The Need to Read by Will Schwalbe Writing Essay
An intelligent, generous reading route map for navigating life.
Books most books can tend toward the precious, though certainly there are exceptions. Michael Dirda'due south Browsings comes to mind, as does the piece of work of Anne Fadiman.
In that vein, Will Schwalbe's latest, Books for Living, is a love letter of the alphabet to the works that have informed and enriched his life. Given its status as a buzzed-nigh bestseller, readers may exist already familiar with Schwalbe's previous work, The End of Your Life Book Club.
Admittedly, I had not (and all the same accept non) read that book, which chronicled the books Schwalbe and his dying mother read together and discussed as cancer claimed her. They used books to open a dialogue about broader issues at a pivotal moment in each of their lives.
Schwalbe is back with an fifty-fifty broader lens to tackle the Big Questions that books assist the states articulate. As he notes in his introduction, "'What are you reading?' isn't a simple question but is rather a style of asking, 'Who are you now and who are yous becoming?'"
Those of us who are readers know that we do a great deal of work through books. By reading, nosotros orient ourselves to the world around the states, to each other, and ourselves. Nosotros accommodate our expectations; we increase our empathy and reevaluate prejudices.
So, the writer, Will (reading the book puts you on a commencement-name ground), helps u.s. to run into that work more than clearly. Past reflecting on and showing the states the upshot that some of his favorite reads have had on his personal life, he pushes the states to exercise the aforementioned.
To bring clarity to his arroyo, each title is continued to a larger idea. Some seem obvious pairings: Stuart Little is most searching, and Bartleby, the Scrivener leads to thoughts on quitting. Other connections are less clear: Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk Most Running spurs a meditation on napping, for example.
Volition as well writes a moving essay on Rebecca, his thoughts tied to a friend who lived what amounted to a rather distressing and empty life. A touching story about a certain someone he wished he could take helped more than, but ultimately, his estimation stood at odds with my own affection for that novel and its moral complexity.
Will's thoughts on the books I haven't read were easier to consider. These essays bring to listen the best conversations with fellow avid readers. Will'south thoughts on Wonder did more to make me want to read this blockbuster novel than anything else has. His meditations on how that work of fiction subliminally encourages readers to choose kindness is a welcome reminder for usa all.
Something else to capeesh is Will's penchant for avoiding snobbery. He writes about The Daughter on the Railroad train and A Little Life with equal verve and intendance. One affair I'g tired of is the notion that there is a mod-day canon worth reading and a separate track for those works considered frivolous. Bestsellers are worth our time and consideration whether they autumn into the category of weighty literary fiction or not. As well, policing what people read through that lens discourages them from reading at all.
This is a charming collection, one that reminds us of the value in reading. It opens new and creative ways of thinking about love works, and serves to introduce lesser-known stories that are every bit deserving.
It takes a special kind of writer to brand writing about reading appealing. And we are fortunate to have that writer in Will Schwalbe. Books for Living allows the states to reflect and appreciate our own listing of books that accept influenced the ways nosotros navigate the world. What could be more than worth our while?
Tayla Burney is events director at WAMU (88.5FM), where she runs WAMU Books. She's an avid reader and passionate literacy advocate who tweets entirely also much. Keep upward with her at @taylakaye.
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Source: http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/index.php/bookreview/books-for-living
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