A Reading Diary: A Passionate Reader's Reflections on a Year of Books

While travelling in Canada, Alberto Manguel was struck by how the particular novel he was reading (Goethe's `Elective Affinities') seemed to reflect the social chaos of the world in which he was living. An article in a daily paper: a chance observation would suddenly be illuminated by a particular passage in the novel. He decided to keep a record of such moments by rereading a novel each month and formed a volume of notes,... Read Full Review

Alberto Manguel hits the nail on the head as he shows the relationship between the reader and the books read. At the deeper level of a serious reader it should become a conversation, as it does with Manguel.

Unlike other `Reading Year' books, this one is concerned with revisiting old literary friends. Manguel chooses a single book a month and, in diary form, relates it to his current activities and life parallels. He selects his titles in advance, an eclectic mix from all over the world. This short book oozes with erudition, and Manguel liberally sprinkles excellent quotes, observations, lists, and anecdotes throughout the text,... Read Full Review

Alberto Manguel has repeatedly shown himself to be good company to spend time with and this brief book only shores up that impression further. Each chapter is devoted to a different book he has read over the course of a year and the thoughts and associations that reading brings. It is part diary, part literary criticism, part commonplace book. For a man who has devoted himself to a lifetime of reading and writing, and who... Read Full Review