A Reading Diary - Hardcover

Manguel, Alberto

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374247420 ISBN 13: 9780374247423

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2004

Synopsis

While traveling in Calgary, Alberto Manguel was struck by how the novel he was reading (Goethe's Elective Affinities) seemed to reflect the social chaos of the world he was living in. An article in the daily paper would be suddenly illuminated by a passage in the novel; a long reflection would be prompted by a single word. He decided to keep a record of these moments, rereading a book a month, and forming A Reading Diary: a volume of notes, reflections, impressions of travel, of friends, of events public and private, all ellicited by his reading.

From Don Quixote (August) to The Island of Dr. Moreau (February) to Kim (April), Manguel leads us on an enthralling adventure in literature and life, and demonstrates how, for the passionate reader, one is utterly inextricable from the other.

About this title

Review:

"Inspirational and enormously entertaining." (Big Issue)

"Charminly erudite . . . these warm and wise fragments of memoir, observation and meditation all belong in the class of books that readers - and re-readers - aore, rather tahn gate-keeping critics admire. Manguel dives back with infectious delight . . ." (Independent)

"A remarkable achievement. I finished the book with a sense of gratitude to have shared this journey through time in the company of a mind so lively, knowledgeable and sympathetic." (P.D. James)

"Its ebb and flow beautifully celebrate the way the best fiction works: quiety informing, embracing, providing connections and sometimes even changing the way one sees reality." (Metro)

"An elegant, quaint and sensitive meditation on the nature of reading." (Times Literary Supplement)

"Certain to give civilized pleasure." (Observer)

"A love letter written to reading." (George Steiner)

About the Author:

Alberto Manguel was born in Buenos Aires and has lived in Italy, England, Tahiti, Canada, and France. He is the prizewinning author of Reading Pictures, A History of Reading, and The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, among other works.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0374247420
• ISBN 13: 9780374247423
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 205