Title: My Life with Bob: Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues
Author: Pamela Paul
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
About the Book...
Started in high school, editor of the New York Times Review, Pamela Paul has kept a Book of Books (Bob, for short) listing all the books she has read. It shows books completed, indicates phases she went through, and captures who she was at particular points in life. Considering these books that have shaped her life, Paul writes her memoir as a devoted reader of books and shares just what it means to be one.
What I think...
I don't typically read contemporary memoirs and especially not of people I have no notion of who they are beyond the author bio in the back cover. This book caught my interest though, and I'm really glad it did because it was great.
I thought that Paul did a great job of capturing the way books influence the lives of readers and are intertwined in who we are as individuals. It was amusing, honest and relatable on so many levels and clearly written by someone who is a lover of books and understands the way they shape our lives. It was well written and often humorous. She did a considerable amount of traveling in her youth and I really liked reading about her experiences and some of the culture shock she experienced (especially a recollection of a water bug in Thailand). Each of the chapters delightfully and fittingly are titles of books relating to a primary topic and where she was in her life at the time adding an extra bit of amusement for the reader.
I did feel that the last half of the book wasn't as good, but that might be because it was focused around the impact having children had on her reading life. However, I really did enjoy this book from cover to cover and was happy to be able to add it to my own list of books that I've read.
To sum it all up...
A book for readers and book lovers!♥
