Bogel, Anne "I'd Rather Be Reading"

Bogel, Anne "I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life" - 2018

I like books about books, even if they sometimes are on the "chick lit" side.

This one wasn't. It was the honest account of an avid reader, someone like all my readers here and myself. Someone who can't go a day without reading. There are so many reflections on what it means to be a reader and what we all have in common.

I envied Anne Bogel for her first house, not because of the size of it or the layout of the room. No, it was the location, right next door to a library. I always had to get into my car in order to get to the next library. That doesn't mean I didn't use it, on the contrary.

There are some hilarious parts in the book. In the chapter "The Bookworm Problems", the author mentions that our books equal the gross domestic product of a small nation. I'm afraid that I belong to those people, even though I use the library quite frequently, as well.

In general, I totally agree with the author about reading and all that it embraces. Mostly, I have read completely different books from her. I suppose that is partly because most of the books she mentions are American but also, because we seem to like quite different genres. Except for Jane Austen, we don't seem to have a single author in common.

However, sometimes I found the book was written for Americans only. E.g. when she writes "… I read Doris Kearns Goodwin's excellent Abraham Lincoln biography Team of Rivals. I knew the basic outline of this life from history class; American students know that story's sad ending." I think most students have learned that in school, I know I did.

I have known a lot of American readers and a lot of them always tell me that the books they find are not very international. This book has confirmed that.

Nevertheless, I liked the book. Because, after all, it doesn't matter what kind of books you read, as long as you read.

And doesn't it just have the most charming illustration?

From the back cover:

"Reading isn't just a hobby or a way to pass the time - it's a lifestyle. Books shape, define and enchant us. They are part of who we are and we can't imagine life without them.

In this collection of charming and relatable reflections, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads you to remember the book that first hooked you, the place where you first fell in love with reading, and all the books and moments afterward that helped make you the reader you are today."