Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by redheadreading
The Private Life of the Diary: From Pepys to Tweets: A History of the Diary as an Art Form by Sally Bayley
3.0
I enjoyed reading this but it was not what I expected. I think I was expecting something a little more analytical whereas this is a very flowing and descriptive account (which consequently means it's very easy to read and does make for enjoyable reading!). The diary is explored by theme/topic with each chapter taking a theme and looking at a number of diaries, almost like case studies; the two main figures that run throughout are Virginia Woolf and Samuel Pepys. However, there is also an autobiographical element that runs alongside this as well, with the author imparting her personal history with the diary and snapshots into her life as well.
I definitely enjoyed all of this but there are things that I felt were slightly lacking as well. For example, I would have liked more focus in the final paragraph to have been placed on our relationships with diary-keeping nowadays. There was brief mention of tweets and blogging but I would have liked a deeper focus on our contemporary attitude to documenting the self and the way this has evolved. The author does mention at one point that she is not very familiar with twitter etc and I did feel like this came across. Rather than dismissing the superficiality of social media, an examination into the ways that people construct and negotiate their sense of self through documenting the immediacy of life in digital form would have been cool. But maybe that's just a result of my coming in with preconceived expectations!
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this and it was interesting getting snapshots into the diaries of many notable figures, as well as contrasting the ways they all approached diary writing differently. The writing was enjoyable and engaging so if you are looking for a light and easy read that will keep you entertained whilst learning more about certain historical figures then I would definitely recommend.
I definitely enjoyed all of this but there are things that I felt were slightly lacking as well. For example, I would have liked more focus in the final paragraph to have been placed on our relationships with diary-keeping nowadays. There was brief mention of tweets and blogging but I would have liked a deeper focus on our contemporary attitude to documenting the self and the way this has evolved. The author does mention at one point that she is not very familiar with twitter etc and I did feel like this came across. Rather than dismissing the superficiality of social media, an examination into the ways that people construct and negotiate their sense of self through documenting the immediacy of life in digital form would have been cool. But maybe that's just a result of my coming in with preconceived expectations!
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this and it was interesting getting snapshots into the diaries of many notable figures, as well as contrasting the ways they all approached diary writing differently. The writing was enjoyable and engaging so if you are looking for a light and easy read that will keep you entertained whilst learning more about certain historical figures then I would definitely recommend.