Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Wish I had read all the books Anna Quindlen has read!
I am so glad I read this book after a long stint in London. If I had read it before, I might have been tempted to use it as a travel guide or required reading list. Now I can just appreciate, reminisce, and plan the next British novel I might read at my leisure.
this book was a gift from a friend and I read it about a month after my second trip to London. during the trip, I had taken a Sherlock Holmes walking tour. the concept that I was walking the streets that had been travelled by countless characters in the books I have devoured throughout my life was mind-blowing. to me. and it seems Anna quicken had the same experience. I read this book quickly and enjoyed sharing the "books come to life" experience with her. I think this book would appeal only to readers who have visited London, as it would not make sense otherwise.
This is a rather beautiful book that is details, on a basic level, the London of literature. It isn't a history of the city or a detailed guide, but more about the connection between the real place and the London of Literature. Quindlen's love for the city comes across quite well, and her prose is pleasure to read. I can't say that I learned anything, but it does make a good companion or follow up to Peter Ackroyd's biography of the city.
Sadly, my favorite city and one of my favorite authors did not combine to inspire me the way I had hoped. However, the book did uncover sights I had not known about and produce this gem: " [I]f there is anything that England stands for, with its quiet central squares, its tweeds and twin sets and teas, the tight-lipped precision of its speech, it is that there is a right to do things. This is where the right way has its ancestral home." Indeed.
A friend gave me this book years ago as a birthday present and I finally pick it up. Anna Quindlen takes the reader on a reader's tour of London as only an Anglophile could. While reading her observations I learned two important things: 1) I am not alone in my lifelong love of London; 2) I am ridiculously under read. lol
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced