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balletbookworm's review
4.0
I think I've read only 10 of the books Yardley reviewed in Second Reading. It made the book hard to read because a) if it sounded good, I didn't want to spoil the book for later, and b) I didn't have an opinion to contrast.
Still, a good book to read and I found a number of things to add to my TBR.
Still, a good book to read and I found a number of things to add to my TBR.
jhg1995's review
funny
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Well, the totally honest, spot on, and deliciously roasting Catcher in the Rye review is alone reason to recommend this.
I do question his praise of the forgettable not-so Great Gatsby though; What even is a Gatsby?
Overall, a well written and deft collection of book reviews!
I do question his praise of the forgettable not-so Great Gatsby though; What even is a Gatsby?
Overall, a well written and deft collection of book reviews!
bent's review
2.0
I read this book in hopes of finding recommendations, and especially, to discover forgotten writers that I might enjoy. Unfortunately, of the 60 books reviewed, Yardley has only persuaded me to try two or three. Now to be fair, there were a number of books or authors that he praises that I've already read. Still, I found his enthusiasm for most of the books to be non-infectious. There are several reviews where he provides an excerpt of the book as an example of peerless prose, and the excerpt left me unmoved.
I would recommend this book to an American, or someone who's very interested in American history and culture. There are a lot of memoirs by Americans from different walks of life - Louis Armstrong, Benjamin Franklin, Moss Hart, H. L. Mencken, etc. There's a biography of W. C. Fields. There are a lot of works by Southern US writers. Out of the 60 reviews, 47 are American, and I think 21 of those are non-fiction. A lot of his reviews mention "an authentic American voice," "completely in the American grain," "the Golden Age of the American short story," "...this classic, essential, exquisitely American tale" "the personification and embodiment of the American belief in reinvention and in self-actualization." All very interesting, but I'm looking for something with a broader appeal. I tend to prefer fiction as well, so most of the non-fiction doesn't appeal to me.
You do get a lot of autobiography through his reviews. His interest in jazz, in musical theatre, in sports, or at least, in sports writing, are all recurring themes. There are also frequent mentions of his parents and their influence on his reading habits. But in the end, I didn't really find much in his reviews that piqued my interest. A relatively disappointing book.
I would recommend this book to an American, or someone who's very interested in American history and culture. There are a lot of memoirs by Americans from different walks of life - Louis Armstrong, Benjamin Franklin, Moss Hart, H. L. Mencken, etc. There's a biography of W. C. Fields. There are a lot of works by Southern US writers. Out of the 60 reviews, 47 are American, and I think 21 of those are non-fiction. A lot of his reviews mention "an authentic American voice," "completely in the American grain," "the Golden Age of the American short story," "...this classic, essential, exquisitely American tale" "the personification and embodiment of the American belief in reinvention and in self-actualization." All very interesting, but I'm looking for something with a broader appeal. I tend to prefer fiction as well, so most of the non-fiction doesn't appeal to me.
You do get a lot of autobiography through his reviews. His interest in jazz, in musical theatre, in sports, or at least, in sports writing, are all recurring themes. There are also frequent mentions of his parents and their influence on his reading habits. But in the end, I didn't really find much in his reviews that piqued my interest. A relatively disappointing book.
pattydsf's review
3.0
”I also came to realize that all unwittingly I was writing what amounted to the autobiography of a lifelong reader. No one ever told me what books had to be covered in the series. It was left entirely up to me, so I followed my memory and, in many cases my heart.”
I guess that my interest in books about books comes from the same place within me that made me a librarian. I know that I got interested in working in libraries because of the books. (I stayed because of people, but that is a different story.) As long as I can remember I have kept lists of books. Sometimes I have kept lists of what I have read, sometimes what I want to read and even occasionally lists of books that I think I should read.
Now my lists of books reside here in the ether. I make sure that I keep copies of my lists on my computer, but the lists are no longer tangible. I have some of my notebooks from the past and they are hard to part with. However, I like using Good Reads better than paper. My typing is better than my handwriting and my paper lists never generated more suggestions for me like my Good Read friends do.
Enough about me, this is a review of Yardley’s 60 essays about books he has read and loved. I admire his ability and willingness to do this. I don’t know if there are 60 plus books that I would like to reread. Even if I did, my reviews would not be as wonderful as Yardley’s. He has an excellent memory and many of the copies that he read the first time. That means he has his notes from previous readings. That was helpful and made his essays even better.
Yardley says that he ended up writing about his life as a lifelong reader. I think this is what makes this book so wonderful. Yardley had an opportunity to write about books that will probably never come again. So this book is also a history of a period of time – the last half of the twentieth century. Since I lived through this period of time, I found his reviews especially meaningful.
I don’t know how many of these books I will actually read. However, I am very grateful to know why Yardley feels they are worth reading. This was an excellent book.
I guess that my interest in books about books comes from the same place within me that made me a librarian. I know that I got interested in working in libraries because of the books. (I stayed because of people, but that is a different story.) As long as I can remember I have kept lists of books. Sometimes I have kept lists of what I have read, sometimes what I want to read and even occasionally lists of books that I think I should read.
Now my lists of books reside here in the ether. I make sure that I keep copies of my lists on my computer, but the lists are no longer tangible. I have some of my notebooks from the past and they are hard to part with. However, I like using Good Reads better than paper. My typing is better than my handwriting and my paper lists never generated more suggestions for me like my Good Read friends do.
Enough about me, this is a review of Yardley’s 60 essays about books he has read and loved. I admire his ability and willingness to do this. I don’t know if there are 60 plus books that I would like to reread. Even if I did, my reviews would not be as wonderful as Yardley’s. He has an excellent memory and many of the copies that he read the first time. That means he has his notes from previous readings. That was helpful and made his essays even better.
Yardley says that he ended up writing about his life as a lifelong reader. I think this is what makes this book so wonderful. Yardley had an opportunity to write about books that will probably never come again. So this book is also a history of a period of time – the last half of the twentieth century. Since I lived through this period of time, I found his reviews especially meaningful.
I don’t know how many of these books I will actually read. However, I am very grateful to know why Yardley feels they are worth reading. This was an excellent book.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
4.0
Second Reading is a book-about-books, and its all about taking a second look at my kind of books. Book critic Jonathan Yardley pulls books from his bookshelf that he read twenty, thirty, forty years ago and rereads them. Most of these are small books, almost forgotten now, and I love it that he brings his magnifying glass to each of these rather than the big bestsellers that are always in the limelight anyway. Yardley's tastes run a bit more to suspense and adventure than mine do, but I was still able to write down lots of titles on my wish list and that's always nice.
michaelnlibrarian's review
4.0
I borrowed this from the public library but one could easily have a place to look for ideas about something to read from time to time.
This is a collection of relatively short essays published in the Washington Post Book World - as they appear in this book, they are usually four to six pages. The author is commenting on the pleasures (or lack) of re-reading the sixty books described, but alas I had not read most of them even once.
I had a checklist approach to this book, looking through the table of contents. Had I heard of the author? Most I had heard of, anyway. If I had heard of the author, had I read the particular book described? Or had I read anything by this particular author? Alas I am apparently not very well read because I had read books by less than half of these authors.
I read a selection of essays - mostly those about authors and books I had read, and a few that seemed intriguing for one reason or another. I will order several I have not read from the public library.
The book was exactly what I expected - the essays were not meant to be read sequentially, so I just paged around and read what caught my eye. Generally once I started and essay I would through to the end. They are all good.
The web site Neglected Books has incorporated some of Yardley's Washington Post stories into its site that were not published in the book, however it is not obvious to me how to group them as a set.
This is a collection of relatively short essays published in the Washington Post Book World - as they appear in this book, they are usually four to six pages. The author is commenting on the pleasures (or lack) of re-reading the sixty books described, but alas I had not read most of them even once.
I had a checklist approach to this book, looking through the table of contents. Had I heard of the author? Most I had heard of, anyway. If I had heard of the author, had I read the particular book described? Or had I read anything by this particular author? Alas I am apparently not very well read because I had read books by less than half of these authors.
I read a selection of essays - mostly those about authors and books I had read, and a few that seemed intriguing for one reason or another. I will order several I have not read from the public library.
The book was exactly what I expected - the essays were not meant to be read sequentially, so I just paged around and read what caught my eye. Generally once I started and essay I would through to the end. They are all good.
The web site Neglected Books has incorporated some of Yardley's Washington Post stories into its site that were not published in the book, however it is not obvious to me how to group them as a set.
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