The "Reading Books About Reading Books" Tag

[@jonathanbrewer7072]

Books and long walks are my elixir to life's woes and challenges.

[@marnasorensen988]

Forever thankful to my parents, who had a varied book collection, encouraged frequent trips to the library, and didn't own a television.

[@jonathanbrewer7072]

A great book is a friend who never lets you down - Mark Twain.

[@henryhrsn]

Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour is a must-read if you enjoy stories about the love of books and reading in general. L'Amour writes about his life as a hobo, traveling around and taking whatever work he could find, with books as his constant companions. Education of a Wandering Man is absolutely stacked with references to other books. Highly recommended.

[@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p]

I've read L'Amour's book. It was years ago. I had forgotten about it. At the time I was more interested in his westerns and the Sackett books. I wonder now if maybe L'Amour encouraged my love of reading more than I realized. I remember especially his praise of Plutarch. Thanks for the jog to my memory. I might need to do a followup post.

[@jf8559]

Great tag and thanks for the discussion about books and reading. One of my very favourite topics to read about! I would also recommend Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman, as well as Rereadings by her. Also Howard’s End is on the Landing by Susan Hill, and from a bookseller’s perspective Lewis Buzbee’s The Yellow Lighted Bookshop, Alberto Manguel’s A History of Reading, and Maureen Corrigan’s Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading.

[@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[@kl-ge9bg]

Francis Spufford - The Child That Books Built Michael Dirda - An Open Book Mark Hodkinson - No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy: Memoirs of a Working-Class Reader Joe Queenan - One for the Books Nick Hornby - The Polysyllabic Spree (and its sequels) Nancy Malone - Walking a Literary Labyrinth Arnold Weinstein - A Scream Goes Through the House

[@jonathanbrewer7072]

Highly recommend Collins Gem : Classic Books. Provides a valuable and entertaining introduction to the world of great literature.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

This is a great idea, Bob. I’ll look forward to doing this soon. I’ve tagged you today also on a tag about our bookish roots. 😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Bob, my version of your tag went up yesterday. I've tagged you on it, but I'm not sure if you are getting notifications. This was a wonderfully thought-provoking tag. Thank you, my friend.

[@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p]

Hi Pat, I don't get any notice unless someone is responding directly to my posts. So, no, I don't know if I've been tagged. I'm sure there's a simple way of getting those notices, but, as usual, my limited tech skills fail me.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@ I’ll try to explain in an email.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Check email.

[@sofiar611]

This is a great list--I'll definitely be reading some of these!

[@GordonTyrrall]

Enjoyed that - having just discovered your channel while at a loose end in the Galapagos😄. I've read the Alberto Manguel books (that you didnt mention,but others did) and found them a bit uninspiring, and he tends to go for the massive classics like Don Quixote,Montaigne and Ulysses. I like to hear a little more down-to-earth personal accounts of reading - which seems more likely in the books you suggest. Yes I nearly veered off when the dreaded word "prayer" came up (I'm English and we don't talk about prayer) but I think your point was interesting and entertaining- God as the author we pass in the street without knowing - lovely notion. 😄

[@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p]

Thank you for your comments. And, yes, I was a little concerned about losing some viewers with my mention of "prayer" and "God" and all that. I'm glad you caught the wry observation, that we might pass God in the street without knowing it. Metaphorically speaking, of course,

[@jonathanbrewer7072]

I do hope we will look at literary criticism. For my work in progress The Narnia Enigma I use the late Dr David Holbrook's, Fellow of Cambridge University, phenomenological study of CS Lewis. An extraordinary read. Through a study of symbolism and psycho analysis we get an invaluable insight.

[@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p]

I enjoy literary criticism, and was not dismissing it. I was only making the point that, regarding this tag, I was setting the parameters to include only books about the joy of reading books. A separate tag about literary criticism is one I would absolutely support.

[@jonathanbrewer7072]

@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p Thank you. Literary criticism can be extraordinary ( eg Freudianism ). Dr David Holbrook did a phenomenological one for the two Alice books. Oh my ! Look forward to your own assessment.

[@bottleimpbooks]

I recommend two books by Alberto Manguel, A History of Reading and The Library at Night. Oh, and a classic, Palinurus' (Cyril Connolly's) The Unquiet Grave.

[@carolnash5617]

This is an interesting topic, i have not seen any books like these. I am interested in a few you mentioned, and i will look for them. Thank you!

[@mykleine]

Neverending Story - Michael Ende

[@illustratedjournal]

Funny that I just picked up "Why We Read" by Shannon Reed (Read? ha). Another great read is "The Untold Story of Books" by Michael Castleman. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be reading about reading!

[@chrismusic1180]

I enjoy the essay collections of Michael Dirda ("Browsings" being the latest and a good example). These are collections of light, familiar essays that always give me a reading boost

[@TriumphalReads]

Lovely idea for a new tag

[@kevintowle9665]

Wow, awesome idea for a book tag, thanks Bob for the tag. I will work on this very soon! Happy Holidays!

[@tegeuscromis8947]

Swann's Way first and foremost. Then Don Quixote, Madame Bovary, most of Borges... Of much more recent stuff, Lev Grossman's The Magicians is very good on this... Etc etc.

[@BobJacobs10]

My tip for this kind of books: Papyrus by Irene Vallejo.

[@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[@jackforseti224]

I disagree with you on Harald Bloom. He was very condescending to Stephen King and J.K. Rowling, and very arrogant

[@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p]

Understood. Fair enough. Though expressing my admiration for Bloom doesn't mean I agree with everything he said. And he could be full of himself, for sure, but that was part of his unique character. He was remarkably well read and thoughtful, and not especially concerned with other writers' feelings, especially if he found them lacking in the qualities he thought made for a true artist.

[@jackforseti224]

@@RobertGReaderofBooks-r3p I've subscribed to your channel, I just dislike Bloom. I guess it does make him a character, but a character I dislike. Do you think he overrates the importance of Shakespeare? He seems to glorify Shakespeare in everything I read by him