I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life

My Rating – If you have time

Level – Short, easy

Summary
It is hard to summarize this book other than it is about loving books and the impact books can have on your life. Each of the 21 chapters is basically a short essay (maybe former blog post) about a different topic related to reading and being a book love, such as – organizing your bookshelf, working for bookstores, and recommending books to other people, etc.

My Thoughts
While the essays are funny, witty, and (to me) pretty relatable, I wish there was a little more coherence to this book. There is no real build or order through the chapters. Some stories are repeated, sometimes more than once, as the book is little more than a collection of essays. The chapters are quick and funny, but sometimes leave you wanting. For instance, she has a chapter on organizing your bookshelf that has some funny observations, but no actual practical help. In her defense, that may not be her intention, but as my personal physical book collection approaches a thousand, I’m looking for suggestions.

That’s pretty much it, a short review for a short book. I do wonder why Baker published it. Not that the book shouldn’t have been published, but Baker tends to have a ‘Christian’ focus on books. That’s not a knock on Bogel, I certainly don’t think Christians should read only Christian books, I’m just genuinely curious as to their criteria for publishing.

For someone trying to become more involved in reading, you should probably pass on this book. You won’t get too much in the way of choosing a book or finding a reading system. On the upside the wife finds the cover of the book to be very ‘cute’, so we’ll probably put it somewhere as decoration.  If you are an avid reader and book collector and are looking for something this could be worth your time.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review