Customer Reviews

Ruined By Reading: A Life in Books

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Like the author i can remember the books i read as a child (with great fondness), i have those books even today, and like her they are my old and familiar friends. But unlike her most of those books have been nonfiction, for i thought/think those were the way to see the real world. After reading this book i realize that the gap i thought existed between nonfiction and fiction isn't really important. For she sees books, like i imagine most readers do, as a funny kind of mirror which reflects the reader's inner world at the same time as displaying the author's world. I think the gap is between readers and nonreaders, who like those described this book as visual or picture people, identify with films rather than books. The book is a memoir which asks the big question on our reading minds-- does it matter if i can't remember what is in the books? She answers it- "For in the end, even if all my books where to vanish, I would still have them somewhere, if I had read them attentively enough. Maybe the words on the page are not even the true book, in the end only a gateway to the book which recreates in the mind and lasts as long as we do." The book is a real treat for anyone who like her, is often asked, "haven't you wasted your life, by reading rather than experiencing life?" She answers this with the thought that her life is so intertwined with the books she has read and thereby experienced, and so made a part of her. That it doesn't matter, which is books and which is real life for they together make her, her. It's a good book, short, poignant with echoes and parallels apparent to any readers life. Go for it, spend a pleasant hour with this book.

This is part personal memoir, as the author tells about her own
childhood and the books that influenced her, and part essay on
why we read and how what we reads shapes our lives.

Schwartz begins with the key question: Why do we read? One
Buddhist scholar she quotes says that reading is a handicap. "It
is better to keep your own mind free and to not let the thinking
of others interfere with your own free thinking." As she thinks
about her own life, she realizes that she doesn't remember much
of what she's read and wonders if this means that she has not
gained by it.

She even commits heresy by saying that she has managed "not to
finish certain books," and is proud of it. Still, she is unable
to throw away any of those unread books; they remain on her
shelves, even those she feels have no merit. She may hide them on
a high shelf, but they remain part of her life.

She finally concludes that "unlike love, reading is a pure
activity. It will gain us nothing but enchantment of the heart."
But for those of us who are "book addicts, perhaps that is
enough.

This is a rather short book (119 pages), but I think book lovers
will enjoy it.

Lynne Schwartz' "Ruined by Reading" has languished on my bookshelf for quite some time while I continued to read the latest bestsellers. I regret that I did not read this delightful essay on the joys of reading earlier. Filled with anecdotes about her childhood and her initial exposure to books, this paen to reading reminds us of how we felt as children when we first entered the kingdom of books and were whisked away from the "here and now" to enchanted lands. As I read her book, I was taken back to the two-room schoolhouse as a teacher exposed us to Long John Siver and "Treasure Island". I also recalled reading Leon Uris' "Exodus" as a teenager and the profound impact it had in shaping my view of the world and the evil that humans are capable of. No doubt you too will be reminded of similar experiences if you choose to read this delightful little gem for book lovers.

Schwartz' style is clear and satisfying. After spending an afternoon consuming this essay, I checked the frontispiece to see if it had originally appeared in "The New Yorker" or "The New York Review of Books" or some similar publication. Imagine my surprise to find instead that it was published by a press run by the Unitarians. But then, the book starts by quoting a Buddhist scholar, goes through a history of the development of the author's reading, touches on different authors' search for meaning in the act of writing coupled with this author's search for the meaning in the act of reading, and ends with a profoundly optimistic justification for that act. It is fitting that an apology (in the sense meaning personal explanation of belief held, rather than statement of atonement) be a product of Beacon Press.

reading is a common subject matter, countless books have been written on the subject. But here, the author takes a lighthearted but very personal look at the impact of books, and reading, on her life. She probes the question that is seldom addressed - just what impact does reading actually have? Is reading living, or just the written record of living? If we read and then forget, how has what we're read impacted us? Does reading make us a better person? Or even a different person? While everyone will have their own answers to these questions, I enjoyed the author's unstructured reminiscences and ruminations, appreciative that she would share this portion of herself with other booklovers who also ponder these abstracts. One thinks of Louis L'amour's rambling biography, for while these two authors are world's apart in personality & perspective, both are confirmed, card-carrying bookaholics, just sharing their love of and commitment to the written word.

'Ruined by Reading' captures -- in short, flowing and evocative prose -- memories of Ms. Schwarz's lifelong love affair with the written word. She shares the books and stories that became her friends at various stages of life, and does so in a most captivating and unpretentious way. On almost every page the reader will find themselves nodding alone with some cogent or pithy comment about the joys and pitfalls of a literary addiction, even if not familiar with the particular writing used as the example. Ms. Schwartz's prose is direct, clean and spare. Although highly personal, she manages to illuminate a universal theme. I came away feeling that I had gained some real insight into the author's character, based upon her selection and reaction to various books. Her interweaving of family life and the books she cherishes is often quite frank about her feelings regarding her parents or authors, but the honesty exhibited is never gratuituous. A small book, it can be read at a single sitting, but I preferred to linger and savor the experience over several evenings. I now look forward anxiously to reading her novels, and will list this book as a "must read" for my writer and reader friends

Ms. Schwartz reminded me of when I was a little girl--perhaps that's why I enjoyed reading this book so much. It was a fun read!! But it's no intellectual diatribe on bibliophiles--good for easy, entertaining reading only.

THE PLOT OR PREMISE:
Schwarz starts from a commentary by a Chinese scholar that some people are handicapped by reading too much, and not thinking enough about what they read. From there, she looks at the books she has read in her life and the role they have played. It is not a heavy analytical tone throughout, but rather a personal commentary on the books that have been important to her in her life, and the elements of her life that took place in and around books.

WHAT I LIKED:
There are a number of sections that are quite well done, such as:
- Emptying your mind for meditation vs. filling it up during a life spent reading (pg. 14);
- On the un-importance of the authors vs. the impact of the words themselves (pg. 17);
- A life spent reading (pg. 96);
- Choices of reading material (pg. 107);
- Ruined by reading (pg. 114); and,
- On self (pg. 119)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Some of the sections could have benefited from a bit more analysis and historical context, not just the personal impact in her own life.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Certainly not a serious reference title, but the tone was pleasant, the writing fair, and the material thoughtfully presented. Give it 3.50 lilypads out of 5.00.

Other Information:
- Source: Library
- Original date of review: February 2001, updated 2011
- Tags: Biography, Non-fiction, Prose, Writing

I am a bibliophile, an unrepentant booklover, so I was really looking forward to this book. I was disappointed. Not only did Schwartz reveal very little about herself, it also seemed we didn't read many of the same kinds of books. Frankly, we just didn't "connect." There was a lot more about Heidi and A Little Princess than I ever wanted to know. If you want a good book about books and reading and an excellent memoir at the same time, try Wendy Werris's An Alphabetical Life. As a "book about books" this one simply didn't work form me. - Tim Bazzett, author of SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA

I have often pondered why reading assumes addictive proportions in the lives of some (in that they structure their routines to accomodate this activity). Is it because reading is a means of escapism to locales more exciting? Does the written word offer a fleeting glimpse into the mind of those more interesting than the people in your life? Does it validate the innermost thoughts and experiences that you are reluctant to share with others? Perhaps, the reason is escapism from all that is mundane and routine, period.