A review by thorbrand
The Private Life of the Diary: From Pepys to Tweets - a History of the Diary As an Art Form by Sally Bayley

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

This wasn't quite what I expected, but I did find it really interesting nonetheless. It was meandering and reflective in a very pleasant way, and much more literary than I thought it would be. It's a history of the diary, a philosophical exploration of what diaries are and can be (leaning heavily on Samuel Pepys and Virginia Woolf as example diarists among others), and a memoir. The author touched on social media and how the digital age has had an impact on diary-writing and I'd have liked to have seen that developed and extended further. At times a little lacklustre but overall I enjoyed it a lot and will probably listen to it again.