So Many Books, So Little Time
If you know the truth of this statement, than I can wholly recommend So Many Books, So Little Time, a memoir by magazine editor Sara Nelson. I have long been identified as a bookworm, and (gratefully having come through my teenage years, where my bookishness was just another embarrassment) have come to embrace my membership in this clique with fervor and joy. Like any other self-respecting cult member, I've kept my eyes open for people like me: accosting perfect strangers in bookstores and libraries, trying to convert members of my own family, spreading the "good news" about a recent find. Well, Sara Nelson could be our next prophet.
Included in the book, which chronicles the author's year long resolution to read at least one book a week, are all the aspects of being a book-aholic that I've never been able to explain to someone who isn't. Such topics include the idea of book kismet - the perfect book finding its way into your hands at the exact right moment; the book lover's rite of passage - when you finally realize that you can stop reading a book that you aren't enjoying - just because; and the hidden importance of the acknowledgement page. She also talks about the numerous issues that arise around reviewing books - publisher's hype and its backlash, the dangers inherent in recommending books to others, and what it feels like to hate a book that the entire world seems to love (how thankful am I that I was not the only person to be so violently anti-Bridges of Madison County?) Or, and this can sometimes be worse, how it feels when the whole world suddenly begins to discover an author you had thought of as your own. It concludes with three lists - the books she set out to read during that year, the ones she actually read, and her list of books to read next.
In short, Nelson lovingly and thoughtfully illustrates, in so many ways what it means to be a true reader. And any true reader will recognize themselves in the pages.
Another book I'd recommend to any true reader just happened to find it's way into my hands this week as well. Book Lust, written by longtime librarian Nancy Pearl, is a thoroughly organized resource for any reader. The author lists books in a wide variety of categories (including Fathers and Daughters, Growing Writers, Three-Hanky Reads, and Science Books for the Interested but Apprehensive Layperson) with witty commentary. If you're always looking for something else to read (and you should be) add Book Lust to your library.