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A review by ralovesbooks
The Shelf: From LEQ to LES: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose
5.0
Would recommend: YES
Okay, that said, this book isn't for everyone, but it was definitely for me. There are some books that are for book lovers (like [b:The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry|18293427|The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry|Gabrielle Zevin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404582137s/18293427.jpg|25694131], [b:The Thirteenth Tale|40440|The Thirteenth Tale|Diane Setterfield|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346267826s/40440.jpg|849453], and [b:Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore|13538873|Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore|Robin Sloan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345089845s/13538873.jpg|6736543]), but this one is for people who love talking and thinking about books, not just reading them. Unlike [b:Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books|17910114|Why I Read The Serious Pleasure of Books|Wendy Lesser|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370171780s/17910114.jpg|25095569], this book pulls quite the trick of being intellectual but not dry, and I really enjoyed it. I kept pausing and exclaiming over how much I was loving it, and I was sad to see it end. I've been on a pretty erratic reading streak lately, so I appreciated how this arbitrary challenge still resulted in thematic learning. I love the idea of the library as this jungle to be explored.
Favorite lines:
- Certain genres hold themselves cheap. However good they are, however deeply they may affect us, they do not present themselves as more than entertainment. But some kinds of literature demand to be treated respectfully. The obligation is on the reader to live up to them and not so much on them to entertain the reader. What we call literary fiction is a genre with great aspirations. If a novel presents itself as serious, judging it becomes more complicated. That it isn't enjoyable does not immediately disqualify it from having succeeded. Literary fiction can say, "You will learn to love me in time. My difficulties are there for a reason. They will challenge you, but you will learn from them and be changed for the better."
- Changes in consciousness begin with art and take shape through discussion of art. But the process takes a long time and involves a lot of people working in small ways.
- ...the burden of family is now the central issue of women and creativity, whether the creativity is expressed in novels or interior design schemes, litigation or business plans, cupcakes or algorithms.
- The banal advice of writing teachers is "write what you know," but the truth is, you don't know a place until you write about it. "Write what you want to know" is more like it.
- The bookmark has moved from showing all ahead to most behind.
Okay, that said, this book isn't for everyone, but it was definitely for me. There are some books that are for book lovers (like [b:The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry|18293427|The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry|Gabrielle Zevin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404582137s/18293427.jpg|25694131], [b:The Thirteenth Tale|40440|The Thirteenth Tale|Diane Setterfield|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346267826s/40440.jpg|849453], and [b:Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore|13538873|Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore|Robin Sloan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345089845s/13538873.jpg|6736543]), but this one is for people who love talking and thinking about books, not just reading them. Unlike [b:Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books|17910114|Why I Read The Serious Pleasure of Books|Wendy Lesser|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370171780s/17910114.jpg|25095569], this book pulls quite the trick of being intellectual but not dry, and I really enjoyed it. I kept pausing and exclaiming over how much I was loving it, and I was sad to see it end. I've been on a pretty erratic reading streak lately, so I appreciated how this arbitrary challenge still resulted in thematic learning. I love the idea of the library as this jungle to be explored.
Favorite lines:
- Certain genres hold themselves cheap. However good they are, however deeply they may affect us, they do not present themselves as more than entertainment. But some kinds of literature demand to be treated respectfully. The obligation is on the reader to live up to them and not so much on them to entertain the reader. What we call literary fiction is a genre with great aspirations. If a novel presents itself as serious, judging it becomes more complicated. That it isn't enjoyable does not immediately disqualify it from having succeeded. Literary fiction can say, "You will learn to love me in time. My difficulties are there for a reason. They will challenge you, but you will learn from them and be changed for the better."
- Changes in consciousness begin with art and take shape through discussion of art. But the process takes a long time and involves a lot of people working in small ways.
- ...the burden of family is now the central issue of women and creativity, whether the creativity is expressed in novels or interior design schemes, litigation or business plans, cupcakes or algorithms.
- The banal advice of writing teachers is "write what you know," but the truth is, you don't know a place until you write about it. "Write what you want to know" is more like it.
- The bookmark has moved from showing all ahead to most behind.