The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books Saved My Life - Hardcover

Miller, Andy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007255756 ISBN 13: 9780007255757

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2014

Synopsis

A working father whose life no longer feels like his own discovers the transforming powers of great (and downright terrible) literature in this laugh-out-loud memoir.

Andy Miller had a job he quite liked, a family he loved and no time at all for reading. Or so he kept telling himself. But, no matter how busy or tired he was, something kept niggling at him. Books. Books he’d always wanted to read. Books he’d said he’d read, when he hadn’t. Books that whispered the promise of escape from the 6.44 to London. And so, with the turn of a page, began a year of reading that was to transform Andy’s life completely.

This book is Andy’s inspirational and very funny account of his expedition through literature: classic, cult and everything in-between. Crack the spine of your unread ‘Middlemarch’, discover what ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and ‘Moby-Dick’ have in common (everything, surprisingly) and knock yourself out with a new-found enthusiasm for Tolstoy, Douglas Adams and ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’. ‘The Year of Reading Dangerously’ is a reader’s odyssey and it begins with opening this book...

About this title

Review:

‘Like nothing else I have ever read – a combination of criticism and memoir that is astute, tender, funny and often wickedly ironic’ Peter Conrad, Observer

‘Very funny ... this is “High Fidelity” for bookworms’ Christian House, Daily Telegraph

‘Brilliant. All these books should count themselves lucky to have been read by Andy Miller’ Stewart Lee

‘A readable, often funny account ... This is much more than a succession of verdicts on famous books. It’s also an autobiography told through books ... reminiscent both in style and perceptiveness of Nick Hornby. Miller’s theme is that books aren’t separate from life ... Perhaps one book never changed anyone’s life; but 50 of them can.’ Brandon Robshaw, Independent

‘Hilarious and touching ... If you don’t like to read, this book is probably not for you, but Dan Brown remains on sale’ Jenny Colgan, author of ‘Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams’

‘I loved this book ... challenging, controversial and very funny’ David Nobbs, author of ‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’

‘Andy Miller is a very funny writer. And this hymn to reading is a delight. The chapter on Herman Melville and Dan Brown had me howling with pleasure. PS. It will also make you feel a bit well-read’ Matt Haig, author of ‘The Humans’

‘Brilliant’ Lucy Mangan, author of ‘My Family and Other Disasters’

‘Andy Miller was leading a normal life of quiet desperation when he discovered that he was no longer reading with any plan or pleasure. Usually books about books as therapy are resistible but “The Year of Reading Dangerously” is a sweet exception. Amiable, circumstantial, amusing, charming’ The Times

‘A witty self-help guide to managing one’s bookshelves’ TLS

‘Like Bill Bryson being locked in the British Library for his own good, “The Year of Reading Dangerously” is clever, inspiring and – shh! – laugh-out-loud funny’ Neil Perryman, author of ‘Adventures with the Wife in Space’

‘By turns witty and profound’ Daily Telegraph

About the Author:

Andy Miller is a reader, author and editor of books. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including the Times, the Telegraph, the Guardian, Esquire and Mojo. His first book ‘Tilting at Windmills: How I Tried to Stop Worrying and Love Sport’ was published in 2002; his acclaimed study of the Kinks’ Village Green Preservation Society LP followed in 2004. In a career spanning twenty years, he has worked with Charlie Brooker, Stewart Lee, the League of Gentlemen, Sacha Baron Cohen and Count Arthur Strong, amongst many others. He lives in Kent with his wife and son.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0007255756
• ISBN 13: 9780007255757
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336