Where Is Your Bookmark: A Peek into Why We Read & More Friday Fun

I am very nearly finished with John Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society (and would be done if work today and a commitment this evening had not gotten in the way). I am waiting to see which book wins my February TBR List poll tomorrow (there's still time to vote if you haven't yet) to see what I will pick up next. In the meantime, I thought I would share excerpt from a nonfiction book I have sitting on my desk that I am considering reading soon. I enjoy books about books and Shannon Reed's essay collection, Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out sounds like it will be both entertaining and relatable. 

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

 

I don't remember a time when I didn't know how to read. [opening of Why We Read]

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Our wonderful host Freda of Freda's Voice is on a break, but Anne of My Head is Full of Books has stepped in to host!

Everyone deserves the opportunity to read a familiar story, well told. The pleasure is not in discovering the plot but finding out what kind of characters the author has chosen to walk well-trodden paths, and how the expected beats (the finding of the body! the meet-cute! the realization that the the robot does not mean well!) will be incorporated in this particular version. [excerpt from 56% Why We Read]

This excerpt is from the author's essay "For Comfort" and is all about comfort reading.

Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out by Shannon Reed

A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a teacher, bibliophile and Thurber Prize finalist.

We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human.

Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (Gone Girl, Their Eyes Were Watching God) to the ones she didn’t (Tess of the d’Urbervilles), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the surprising ways in which literature can transform us for the better. [Goodreads Summary]

What do you think? Does Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out sound like something you would enjoy? 

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. It is hosted by Linda Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About. Join in by answering this week's question in the comments or on your own blog.

What's the last book you re-read? Did you like as much as the first read?

One of my criteria for keeping books on my physical bookshelves is that I plan to re-read them someday. It's funny when you take into consideration that I am not much of a re-reader, and yet I have a lot of books on my shelves just in case I do turn into one. I hardly ever r-read books. A few years ago I had this idea that I can combine re-reading with trying to get more into reading audiobooks, but that's not going as well as I hoped. 

The last book I re-read was Fool Moon (Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher. And that was in 2022. The Dresden Files is one of my favorite series, but I fell woefully behind and decided to revisit the earlier books in the series via their audio versions, narrated by the great James Marsters, to refresh my memory. I really liked the print version of the book when I read it in 2006, and re-visiting the story via audiobook was a fun experience in its own right. 

Not including children's books, I have only re-read a handful of books. The prize for my most re-read book goes to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, one of my all-time favorite books, which I have read multiple times. I last read it in 2015.

What was the last book you re-read? 

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Do you post Happy Publication Day posts for books you read? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Review)

The short answer is no, I do not. The closest I come is sometimes participating in the Can't-Wait Wednesday weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings, in which I share upcoming releases I have added to my wish list and am eager to read.  

What about you? 

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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