Book Smart (edition 2007)

Ah, what to read, what to read? I'm always in search of books suggesting good books to read, so I was happy to see this book.Author Jane Mallison proposes a list of ten books a month, with each month having a common theme. Themes include award winners, the human condition, biographies. I was encouraged to think Mallison might be a kindred reader by noting that many of her recommended reads are books I've already read and loved, such as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, In Cold Blood, Animal Farm, and Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry.Mallison sold me on A House for Mr. Biswas and Farewell to Arms, so much so that I have already sought them out and procured copies. A good choice for my first read of the year. ( )

Jane Mallison has selected 120 titles and created a type of "required reading list" for wannabe well-read readers. (It must be noted here that she specifically excludes the Bible, Shakespeare, George Eliot and Jane Austen,whom she feels it is a given that they should be read.) What she has done that differentiates this book from other similar books is to incorporate these titles into a 12 month reading plan. Each month has a set theme with a list of 10 books (and accompanying essays). Mallison suggests a number of ways to use these lists:
read 1 book per month from the list of 10 books for a total of 12 books read (a nice way to ease into it)
read 12 titles alphabetically by author's last name
read 12 titles chronologically
read all the books from one category and then 2 from another
be really ambitious and read all the titles!
This reading plan has a lot of flexibility which really leaves it up to the reader how he or she plans to use it.
Each chapter represents a month and begins with an interesting quote from a well-known and respected author (one of which I liked so much I decided to use in the masthead of this blog). This is followed by an essay about the designated theme, and subsequently an essay on each of the 10 books selected for that chapter. At the end of some of the essays are suggestions for further reading if desired. I was pleased to see some of the selected titles/authors, as they don't always appear in "books about books" (Gail Godwin, Betty Smith, Evelyn Waugh, Walker Percy, Jose Rizal to name a few).
I'm not sure that anyone can make a literary genius out of me. But for someone interested in broadening their literary horizon within a non-threatening framework, this book is a very good place to start. ( )