In 2002, in the wake of September 11, New Yorker “editor, reporter, reviewer, mother, daughter, wife and compulsive reader” decided to keep a diary of a years’ worth of reading. She set herself the achievable (for her) task of reading and discussing a book a week, and set out with a list of appropriate books – ones she’d always meant to read – while leaving space for the other books she knew would appear in her life. And in the very first week her plan derailed.
This is a fascinating book for bibliophiles – Nelson’s discussions about why she picked (and sometimes abandoned) books, and her ruminations about the nature of reading, are as interesting as the descriptions of the books themselves. On many occasions I found myself nodding in agreement: over the distressing potential of running out of reading material when away, picking the right book for the right occasion, the risk one takes recommending books to friends – or accepting recommendations of friends, the quirk of Public Books (“the ones we pretend we’re reading”), and the disturbing pretentiousness of being seen with the right book in the right situation – “I liked the idea that my friends would think me unusual and sophisticated; I have a lot invested in people thinking I don’t just run with the herd” struck a chord with me.
Based on what she wrote, not just about the books discussed but also others she mentioned in passing, I now have a list of twenty three books for my ‘one day’ shopping excursion – that ‘one day’ being when I don’t have a gazillion books awaiting me.
Nelson is clearly well read, but is not pretentious about her reading material – Jackie Collins is mentioned at least once – and though she references great works and name-drops the occasional author, the writing is clear, vivid and wholly accessable. - Alex
No comments:
Post a Comment