Will Schwalbe: Books for living (2017)
272 pages
English language
Published Nov. 14, 2017
"From the author of the best-selling and beloved The End of Your Life Book Club--a wonderfully engaging new book: both a celebration of reading in general and an impassioned recommendation of specific books that can help guide us through our daily lives. 'I've always believed that everything you need to know you can find in a book, ' writes Will Schwalbe in his introduction to this thought-provoking, heartfelt, and inspiring new book about books. In each chapter he makes clear the ways in which a particular book has helped to shape how he leads his own life and the ways in which it might help to shape ours. He talks about what brought him to each book--or vice versa; the people in his life he associates each book with; how each has led him to other books; how each is part of his understanding of himself in the world. And …
"From the author of the best-selling and beloved The End of Your Life Book Club--a wonderfully engaging new book: both a celebration of reading in general and an impassioned recommendation of specific books that can help guide us through our daily lives. 'I've always believed that everything you need to know you can find in a book, ' writes Will Schwalbe in his introduction to this thought-provoking, heartfelt, and inspiring new book about books. In each chapter he makes clear the ways in which a particular book has helped to shape how he leads his own life and the ways in which it might help to shape ours. He talks about what brought him to each book--or vice versa; the people in his life he associates each book with; how each has led him to other books; how each is part of his understanding of himself in the world. And he relates each book to a question of our daily lives, for example: Melville's Bartleby, the Scrivener speaks to quitting; 1984 to disconnecting from our electronics; James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room to the power of finding ourselves and connecting with one another; Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea to taking time to recharge; Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird to being sensitive to the surrounding world; The Little Prince to making friends; Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train to trusting. Here, too, are books by Dickens, Daphne du Maurier, Haruki Murakami, Edna Lewis, E.B. White, and Hanya Yanagihara, among many others. A treasure of a book for everyone who loves books, loves reading, and loves to hear the answer to the question: 'What are you reading?'"--
Formāts man patika- kā konkrētu granātu ieteikumi, saturs: drusku pamācošs. Vai arī tikai man tā likās? Bioegrafiski stāsti, kas vijas ar pārdomām par dzīvi vispār. Tomēr tikai retais stāsts man radīja vēlmi atrast konkrēto grāmatu (varbūt arī tāpēc, ka iepriekšējie ieteikumi palikuši puslasiti, mums gaume ļoti atšķiras).
I struggled with the first few chapters of this book, as shows in the start and finish dates. But once I picked it back up a couple of weeks ago, it seemed a very different animal, or I was more open and receptive to its message. From that point on, I sped through it, devouring it and revelling in Will Schwalbe’s turn of phrase. It’s given me a long list of other books that I probably wouldn’t have heard of otherwise or might have avoided. And I think that it exactly the reaction he wants.
Beautiful, life-affirming. If you love to read its a slam dunk. If you wish you had more time or desire to read, it will save your life.
Favorite book of the year so far! I simply love how this man writes about books-friendly and approachable, not elitist at all. I love it!
