Books for Living

Wavering between 3 and 4 stars... This “book about books” (a category for the Read Harder Challenge) was sometimes very good and sometimes felt thin. It did make me want to reread [b:Stuart Little 138959 Stuart Little E.B. White https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347367311s/138959.jpg 2884160] and [b:What I Talk About When I Talk About Running 2195464 What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Haruki Murakami https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473397159s/2195464.jpg 2475030], and to add [b:Giovanni's Room 38462 Giovanni's Room James Baldwin https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493320612s/38462.jpg 814207] to my list, so I'll go with the 4 stars.

Basically, a collection of essays about books that influenced the author. Any avid reader could–and probably should–write something similar. Quick read on a flight from Tucson. I'll look into some of the recommended books.

''Reading challenges you to figure out what kind of person you want to be.''I might as well spare you all with my boring introduction and tell you this is an astonishing book. Not simply good or well-written or interesting, but astonishing! One of the best non-fiction books I've ever read, one of the best book ‘‘about books'' of recent times.As you might know from my reviews, I'm not usually moved by a book, no matter how much I may have loved it. But this one...one must have a heart of stone (yes, cliché, I know) so as not to be deeply touched by Will Schwalbe's writing. He has a way with words that cries out to the reader and the reader freezes and listens, transfixed. I've never felt that with a non-fiction book. He takes some of life's greatest difficulties, some of its most well-felt emotions, and tries to show how books can help us- nay, heal us- to overcome them, to cope with them, to avoid being defeated and traumatised. Not only he succeeds in doing that, but has managed to make me look upon well-loved books under a different light, to realise them better, to love them even more.He bares his soul and talks about his life in a conversational tone, as if he's talking to a close friend. How can one not appreciate that, especially as he touches upon some really sensitive topics. In beautiful, engaging language, he shares his views, his experiences and not once does he become bossy or self-centered. He is open, honest and sympathetic, the voice of a friend you haven't met for a long time. His ‘‘me'' and ‘‘I'' are confessions, not egocentric speeches of achievements.His heartfelt, moving remarks about the horrific discrimination against the LGBT community during the 1970's are wonderfully reflected in his text about [b:Giovanni's Room 38462 Giovanni's Room James Baldwin http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389658936s/38462.jpg 814207] by [a:James Baldwin 10427 James Baldwin http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1343346341p2/10427.jpg]. While I was reading his text about the outbreak of HIV, the hysteria, the hatred of the misinformed society, I felt terror gripping my heart. This is how good Schwalbe's writing is. Images from history pass through your eyes as if you have been carried away in that era (and I wasn't even born at the time), as if you're experiencing them this very moment.I really enjoyed the fact that he writes primarily about less well-known books. Yes, you'll find [b:1984 5470 1984 George Orwell http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348990566s/5470.jpg 153313], [b:Rebecca 17899948 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386605169s/17899948.jpg 46663], Murakami's works, but his focus turns elsewhere, and I found that extremely refreshing. He makes a text about a book which advises you on how to de-clutter interesting and enjoyable. On a more personal note, I loved his references to his teachers, and as a teacher myself, I sincerely appreciated his wonderful passage about mediocrity, using none other than Odysseus, the mythical king of Ithaca, as his inspiration.I don't have much to say. To state that I recommend this book would be a frightful understatement. I think it is essential that everyone who loves books shoud read Books For Living, not to discover new books (that as well), but to experience a kind of writing that is immediate, sincere, free of pretensions and fake philosophies full of verbose nonsence. This is a breath of fresh air. Breathe it deeply. I leave you with one of the most touching sentences I've ever had the pleasure to read...''I read to live. I read for life''.

I took Books for Living off my Amazon wish list just before Christmas when I saw it was coming to my public library. Then I was sad that it took so long to get to the library (it always does though, doesn't it?) Finally it arrived, and, with great anticipation, I started jumped in. I love to read about books and one of my favorite subgenres of books-about-books is books-about-favorite-books. I worried a bit when I saw in the introduction that the author Will Schwalbe had had a great conversation about his favorite books on a plane with a fellow passenger and that one of the books the two had in common was The Alchemist (a book that didn't wow me). Nevertheless, I read on. I was disappointed to find that, while I had a few favorite books in common (The Little Prince, Bird by Bird, The Odyssey), there were a lot of forgettable books (at least forgettable to me) on the list, including Gift from the Sea and Girl on the Train and Rebecca, and there was a lot more memoir talk than book talk. Nevertheless, I may take a closer look at some of the books on Schwalbe's list that I haven't read, such as Lateral Thinking and The Importance of Living and Song of Solomon and A Little Life. In addition, to some good book recommendations, I love this little quote from his book:

“Now that my brother, sister, and I are all over fifty, my brother, using a golf analogy, refers to our lives as being played on the back nine—the first nine holes are behind us. Whatever score we've accumulated, we carry with us. Suddenly, finishing honorably and staying out of sand traps and water hazards matters more than seeing our names on the leaderboard.”