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lindsayharmon's review
2.0
A biography of an iconic New York City bookstore. Or maybe it should be called an oral history--it's written by journalist Lynne Tillman but told in the voice (and presumably the words) of store founder and owner Jeannette Watson, interspersed with quotes from literary luminaries, former employees, and (somewhat randomly) other owners of independent bookstores. The store sounds like it was an amazing place in its heyday, but the book was just so-so. After awhile it seemed primarily to be a vehicle for name-dropping, and unfairly or not, it was hard to sympathize with the money woes of Watson, an IBM heiress.
juliana_aldous's review
4.0
This is something between a memoir, a biography, and an oral history of Jeannette Watson and her bookstore Books & Co.
The way the book was organized felt a little jumbled to me. Sort of... Here, you reader, are all my notes and interviews for this book. Have at it.
That is fine. I'm a fan of Studs Terkel, so I like oral histories, but this back and forth...first Jeanette speaks...then someone else adds a piece...felt oddly disjointed to me.
But, the subject matter is one I love, books about books, and there are lists, including a list of every author reading that happened in the store.
So for that, it receives four stars.
The way the book was organized felt a little jumbled to me. Sort of... Here, you reader, are all my notes and interviews for this book. Have at it.
That is fine. I'm a fan of Studs Terkel, so I like oral histories, but this back and forth...first Jeanette speaks...then someone else adds a piece...felt oddly disjointed to me.
But, the subject matter is one I love, books about books, and there are lists, including a list of every author reading that happened in the store.
So for that, it receives four stars.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
3.0
I envy Jeannette Watson.
For almost twenty years,
she ran an independent bookstore
in New York City patronized by the country's
greatest writers and thinkers.
She writes, "There's a significance...---
almost a drama---in introducing readers to
books. Dramatic because books can and do
change people's lives."
For almost twenty years,
she ran an independent bookstore
in New York City patronized by the country's
greatest writers and thinkers.
She writes, "There's a significance...---
almost a drama---in introducing readers to
books. Dramatic because books can and do
change people's lives."
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