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A review by pattydsf
Second Reading: Notable and Neglected Books Revisited by Jonathan Yardley
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.