so-soWhat I thought this was going to be: a full-on nerdy, obsessive book ABOUT books. What this is: a chatty memoir of the author as reader, or #FirstWorldProblemsWithBooks. I liked it well enough, though I found large parts skimmable. I enjoyed Paul best as a narrator when her second marriage & kids entered the picture. Memoirs are personal & subjective & readers respond differently. It was mostly an OK read, but I was left craving more book talk.
LeahBergen Well, that‘s annoying. It‘s waiting on my shelves. 😠 5y
batsy @LeahBergen Plenty of good reviews, Leah, so don't let me put you off! It just wasn't for me 😬 5y
Pruzy @batsy But wasn't the part where she almost gets kidnapped reading a book at a restaurant horrifying! 5y
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batsy @Pruzy Definitely! She's had some experiences. But maybe the way she conveyed it—that jokey flippant tone—didn't quite hit the mark with me. 5y
Pruzy @batsy That's fair! I guess her point is that she's come through life relatively unscathed. Do you listen to The NYTimes Book Review podcast? She's the host, such a great voice 5y
batsy No I haven't! I should give it a listen. I've read some of her bookish essays and enjoyed those. 5y
batsy Sorry @Pruzy forgot to tag 👆🏽 5y
Pruzy @batsy It's a great weekly podcast that has actually interesting and well done author interviews from the week's new book releases and also a panel with NYTimes reviewers about what they've been recently reading 5y
batsy @Pruzy That sounds pretty amazing. And definitely something the old TBR is in need of 😂 5y
Centique I enjoyed it but - like you - I was expecting a good old nerdy brain dump of bookishness and didn‘t get it. The closest I‘ve found to that is this tagged book, a collection of 10yrs of newspaper columns by Hornby, who‘s a ravid reader, (author too of course) it‘s got TONS of books in it![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png)
Ten Years in the Tub: A Decade Soaking in Great Books 5y
Ten Years in the Tub: A Decade Soaking in Great Booksbatsy @Centique Thank you for that! I used to love reading his Believer columns when I had access to the mag as a student in Winnipeg 😍 5y
Pruzy @batsy You studied in Winnipeg? How did you like it? Were you at the U of M or U of Winnipeg?? 5y
batsy @Pruzy Yes, at the U of W. My university experience was pretty great. So many lovely professors. Winnipeg itself was both fascinating and challenging (brutal winters; the international student residence was located downtown and I began to learn about what the urban indigenous population goes through...) 5y
Pruzy @batsy What did you study and where did you end up after that? 5y
batsy @Pruzy I was an English major and ended up back in Malaysia after that :) Doing freelance writing and editing now. 5y
Pruzy @batsy That‘s an amazing life path! You‘re pretty much an honorary Canadian after living in/surviving a winter in Manitoba! 5y
batsy @Pruzy Thank you! 😆 Sorry if I missed this, but are you Canadian? From Manitoba? 5y
Pruzy @batsy I am! Originally from Saskatchewan, but not there anymore. I‘ve been to Manitoba/Winnipeg a few times before 5y
batsy @Pruzy Oh, that's awesome! I've only been to Regina but only to a friend's place. I regret so much not travelling around as much as I could when I was there; I was broke most of the time 😅 5y
Pruzy @batsy Yeah, I understand. The tough life of a student (of which I still am). Did you ever get to make it to McNally Robinson while in Winnipeg? I am in love with the Saskatoon store 5y
batsy @Pruzy Yes! There used to be a branch on Portage Place that was my second home but I think there's only one branch now at Grant Park and I remember it as being really lovely and well-stocked. 5y
Pruzy @batsy Great! Well I'm at least happy that you managed to enjoy the greatness! I'm always impressed by how well stocked even the remaindered section was. 5y