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msmoth's review against another edition
2.0
I thought I might easily love this book; a book about reading being read by a voracious reader - what's not to love? Sadly, I actually found it occasionally bland and largely outside of my frame of reference.
In a way this book, or rather my reaction to it was similar to my reaction to Susan Hill's "Howard's End is on the Landing". I really wanted to love it but the disparity between the author's life and my own made it difficult to connect with the book as a whole.
I'm not sure why this should be the case, given that I don't have this problem with any other kind of memoir, but the gulf between my experience and the author's really felt like it limited my appreciation of the book for its own sake.
I don't know what I was expecting or why this expectation couldn't be met, but this book although there was nothing particularly wrong with it, just didn't sing to me.
In a way this book, or rather my reaction to it was similar to my reaction to Susan Hill's "Howard's End is on the Landing". I really wanted to love it but the disparity between the author's life and my own made it difficult to connect with the book as a whole.
I'm not sure why this should be the case, given that I don't have this problem with any other kind of memoir, but the gulf between my experience and the author's really felt like it limited my appreciation of the book for its own sake.
I don't know what I was expecting or why this expectation couldn't be met, but this book although there was nothing particularly wrong with it, just didn't sing to me.
queerbillydeluxe's review against another edition
2.0
DNF--This is sad. DNF #2 for the year just this month! As much as I liked the book talk, this is the whitest woman I have listened to in quite some time. I just could not with her...I think this is the first and only book about books that I have been unable to read. le sigh
inkstainedlife's review against another edition
4.0
The English classes I subbed for the day I read this book thought I was ridiculous. “A book about reading? You really MUST like to read, a LOT,” they said.
Well, they’re right. The book is kind of similar to this blog, only she aimed to read one book a week and kept a diary about it. It’s more introspective than what I’m doing here… and after I finished I had a list of another six or so books to read. :) I hit the library today. --notes from 2005
Well, they’re right. The book is kind of similar to this blog, only she aimed to read one book a week and kept a diary about it. It’s more introspective than what I’m doing here… and after I finished I had a list of another six or so books to read. :) I hit the library today. --notes from 2005
crazy4reading's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like the title of the book; So Many books, So Little Time. I have so many books I would like to read and sometimes wonder if I will ever finish a quarter of them.
Sara Nelson decides to read a book a week for a whole year. Reading 52 books doesn't seem so hard but she runs into a problem of trying to find books each week.
Sara's friends would ask her " How do you choose your books?" She learned in the very beginning that she didn't always choose the books; sometimes the books choose her. I do agree with that statement. I sometimes start out wanting to read a book and then get side tracked by another book that just calls to me.
Sara talks about how when a book gets overhyped that a lot of readers get mad and that we are a funny, cliquish group, we book people. I know I have felt that way about some books when they are first released and I may hold out on waiting to read them. I did that with the Harry Potter books when the first few books were published. I just didn't see how a children's book could be so interesting. The movie is what made me read the first book. Once I heard that movie was being released I went out and read the book and then continued with the series until it was finished.
Mrs. Nelson also talks about how recommending books to your friends and how that can possibly cause a strain on the relationship. You may love a book that some one else hated. I can see that happening but I also feel that everyone interprets books differently. There are some books that I enjoy but would never call it a literary icon.
I found it interesting to learn about books that I have wanted to read but have put off reading for sometime. Even seeing some of the books listed that she started and didn't finish.
She includes at the end of the book three appendixes. One for what she had planned to read, two for what she actually did read and the third for what is on the must read pile of the following year.
Sara Nelson decides to read a book a week for a whole year. Reading 52 books doesn't seem so hard but she runs into a problem of trying to find books each week.
Sara's friends would ask her " How do you choose your books?" She learned in the very beginning that she didn't always choose the books; sometimes the books choose her. I do agree with that statement. I sometimes start out wanting to read a book and then get side tracked by another book that just calls to me.
Sara talks about how when a book gets overhyped that a lot of readers get mad and that we are a funny, cliquish group, we book people. I know I have felt that way about some books when they are first released and I may hold out on waiting to read them. I did that with the Harry Potter books when the first few books were published. I just didn't see how a children's book could be so interesting. The movie is what made me read the first book. Once I heard that movie was being released I went out and read the book and then continued with the series until it was finished.
Mrs. Nelson also talks about how recommending books to your friends and how that can possibly cause a strain on the relationship. You may love a book that some one else hated. I can see that happening but I also feel that everyone interprets books differently. There are some books that I enjoy but would never call it a literary icon.
I found it interesting to learn about books that I have wanted to read but have put off reading for sometime. Even seeing some of the books listed that she started and didn't finish.
She includes at the end of the book three appendixes. One for what she had planned to read, two for what she actually did read and the third for what is on the must read pile of the following year.
luckylico's review against another edition
4.0
As a person who spends an awful lot of time reading, I am often asked many questions about reading and books. Questions like:
Why do you read so much?
Why do you like reading so much?
How do you choose the books you read?
How can you not have read (insert bestseller here)?
What should I read next?
Although I'm generally a verbose person, and hopefully at times even eloquent, when it comes to talking about books I'm often at a loss. Books and reading are so personal that I find it hard to put my feelings about them into words. It's hard to explan how a certain book moves you if you read it at the right time, how time and location are crucial factors to the readability and enjoyment of a book.
Reading this book I read several lines that encapsulate my feelings about books and reading quite well. Here are just a few examples:
A book is a way to shut out the noise of the world. It's a way to be alone without being totally alone.
When things go right in my life, I read. When things go wrong, I read more.
Book lovers simply have no choice: we can't tear ourselves away from the beloved.
Simply by opening a book, I could be in Paris in the ninettenth century.
Sometimes the books choose me.
If I don't like it, I stop reading.
I still can't explain why I often avoid reading a bestseller that all my friends are raving about, or why certain books that many people find mediocre move me the way they do, or why I'd rather read than do most other things, but this memoir makes me feel a little less like a nerdy reading-obsessed freak. It's validating in a way...
Why do you read so much?
Why do you like reading so much?
How do you choose the books you read?
How can you not have read (insert bestseller here)?
What should I read next?
Although I'm generally a verbose person, and hopefully at times even eloquent, when it comes to talking about books I'm often at a loss. Books and reading are so personal that I find it hard to put my feelings about them into words. It's hard to explan how a certain book moves you if you read it at the right time, how time and location are crucial factors to the readability and enjoyment of a book.
Reading this book I read several lines that encapsulate my feelings about books and reading quite well. Here are just a few examples:
A book is a way to shut out the noise of the world. It's a way to be alone without being totally alone.
When things go right in my life, I read. When things go wrong, I read more.
Book lovers simply have no choice: we can't tear ourselves away from the beloved.
Simply by opening a book, I could be in Paris in the ninettenth century.
Sometimes the books choose me.
If I don't like it, I stop reading.
I still can't explain why I often avoid reading a bestseller that all my friends are raving about, or why certain books that many people find mediocre move me the way they do, or why I'd rather read than do most other things, but this memoir makes me feel a little less like a nerdy reading-obsessed freak. It's validating in a way...
lanikei's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book - so many suggestions for the to-read pile were gleaned from this one. Some hilariously accurate insights into a near-constant reader like myself.
neuroteri's review against another edition
2.0
I'm sorry to say, Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader is much better. I read them one right after the other, and couldn't help comparing the two books.
pussreboots's review against another edition
4.0
I'm glad I stuck with this book. For the first couple of chapters I had trouble with it because the author seems to take her reading too seriously. She seems to want every book experience to a magical and eye opening experience and gets frustrated when she doesn't experience it or when her kith or kin don't see books or reading the same way.
I'm also glad that I had to wait longer than expected to read this book because it gave me more time to read from the list of books she refers to in her essays. It was through her book "reviews" that I began to like the book. She and I (for the most part) agree on a lot of books. She is frustrated by books much in the same way that I am (see her comments on Cold Mountain, Everything is Illuminated and Alias Grace).
Given our affinity for certain types of books, I plan to jot down some of the more interesting titles that I haven't read and stick them in my wishlist at Cliff's for future reference.
One last note: sometimes two books will unexpectedly synchronize. In her chapter called "A Million Little Pieces" she writes about a book of the same title. She choses to describe the opening scene and just a couple weeks earlier I had read another reference to that scene in a book I was reading. I think the other book is Watermelon but I haven't been able to find the passage yet.
I'm also glad that I had to wait longer than expected to read this book because it gave me more time to read from the list of books she refers to in her essays. It was through her book "reviews" that I began to like the book. She and I (for the most part) agree on a lot of books. She is frustrated by books much in the same way that I am (see her comments on Cold Mountain, Everything is Illuminated and Alias Grace).
Given our affinity for certain types of books, I plan to jot down some of the more interesting titles that I haven't read and stick them in my wishlist at Cliff's for future reference.
One last note: sometimes two books will unexpectedly synchronize. In her chapter called "A Million Little Pieces" she writes about a book of the same title. She choses to describe the opening scene and just a couple weeks earlier I had read another reference to that scene in a book I was reading. I think the other book is Watermelon but I haven't been able to find the passage yet.
onejordo's review against another edition
2.0
This book seemed to be every bookworm’s dream, a book about books! The author spends one year reading a book a week and writing about it. Sara Nelson, like me, is one who reads books from several genres and on different subjects. Readers will likely find books they’ve read, want to read or have never heard of.
Some of the stories Nelson includes in her book are relatable to those of us who love reading and reading often. Many of the chapters examine her life and how the books she is reading relate to it. However, nothing very profound or memorable seems to occur. This book won’t be one I reread, or even one that I remember that well. It was barely interesting enough to hold my attention for a couple of days.
If for no other reason, readers will enjoy this book because it leads them towards many other books that they may not have found otherwise. My own reading list has certainly grown after reading this book.
Some of the stories Nelson includes in her book are relatable to those of us who love reading and reading often. Many of the chapters examine her life and how the books she is reading relate to it. However, nothing very profound or memorable seems to occur. This book won’t be one I reread, or even one that I remember that well. It was barely interesting enough to hold my attention for a couple of days.
If for no other reason, readers will enjoy this book because it leads them towards many other books that they may not have found otherwise. My own reading list has certainly grown after reading this book.
samstillreading's review against another edition
2.0
I actually started this book years ago but didn't finish it. Looking for something not very demanding to read on public transport, I picked this up again. Then I remembered why I put it down.
1. The author and I don't really have similar tastes in books.
2. If I'm reading about books, I don't need to read and reread bits about family, friends, family, friends blah blah blah
3. If you need to justify something, don't write a book about it.
The premise- read one book a week for a year is good (hey, I do it) and would probably make a good blog (this book was written before blogs became wildly popular) that you could dip in and out of. As a book though, it portrays the same feelings (I love reading a lot! I need to justfiy why I love reading!) over and over.
While this did pass the time on the train, it's not much more. I didn't get any book recommendations as the author describes the majority of books in scant detail.
1. The author and I don't really have similar tastes in books.
2. If I'm reading about books, I don't need to read and reread bits about family, friends, family, friends blah blah blah
3. If you need to justify something, don't write a book about it.
The premise- read one book a week for a year is good (hey, I do it) and would probably make a good blog (this book was written before blogs became wildly popular) that you could dip in and out of. As a book though, it portrays the same feelings (I love reading a lot! I need to justfiy why I love reading!) over and over.
While this did pass the time on the train, it's not much more. I didn't get any book recommendations as the author describes the majority of books in scant detail.