Customer Reviews

An Open Book: Coming of Age in the Heartland

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Michael Dirda's memoir of his growing up years is very personal, highly engaging, and by turns, wistful, sad and funny. We follow the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic from his birth in an Ohio mill town to the middle of his years at Oberlin College. His family, teachers and friends play significant roles in the story, but so do the books that fueled his imagination and shaped his destiny.

In an environment that was indifferent, if not hostile to books, Dirda discovered their ability to entertain, educate and uplift. His story is an affirmation of the argument that it doesn't matter what a child reads in the early years, just so long as he or she reads. Dirda quickly graduates from comics, Big Little Books and the like to more substantial fare. In fact, the list of classics in the back of the book that he had read by the end of high school would put most adult readers to shame. Though reading is at the heart of the story, there's a lot of classic childhood reminiscing here, including memorable incidents like his attempt to run away from home at age 14 and his awkward early journeys into the world of dating and romance.

This is a personal story that should have wide appeal, though I bet it will have a special resonance for those (such as this reviewer) who felt a little out of the maintstream during their growing up years because they "always had their nose in a book."

As I am a near contemporary of the author in age, I found an uncanny mirroring of my life in his...similar touchstones of products, events, TV shows, etc. many of which I had long forgotten. But what was the key pleasure of reading about this otherwise common life (and I throw myself in that descriptor as well)was the impact that various books had on him...something I could also identify with as another lifelong avid reader.

Dirda mentions book titles to show how they affected his imagination, his decisions, his way of looking at the world. For those who argue there is no concrete utility in reading and are satisfied that future generations are losing this habit, this book is the best argument to the contrary I know. Not that there is any solemnity to his story or any self-importance. His is a wry, affectionate tale of growing up in the straight-laced Midwest in the 50's. But it is his love of literature that irradiates his story. Recommended for those who want to remember why they love to read and how they got that way.

It's a bit intimidating to write a review of a book by a book reviewer, but I have to try, as I loved this book so much! I have a long list of books to read in the future, and once one of them comes to the top, I sometimes have forgotten what it's going to be about, so this one came as a real treat. It tells of the author's childhood in Lorain, Ohio in the late 40s to the 60s, including his years at Oberlin. As an avid reader with many memories of the joy of childhood reading (although I was not as sophisticated in my tastes are Dirda!) it's always a treat to be brought back to the that wonderful feeling of having a pile of new books to read, from the library or thrift stores or the school book club! I enjoyed the list of books he had read through age 16 in an appendix. I felt better about my own youthful reading knowing we had both at least read a few of the same books, even the quite light Cheaper by the Dozen!

An added treat for me is that although I didn't know this would be the case when I started the book, I got much insight into the land of my own early childhood---I was born in Elyria, next to Lorain, although we moved when I was 6, and my parents both went to Oberlin, a bit earlier than Dirda. Earlier in the day I started this book, my mother for some reason told me of a time my father bought me shoes at Januzzi's, a shoe store I'd never heard of before---reading later that day of the author's own trip to Januzzi's was one of my most amazing reading moments of my lifetime! Any author who can create a scene of place like Dirda did with the Lorain of his childhood is truly gifted.

I am eager now to get my hands of Dirda's other book, Readings! Keep writing, Michael Dirda!!

I read this book a year or two ago, but remembered it again recently while reading Wendy Werris's new memoir, An Alphabetical Life, because both reflect such a love of books. To people like Dirda and Werris - and me - books are nearly as important as eating, loving, breathing. And that affinity is so astutely reflected here in Michael Dirda's story of his childhood in Lorraine, Ohio. It's a midwest boyhood to the nth degree, albeit one of a kind of nerdy, bookish unathletic kid. I was a kid like Mike. I could relate. If you grew up in the fifties and sixties and loved books, then don't miss this one. It will take you back - to those dusty, second-hand bookstores you found with such joy, and to your folks yelling at you to "getcher nose outa that book and go outside for a while! It's a beautiful day, dammit!" Like that. Thanks for sharing your kidhood, Mike. - Tim Bazzett, author of Reed City Boy

This is an extraordinary story of an ordinary life. From comic books, to the Hardy Boys to Faust to the French classics, we go on a ride through books with Mike Dirda. I also grew up in the Midwest at about the same time and I can identify with just about every page of the book. Extraordinary.

Michael Dirda is a cousin of mine, and I remember going to my local Borders to hear him speak about this book (and get a signed copy!) when it first came out. It was a treat to finally get around to reading the book and experience his perception of some of my relatives. Marlene and "Cookie" are my aunt and uncle and their sister is my grandmother, the third Kucirek cousin who is, unfortunately, not mentioned! I grew up in Lorain in the 90s, and it's amazing to me that not much has really changed. I can pinpoint nearly all the locations he discusses, and can vouch for myself that Yala's Pizza really is the best!! I consider myself more of a casual reader, so some of the ending chapters where he gives us more of his musings on authors and their works was a little dull for me. Overall, though, the book is a wonderful telling of life in Lorain.

Everything Michael wrote in his book brought back so many boyhood memories for for my friend. It wasn't just the big things, it was the little things Dirda wrote about that brought smiles and tugged at the heart.

I love the book! The book is very special and has a place in my heart. My favorite part of the book is how Dirda makes fun of his middle pesky sister Pamela. i laughed historically at the part. i also like how toward of the end od the book Dirda's hormones begin to blossom. Overall i feel that it is an awesome book and should be read and shared with families all over the world.