Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Nonfiction - Essays
1998 Library of Contemporary Thought
Read in September 2000
Rating: 3/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
A recurring theme throughout Anna Quindlen's How Reading Changed My Life is the comforting premise that readers are never alone. "There was waking, and there was sleeping. And then there were books," she writes, "a kind of parallel universe in which anything might happen and frequently did, a universe in which I might be a newcomer but never really a stranger. My real, true world." Later, she quotes editor Hazel Rochman: "Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but, most important, it finds homes for us everywhere." Indeed, Quindlen's essays are full of the names of "friends," real or fictional—Anne of Green Gables and Heidi; Anthony Trollope and Jane Austen, to name just a few—who have comforted, inspired, educated, and delighted her throughout her life. In four short essays Quindlen shares her thoughts on the act of reading itself ("It is like the rubbing of two sticks together to make a fire, the act of reading, an improbable pedestrian task that leads to heat and light"); analyzes the difference between how men and women read ("there are very few books in which male characters, much less boys, are portrayed as devoted readers"); and cheerfully defends middlebrow literature:
Most of those so-called middlebrow readers would have readily admitted that the Iliad set a standard that could not be matched by What Makes Sammy Run? or Exodus. But any reader with common sense would also understand intuitively, immediately, that such comparisons are false, that the uses of reading are vast and variegated and that some of them are not addressed by Homer. My Original Thoughts (2000):
Pretty good, but not as good as Ex Libris (Fadiman). A little dry and boring in spots. A few good quotes and passages. 11 great reading lists.
My Current Thoughts:
I own seven books (fiction and nonfiction) by Anna Quindlen, which I've read and loved, but this fell short of my expectations. I wish I had written down some of those good quotes and passages. Ah, well. I can probably borrow a copy from the library and see if my opinion has changed over the years.
I always wish I'd written down quotes from good books. Ebooks make it easy.
ReplyDeleteDeb, I so rarely read ebooks and when I do, I forgot that I can highlight good passages/quotes. With print books, I typically use little Post-It note flags, which I leave in place long after I've written my review. I wonder if I borrowed this book from the library...
DeleteAnna Quindlen is really good. My favorites are One True Thing (novel) and Being Perfect (nonfiction)
ReplyDeleteHelen, she really is a wonderful writer; one of my favorites. I loved One True Thing and Every Last One, but there are several others that I enjoyed almost as well as those two. You can find my reviews for her books here.
DeleteI haven't read Quindlen in years, but I thoroughly enjoyed the books I read...and spent time thinking about them. I haven't read this one, though. It would be interesting to hear what you thought on a re-reading.
ReplyDeleteJenclair, her books tend to linger, don't they? I still remember so much about a few of her novels and know I'll read them again someday in the future. I'm definitely going to see about getting this one from my library for a reread.
DeleteI can't remember if I read this, although the title is something that would ordinarily draw me in. Anyway, I'm curious to peruse her reading lists.
ReplyDeleteLaurel, as I recall, it was a fairly short read. I'm going to see if I can get it from the library for a second reading.
DeleteI don't recall hearing about this one but if anything I would check out for the booklists. Who doesn't love a booklist right?
ReplyDeleteIliana, I have a feeling this is a short book, probably the sort that is given as a stocking stuffer gift. I love booklists and need to take a second peek at this book!
DeleteI've never seen this Quindlen book.... I have liked a few of her other ones ... 3 fiction & 1 nonfiction I've read. Good Dog Stay (2007) ... sweet & sad.
ReplyDeleteSusan, it's interesting that so many have said they have never seen this book. I wonder if it's one of those "stocking stuffer" type of gift books that's fairly short and not generally kept in stock with her other books. I haven't read Good Dog Stay, but I'll bet it's one that would make me cry (and miss my sweet Annie-Dog).
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