I really cannot explain what makes me choose the books I end up reading. Best sellers lists are useless to me, as is the hype and review of many other things. There are a few occasions where people recommend books, but depending on the person even that may be taken with a grain of salt.
This book was happened upon. After going through an unheard of month without reading, I ventured out to Barnes & Noble to pass some time away and to perhaps end the slump. While perusing the biography section I stumbled upon this memoir of a book reviewer who had made a commitment to read a book a week for an entire year.
I have to admit, when I first started flipping through the pages this book I did not start at the beginning. Instead I began in a random section of the book as I tried to get a sense of whether or not the book was read worthy. As I read through the author's lament about the the pitfalls and benefits of book recommendations between friends and coworkers I was hooked. How can I not be?? Page, after page, the story moved along until I forced myself to the beginning of the book with no regrets.
From classics such as Anna Karenina to popular fiction like Bridget Jones' Diary to moving nonfiction like The Color of Water, Nelson takes the reader through the gamut of life and literature that any reader, writer, or neither would enjoy. There were many instances in which I had to pause in reading so that I could call my best friend (and fellow avid reader) Amanda so that I could read her a passage or even chapter that had us nodding in agreement, or discussing our dissension of her views. Either way it was pure fun and had me spellbound till the very end.
Not only did I fall for this novel, but it woke me from the read-less funk that had immersed me.
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