Many of the book's sections have self-explanatory headings listing one of the reasons "why we read." Here are a few examples:
- To Finish a Series
- To Learn About (and From) the Past
- To Feel Less Alone
- To See Ourselves Across Time
- For Comfort
- To Feel Superior
- To Be Shocked
- To Shake Up Your Perspective
- To Learn How to Die (and How to Live)
Sections like these form the backbone of Why We Read, and Reed shares her personal experiences to illustrate each section's main points. The final two-thirds or so of the book focus on sections like these in contrast to the more humorous approach to the subject that Reed incorporates into its first hundred pages. For me, that's when the book saved itself and I firmly decided to finish it. Earlier chapters like "Signs You May Be a Female Character in a Work of Historical Fiction" ("Your name is Sarah; Your best friend is a horse; Your mother is either dead or dead set on getting you married as quickly as possible; etc.") or "Calmed-Down Classics of American Fiction for the Anxiety-Ridden" ("The Good Enough Gatsby; To Mildly Startle a Mockingbird; Fahrenheit 71 Degrees; The Beige Letter; etc.") just don't work for me. But that's not to say they won't work for you. That kind of humor never works for me, especially for as long as these lists go on.
As a fan of series fiction, I found Reed's observations on the subject particularly interesting even if I didn't agree with all of them:
"We have to orient ourselves to the world of the novel (setting, time period, closeness to or distance from our known lives), as well as the narrator and their attitude toward the world, the characters and dialogue...But a series usually only asks us to do that heavy lifting at the beginning of the first book, and from them on we can simply wander."
...
"...the pleasure of a series - the intimacy of its world and people - can also chafe.
Reed goes on to say that these days she's been "constructing her own" thematic series rather than relying on a single author to suck her into their world for months or years to come. That's exactly what I've noticed others doing lately as we chain-read our way through a few fiction titles about World Wars I or II, ancient civilizations, the Roaring Twenties, etc. And as Reed goes on to say, this kind of reading often leads to nonfiction titles on the same subject or period because of what we've experienced in historical fiction titles.
Why We Read is three hundred pages long (my personal ideal length), and there are almost certainly sections and topics here that will appeal to any avid reader who gives it a try. I'm a huge fan of memoirs, and for me this is a good one, a memoir in which I found more commonality with Shannon Reed than I ever dreamed I would find. Shannon Reed is one of us, Readers. You will enjoy her company.
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| Shannon Reed jacket photo |
As someone else who can't imagine going one day without reading, I'm always drawn to books like this one. Even if I don't agree with everything they write, there's always something that I connect with. Onto the TBR pile it goes. :D
ReplyDeleteI'm certain you'll find a whole lot to like about this one. And if Reed's kind of humor appeals to your funny bone, you're going to love the whole thing. I'll look forward to your thoughts.
DeleteBooks about reading always catch my interest (even knowing that some do not work for me). I like the list of chapters you mention, but don't know about the ones you mention that didn't work for you as I don't think they would work for me. So that warning lets me know that if I get discouraged, there is more to come.
ReplyDeleteI have often found myself with what I call "reading itineraries"--a topic that captures my imagination or my interest and leads me to more books, fiction and nonfiction, on that particular subject matter.
I know there's plenty in this one you'd enjoy. Book people like us are always going to enjoy what others who enjoy reading as much as we enjoy it have to say. It's that whole kindred spirits thing we have going so easily with other readers. It always feels to me that a book like this one could have been written by an old friend...or someone destined to be one.
DeleteI love those book chains that sometimes develop without me even realizing it's happening before I'm into the third book on some subject, setting, or period. An offhand comment about the Cuban missile crisis in a book I read a while back got me wondering what all has been revealed about how close we really came to "the end of the world," and all of a sudden I've started looking for books on the subject. It may lead nowhere unless I find the right book next, but who knows?
I'm one of those readers who is automatically drawn to this sort of book. I've been keeping an eye on it, but I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's well written and long enough that there's bound to be a lot you'll enjoy. I suppose that's the beauty of this one's construction; the chapters are short, the prose is precise and clear, and the whole thing turns into a revealing personal story. There's a lot packed into it, really.
DeleteI never can resist a memoir written by someone bookish. 'Any' non-fiction about books, if I'm honest, my favourites being the two by Susan Hill, but I'm not fussy. I'll look this up, not sure the humour will suit me but the rest might.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely give it a shot if it's available to you, Cath. I didn't read it straight through, mostly used it as a kind of comfort reading while taking breaks from the more demanding books I was reading at the the same time. I think you'd enjoy it in much the same way.
DeleteUsually I'd rather read books (and definitely every day!) than read about another book lover (congenial though they might be) but you're right, she is definitely one of us!
ReplyDeleteI run into so few avid readers in the real world, that I need this kind of book to remind me of just how many avid readers there are out there despite all the doom and gloom statistics and predictions that appear on a regular basis. I suppose the best sign that there are a lot of us out there somewhere is the success that books like Reed's generally seem to have. Must be a decent market still.
DeleteI will definitely get this book. The question is whether I will pay a higher price and get it as soon as my book buying ban is done... or wait until I can pay a reasonable price.
ReplyDeleteI also cannot imagine a day without reading. I am going to have cataract surgery in a couple of weeks and I am already panicking about how it may affect my reading. I know most cataract surgeries are successful and relatively trouble free, but there are no guarantees, and my husband had lots of problems.
My preferred length for an ideal book is 250 pages, but anything under 300 pages is reasonable.
Wow...my own blog just blocked my comment and deleted it. Luckily, I noticed that it was missing. So here goes again:
DeleteI think this kind of book gets discounted a lot, so I'll bet that your patience will pay off in the long run. I think this is a first-quarter 2024 book, so it may be a few months more.
I can vouch for the cataract surgery from personal experience. I began wearing glasses as a ten-year-old and struggled with near-sightedness for a lifetime. Almost made me ineligible for the draft back in 1968, even. After cataract surgery I was seeing better than at any time in my whole life that I can remember. I only wish I had done it sooner. It's been a few years and my sight is still really good despite suddenly developing a couple of other eye problems that scare me for the same reasons you mention.
Good luck with your surgery. The odds are heavily, heavily in your favor these days that all will go smoothly.
I have had a similar experience with losing my own comments... not often, but it happens.
DeleteThanks for the reassurance. Although Glen had really bad luck with his cataract surgeries because he also has retina problems, in the end he had the same experience as you did, because he had had near-sightedness all his life. He now only uses glasses for reading, and he loves that. However, all I have ever had was mild astigmatism plus problems with close vision which affected my reading over time. I also have some kind of minor retina issue in one eye which means that they are limited to the amount of modifications they can make to improve my vision. But really I am just overthinking it and disasterizing. Most likely everything will go well.
No, I can understand the difference in your case compared to mine. You don't have as much to gain as I had, thus you have a lot more to lose. I never considered that situation really. I still feel as if it will go well for you, though. Sorry that Glen had extra problems. I have macular degeneration in both eyes and had the condition at the time of the surgery, so I worried about possible complications from that. Good luck to you, Tracy.
DeleteInteresting reasons. I’ll agree with some of them.
ReplyDeleteI think that's the reaction all of us will have to this one, Mystica. I agree with more of her points than not, but some of them do strike me as a bit over the top.
DeleteThis sounds like a book for readers and I will put it on my list. It's also interesting that the book got better the deeper you got into it because on the one hand I think the 50 page rule before one puts down a book is a good one and yet it pays to occasionally bend that rule because you never know
ReplyDeleteThis kind of book is a little tricky to apply the 50-page rule to because it's all over the map. I do think it is a little unusual in that so much of the stuff I don't like about it ended up at the beginning of the book. It probably only got better (to me) when the tone changed to a little bit more serious nature. Too, I cheated a little bit by flipping ahead about 100 pages to sample a couple of sections that ended up both appealing to me.
DeleteSounds pretty good. I never analyze reading too much or why I do, or others do, but maybe I should. I like that the author is "one of us" -- a reader. And that she has read widely.
ReplyDeleteThe author is severely hearing impaired, and I imagine that books were a real comfort to her when she was a child and teen. Like so many of us, she was very lucky to find books exactly when she needed them - and now she loves them.
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