries to survive through years of ongoing siege in Daraya, Syria. ThroThis is kind of about a library but it's more about how a small group of people tries to survive through years of ongoing siege in Daraya, Syria. Throughout the bombing and blockade they rescue books from buildings and create a library underground. The book was written up in Elle Magazine just last month because it is written by a female journalist. She gets her information second-hand through however she can connect with the people in Daraya, sometimes it's up to WeChat. There is a accompanying documentary called "Daraya: A Library Under the Bombs." ...more
Write all the books about books you can, I will read them. All of them. Nancy Pearl teams up with Jeff Schwager to interview 23 mostly well-known authWrite all the books about books you can, I will read them. All of them. Nancy Pearl teams up with Jeff Schwager to interview 23 mostly well-known authors about their reading lives. Most people know Nancy Pearl as the world's librarian and model for the iconic shushing librarian action figure, along with being the author of readers advisory books like Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason. Jeff Schwager is less known to me but because the chapters in this book are transcribed interviews, I know he likes Philip Roth and Denis Johnson, and that right there tells you a lot about a person.
The best part of books like this is that I come away with more books I want to read - some I already know I want to read, or have had lingering on my shelves; a few I'd never heard of, a few I felt more interested in reading after hearing what the writer had to say about it (or sometimes, the interviewers.) There is a slight warning I feel I should give - the two interviewers are exuberant about books and outnumber the people they are interviewing. And since the chapters are transcriptions rather than narratives, you can see them cutting people off - I feel they would beg your forgiveness and hope you see it in the light of shared delight rather than competing interests. That is the spirit I have chosen to see it (otherwise it might be annoying.)
A lot of writers share some major authors who have influenced them, often some of the greats, and part of me believes that sometimes we say these authors because we think we should. I'm more interested in the unique books or writers that inspired people. I loved hearing about Amor Towles' project-based book club (wow) and Dave Eggers' experiences as a publisher.
I don't think this will take away from the experience of reading these interviews, so I will share the books I've added (or confirmed) on my list:
From Nancy Pearl's comments: The Nowhere City by Alison Lurie (in conversation with Jonathan Lethem) The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli (in conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen) A Dangerous Friend by Ward Just, but only after reading The Quiet American by Graham Greene...(in conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen, but I have Ward on my radar from Thomas O.)
From Laila Lalami: [book of poetry from Tahar Ben Jelloun that doesn't seem to exist in English! darn!] A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
From T.C. Boyle: Outside Looking In by T.C. Boyle (oh this is from his intro) Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (I bought this last year for the Back to Classics challenge for a comic novel and never read it)
From Louise Erdrich: Hope Against Hope by Nadezhda Mandelstam Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (sitting on my Kindle, mentioned by others)
From Dave Eggers: Herzog by Saul Bellow (I've never had him explained to me!) Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather (he claims it is her best...) Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (on my shelf!)
From Laurie Frankel: American War by Omar El Akkad (most mentions I see are lukewarm but her feelings were very strong... I have this on my shelf)
Reading this was a pleasure - short profiles of women writing about science, nature, the environment - from a wide range of time periods, backgrounds,Reading this was a pleasure - short profiles of women writing about science, nature, the environment - from a wide range of time periods, backgrounds, etc. I had read quite a few of the women (some are favorites close to my heart - Annie Dillard, Mary Oliver, etc) but still my TBR grew exponentially!
For each writer profiled, there is an overview, at least one excerpt, an artistic rendering of her face, and a bibliography. Often short lists of additional similar writers finishes a longer profile.
Originally this was slated to come out April 14 from Timber Press, who provided me an eARC in NetGalley, but is now coming out in June....more
I went into this expecting a lighter read about the love of books and instead found a deep scholarly work examining several topics connected to readinI went into this expecting a lighter read about the love of books and instead found a deep scholarly work examining several topics connected to reading aloud. It spans brain development, bonding, and even looks at some studies of parents who were incarcerated or serving in the military recording themselves reading to their children and how that lessened anxiety.
I always make the students in my reading class read out loud, but I think this book will add some scholarly depth to that practice.
Personal connection wise, I smiled over the section on the Iliad and Odyssey, because when I was in T.A.G. English in 9th grade, we were divided into groups and told to "do something creative" and my group made a radio play, which in its own way is a form of reading aloud!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review....more
"Collecting is like a hunger, and having one more book doesn't quench the longing for another."
I rediscovered this book on my shelves when I reorganiz"Collecting is like a hunger, and having one more book doesn't quench the longing for another."
I rediscovered this book on my shelves when I reorganized everything and thought it would be a good choice for the "true crime" part of the Reading Women Challenge. It is an interesting peek into the world of book collectors and book thieves, and the author had a lot of face time with a notorious thief who never stays incarcerated for long....more
Shaun Blythell would be sore that I read his book on a Kindle but it was an eARC of the US edition, what could I do. I enjoyed his diary of a year of Shaun Blythell would be sore that I read his book on a Kindle but it was an eARC of the US edition, what could I do. I enjoyed his diary of a year of bookselling - the customers, the small book town in Scotland, little hints into what he is reading and thinking, and the looming enemy of Amazon. His sense of humor is part curmudgeon... hmm, no, it's all curmudgeon. It makes him read as much older than he is, but that could just be the Scottish-American disconnect. I love that Scotland has a town that has been deemed a book town! We need those....more
I am a huge fan of books on books. I even have a shelf for them in Goodreads! This was a great one, completely without the pretentiousness that can soI am a huge fan of books on books. I even have a shelf for them in Goodreads! This was a great one, completely without the pretentiousness that can sometimes be a problem from well-intentioned readers, but that is little surprise - Annie Spence is a librarian! The first two thirds of the book are letters to her favorites (or break-up letters to books she can't see anymore), in different formats and approaches so the reader doesn't get bored. The last third, my favorite, are annotated book recommendation lists with fun themes. I added a bunch of books to my to-read list, and you will too. It's Book Lust TNG, with a more casual tone.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an early copy through Edelweiss. The expected publication date is 26 September 2017.
I approach books on books with a fair dose of cynicism. Will another person claim to love Proust and turn me away from ever identifying with them as aI approach books on books with a fair dose of cynicism. Will another person claim to love Proust and turn me away from ever identifying with them as a reader?
Pamela Paul is so without bookish snobbery that you would probably never guess that she is the editor of the New York Times Book Review. I had not connected all the dots until I was 95% into this book. She also hosts the podcast of the same name, one I just subscribed to yesterday but haven't tried yet (another one of those reading synergies I should expect by now.)
I enjoyed her discussion of how the books we read link to moments in our lives. She has kept track of the books she reads in her "Book of Books," aka Bob, the reason for the title, for decades. I loved hearing about this book and while I understand why she does not share it with the readers, I was shocked not to find at least a few pages to peruse. The book is really more about her life in books, a story I can appreciate, but I wish they had woven it into the book more. I wanted to see what kinds of things she writes, how it changes, etc. And oh how I wish I had kept track so long (I started in 2003.)
I also liked the chapters on how reading enters relationships, what we think of others based on the books they do (or don't) read, and then what they think about them. At the same time, she points out that she often reads books she does not agree with in order to better formulate her opinion, to stay in dialogue with the author's ideas, so I don't think she is jumping to conclusions just based on the books a person has on their shelves.
She details her sojourn into mothering and her unabashed love for children's literature, and this is where I think I most respected her focus. She is unafraid to talk about the books that touch her, those that made her cry despite herself, etc. And then there is the book that is the title of the last chapter, one of my favorite books that I've given as a gift. I appreciated her perspective and openness. I'm sure the NYT Book Review must benefit from it too, and it makes me want to pay more attention to that publication.
Thanks to the publisher for granting me access to the eARC through Edelweiss....more
A quick read featuring various writers who were members of The London Library and their thoughts on books and writing. Virginia Woolf! Charles DickensA quick read featuring various writers who were members of The London Library and their thoughts on books and writing. Virginia Woolf! Charles Dickens! EM Forster! Great stuff, pieces I hadn't seen, and I loved the Woolf in particular. I will be able to use some of this in my reading class that I teach, for reading reflections.
The publisher provided me a copy via Edelweiss. Thanks!...more
I started this book in audio and knew I needed to switch to print. Too many book titles to take note of, too many pages I might need to mark.
I apprecI started this book in audio and knew I needed to switch to print. Too many book titles to take note of, too many pages I might need to mark.
I appreciate that this book on books does not to be comprehensive and catalog every book Will Schwalbe has ever written, nor does it mention Proust, not even once! He examines books that had particular meaning to him from the perspective of examining literature to reflect on life.
My favorite chapter is on Giovanni's Room, and is one I will have my reading class read, because it simultaneously discusses the importance of characters in literature like you, and the extraordinary role a school librarian can play in a person's life. That is my five-star read-again chapter. Other chapters were a bit of a skim for me, and I felt that some of the books he references get a bit repetitive, particularly The Importance of Living. ...more
I read this book by flashlight during a winter storm where we were without power for 36 hours. Brr! I'm just posting about it now because it was part I read this book by flashlight during a winter storm where we were without power for 36 hours. Brr! I'm just posting about it now because it was part of my Books on the Nightstand Postal Bookswap, where six of us have been sending books in a circle for a year. Now that the circle has closed, I can make sure these books are counted in my 2016 reads.
This is a slight book, more of a novella, about a woman who decides to open a book shop in a fictional coastal town in Suffolk. But rather than this being a feel-good, woman-opens-bookshop-and-finds-love/friendship, it is more of a tale of expectations challenged by tradition....more
Well I was interested in a prison book club but this is more of a white savior narrative and I just can't stomach it ever but especially right now.
TheWell I was interested in a prison book club but this is more of a white savior narrative and I just can't stomach it ever but especially right now.
The professor is from the UK but teaching in an American prison, and seems completely perplexed as to why the prisoners can't appreciate her picks like Bartleby the Scrivener and Heart of Darkness. She gets annoyed when they talk, in their book club, about how their lives connect with the book. I'm not sure what she was hoping for, maybe an "Oh Captain, My Captain" experience? But I'm not going to finish this one....more
Jenny (Reading Envy)
>
Books:
books-on-books
(93)
Loading...
