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