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A review by sonia_reppe
A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel
3.0
I wanted to read at least one of the books presented in class, (besides the one my group had to present) for Intro to Library sci; this one seemed the most interesting to me. The 22 essays about books and reading can each stand alone and be read in whatever order; however, I read it straight through in three weeks time since I have to return it to the library. Some of the essays I really liked, others were kind of bogged down with history...I don't mean I dislike learning history; just slogging through all those Greek names slowed down my enjoyment; and also, there's always violence, because history is full of violence; not that this book speaks a lot about that, not really. If you like non-fiction with a big historical vibe, this one's for you.
Presenting this book, the girls said that it was not scholarly, but I think it is scholarly. Manguel includes his experiences as a reader into each particular essay, as fits the topic; I guess that makes it not scholarly; but can a book be said to be part scholarly, part personal? He obviously did a lot of research. My favorite chapters were Private Reading, Metaphors of Reading, Reading the Future, the Translator as Reader, Forbidden Reader, and Book Fool. There were some excellent paragraphs, most often the last one of the chapter.
Presenting this book, the girls said that it was not scholarly, but I think it is scholarly. Manguel includes his experiences as a reader into each particular essay, as fits the topic; I guess that makes it not scholarly; but can a book be said to be part scholarly, part personal? He obviously did a lot of research. My favorite chapters were Private Reading, Metaphors of Reading, Reading the Future, the Translator as Reader, Forbidden Reader, and Book Fool. There were some excellent paragraphs, most often the last one of the chapter.