Andy Miller (1)
Author of The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books Saved My Life
For other authors named Andy Miller, see the disambiguation page.
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The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life by Andy Miller
A failed and woefully misguided attempt at engaging with literature. I really don't understand why the author thought this book was a good idea. On the face of it, it seems accessible enough: a man realises he doesn't read enough as he feels he ought to and so creates a list of books to read, then writes about his journey through them. Worth a blog, maybe, but only a book if you're somebody important or you can write something special.
Andy Miller, unfortunately, is neither. None of his show more observations are particularly insightful or entertaining, and often disappointingly perfunctory. You get the feeling that he is only reading so that he can write about them. Nothing is spontaneous or natural, and there is the sort of laboured, self-referential quirkiness that characterises all books of this type. Perhaps that is the only sort of 'humour' that is safe enough to be greenlit by a publisher's marketing department nowadays – it seems to be everywhere and is uniformly ineffective. This is before you even get to the fact that Andy Miller is often writing about Andy Miller than about books; it is remarkable just how much of The Year of Reading Dangerously is about his personal likes and daily routine, his favourite music as a teenager, and his bland middle-class life. It's an inoffensive existence but there's no reason we should be interested in it. Miller is quite irritatingly entitled; he has a good job, an understanding wife and a young son, and yet complains throughout about the lack of fulfilment in his life. He has no idea what it is to really need a book in your life, something so right that it stops you from falling into a pit.
As for the books themselves, they are treated appallingly. "I had trained myself to be good at reading again," he writes on page 249, when in fact all he has done is complete a checklist. I certainly don't see how they 'saved his life', as the subtitle suggests. There is something unseemly about bragging about books, whether you've read them or not; reading should be a solitary activity, even private, and yet you cannot escape the feeling that whenever Miller reads a book on his list, it is not about looking for insight or even entertainment, but how he can trade his relationship with the book for social kudos. The books are digested as content, as consumables; as Sudokus to be tackled and then discarded so that he can hit a word count for his manuscript. It is perhaps fitting, then, that his own contribution to the world's library proves just as disposable to us as the vast majority of his booklist does to him. It is all terribly conceited and middle-class, not so much about 'saving his life' as about saving face. Far from reading dangerously, this is a disappointing account of a year of reading fearfully, haphazardly, superficially. show less
Andy Miller, unfortunately, is neither. None of his show more observations are particularly insightful or entertaining, and often disappointingly perfunctory. You get the feeling that he is only reading so that he can write about them. Nothing is spontaneous or natural, and there is the sort of laboured, self-referential quirkiness that characterises all books of this type. Perhaps that is the only sort of 'humour' that is safe enough to be greenlit by a publisher's marketing department nowadays – it seems to be everywhere and is uniformly ineffective. This is before you even get to the fact that Andy Miller is often writing about Andy Miller than about books; it is remarkable just how much of The Year of Reading Dangerously is about his personal likes and daily routine, his favourite music as a teenager, and his bland middle-class life. It's an inoffensive existence but there's no reason we should be interested in it. Miller is quite irritatingly entitled; he has a good job, an understanding wife and a young son, and yet complains throughout about the lack of fulfilment in his life. He has no idea what it is to really need a book in your life, something so right that it stops you from falling into a pit.
As for the books themselves, they are treated appallingly. "I had trained myself to be good at reading again," he writes on page 249, when in fact all he has done is complete a checklist. I certainly don't see how they 'saved his life', as the subtitle suggests. There is something unseemly about bragging about books, whether you've read them or not; reading should be a solitary activity, even private, and yet you cannot escape the feeling that whenever Miller reads a book on his list, it is not about looking for insight or even entertainment, but how he can trade his relationship with the book for social kudos. The books are digested as content, as consumables; as Sudokus to be tackled and then discarded so that he can hit a word count for his manuscript. It is perhaps fitting, then, that his own contribution to the world's library proves just as disposable to us as the vast majority of his booklist does to him. It is all terribly conceited and middle-class, not so much about 'saving his life' as about saving face. Far from reading dangerously, this is a disappointing account of a year of reading fearfully, haphazardly, superficially. show less
The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life by Andy Miller
A book about books...reading about reading. There is something redundantly appealing about that for me. It helps that Miller is an enjoyable read and his enthusiasm comes through. Often, though, in this book, I fail to grasp the "why" of the enthusiasm. Some of his favorites I've not read, and I am challenged to understand why they evoke so much in him...Anna Karenina? Middlemarch? The droning tome Moby Dick???
I clearly have no intention of reading many of his "Betterment" books, so I am show more more than happy to "read" them vicariously here. Although, The Essential Silver Surfer sounds mighty intriguing. After all, I'm currently 5/6 through The Complete Calvin and Hobbes! Still, he calls my attention to a few others.
I used to read Jerry Pournelle's column Chaos Manor in Byte magazine because when he reviewed products, he told the reader what the reality was: difficulty with cables, drivers, installer, great/not so great customer service, function as promised or better, whatever. In some ways, Miller is similar to Pournelle, but with these books he read. Like giving up on Of Human Bondage (though he eventually forced himself to finish it.) I have a hard time giving up on a book, and feel guilty when I do, but it's a personal guilt that I can ignore. I do keep a "set aside unfinished" list, just in case I change my mind, as I have on occasion.
My rating of this book grew in the reading of it. At first, "It was okay." Then, "I liked it." By the time I finished, I was at five stars. Why? Simply, I connected. That in itself is a very,very rare thing. I can't explain...I just did.
Maybe because of
Or
Or, in response to a particularly vile sentence he read in one of his Year's books:
And, with respect to blogging, this:
I, too, find it chore sometimes. But when I read this:
I realized a big "whoa" moment for me...something I intuitively knew but didn't think of myself. Incongrously, I like some really bad stuff, very likely because of an encounter "at an impressionable age", and yet I am quite unforgiving of similar when encountering at my current skeptical age.
So Miller gets five stars for making me think, making me rethink, making me chuckle, and providing a connection. I don't know that other readers will see it the same way, but this is my review, my opinion, and in the end, my enjoyment of a book. It might be the beer talking (Sierra Nevada Narwhal, a premier Imperial Stout weighing in at a more than respectable 10.2% ABV, at the moment), but I would likely argue the contrary. show less
I clearly have no intention of reading many of his "Betterment" books, so I am show more more than happy to "read" them vicariously here. Although, The Essential Silver Surfer sounds mighty intriguing. After all, I'm currently 5/6 through The Complete Calvin and Hobbes! Still, he calls my attention to a few others.
I used to read Jerry Pournelle's column Chaos Manor in Byte magazine because when he reviewed products, he told the reader what the reality was: difficulty with cables, drivers, installer, great/not so great customer service, function as promised or better, whatever. In some ways, Miller is similar to Pournelle, but with these books he read. Like giving up on Of Human Bondage (though he eventually forced himself to finish it.) I have a hard time giving up on a book, and feel guilty when I do, but it's a personal guilt that I can ignore. I do keep a "set aside unfinished" list, just in case I change my mind, as I have on occasion.
My rating of this book grew in the reading of it. At first, "It was okay." Then, "I liked it." By the time I finished, I was at five stars. Why? Simply, I connected. That in itself is a very,very rare thing. I can't explain...I just did.
Maybe because of
How can this list be taken seriously when it finds no place for my favourite authors or at least those writers I consider indispensable?
Or
As a child, reading is something you do while you are waiting for life to begin. As a parent, however, if you are lucky and you seize your chance, you can be part of it too.
Or, in response to a particularly vile sentence he read in one of his Year's books:
What was the purpose of interrogating the total ugliness of this sentence publicly? It was transparently, self-evidently terrible. Just reading it made me feel as if I had been half-slammed, half-caressed in the brain with a gratuitously offensive and ineptly articulated metaphor.
And, with respect to blogging, this:
Maybe for some readers keeping a blog expedited the thought process. I’m sorry to say I found it a distraction and, as time went on, a chore.
I, too, find it chore sometimes. But when I read this:
Perhaps if I had encountered Dean Moriarty – another restless wanderer with grammar issues – at an impressionable age I could have been more forgiving of On the Road.
I realized a big "whoa" moment for me...something I intuitively knew but didn't think of myself. Incongrously, I like some really bad stuff, very likely because of an encounter "at an impressionable age", and yet I am quite unforgiving of similar when encountering at my current skeptical age.
So Miller gets five stars for making me think, making me rethink, making me chuckle, and providing a connection. I don't know that other readers will see it the same way, but this is my review, my opinion, and in the end, my enjoyment of a book. It might be the beer talking (Sierra Nevada Narwhal, a premier Imperial Stout weighing in at a more than respectable 10.2% ABV, at the moment), but I would likely argue the contrary. show less
The year of reading dangerously : how fifty great books (and two not-so-great ones) saved my life by Andy Miller
I recently heard two New Yorker writers talk about their reading habits. We might expect these writers to be systematic in their reading, but that does not appear to be the case. Both read widely, and not necessarily with a plan. It's nice to think about setting aside a summer, say, to read a particular author, or subject. But for these writers, reading is more serendipitous, or used to "fill in" the gaps of missed literature.
This was very reassuring to me, as that's what my reading is, show more too, to which my list of read books attests. In addition, to fuel my serendipity, I like to read what others have read. I happened on Andy Miller's report about his reading habits in his year of reading dangerously. With breezy style and British wit, he reports on the 50 books on his "List of Betterment - books he could not only SAY he had read, but books he had ACTUALLY read, and in an appendix lists the next 50. (should someone tell him about Goodreads.com?) He relates his reading experiences and the intersections they made with his life in this highly readable book. There were some cult books and references to contemporary music I did not understand. But also some books I had already read along with some new ones to put on my own list.
Miller's quirky style and sense of humor make for very entertaining reading. For instance:
**Moby Dick (book 10) and the Da Vinci Code (book 0 - not on the List of Betterment) are grouped in a chapter. The "Love Match" between Herman Melville and Dan Brown - Ten Astounding Simularities" - is laugh-out-loud hilarious!
**On Middlemarsh - how will he get through all the pages and beyond his assumption of it as "chick lit?" His wife, who loves the book, suggests he read 50 pages a day. So he tackles it. Before he knew it he was engrossed, even while standing in line at the shops, and needed to keep reading. Avid readers will recognize this strategy!
**On not finishing books: Of Human Bondage and Pride and Prejudice are grouped together. The former was left unfinished until Mr. Darcy's example in Pride and Prejudice guilted him into going back to finish it. (I don't know if even Mr. Darcy can help me with Wolf Hall)
**Douglas Adams fans will enjoy the Epilogue in which he is featured.
Miller's aim is not to summarize the books he reads but to relate them in some way to his life, with the abiding belief that, when reading "you look up, the world has changed." show less
This was very reassuring to me, as that's what my reading is, show more too, to which my list of read books attests. In addition, to fuel my serendipity, I like to read what others have read. I happened on Andy Miller's report about his reading habits in his year of reading dangerously. With breezy style and British wit, he reports on the 50 books on his "List of Betterment - books he could not only SAY he had read, but books he had ACTUALLY read, and in an appendix lists the next 50. (should someone tell him about Goodreads.com?) He relates his reading experiences and the intersections they made with his life in this highly readable book. There were some cult books and references to contemporary music I did not understand. But also some books I had already read along with some new ones to put on my own list.
Miller's quirky style and sense of humor make for very entertaining reading. For instance:
**Moby Dick (book 10) and the Da Vinci Code (book 0 - not on the List of Betterment) are grouped in a chapter. The "Love Match" between Herman Melville and Dan Brown - Ten Astounding Simularities" - is laugh-out-loud hilarious!
**On Middlemarsh - how will he get through all the pages and beyond his assumption of it as "chick lit?" His wife, who loves the book, suggests he read 50 pages a day. So he tackles it. Before he knew it he was engrossed, even while standing in line at the shops, and needed to keep reading. Avid readers will recognize this strategy!
**On not finishing books: Of Human Bondage and Pride and Prejudice are grouped together. The former was left unfinished until Mr. Darcy's example in Pride and Prejudice guilted him into going back to finish it. (I don't know if even Mr. Darcy can help me with Wolf Hall)
**Douglas Adams fans will enjoy the Epilogue in which he is featured.
Miller's aim is not to summarize the books he reads but to relate them in some way to his life, with the abiding belief that, when reading "you look up, the world has changed." show less
The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life by Andy Miller
This is a reading memoir by Andy Miller of Backlisted podcast fame. I love listening to him on the podcast, so I was pretty sure I would enjoy walking through some books, known and unknown, with him.
At the outset, he talked about how he had accumulated books before embarking on his plan to make a “betterment list” and how often he had acquired books he had sometimes claimed to have read (because he felt he should have), but in reality never did.
“I saw I had got it wrong. I had show more confused “art” with “shopping.” he said. I laughed and I knew I would be in for the ride, wherever it took me. It took me through the streets of London, to a [a:Charles Dickens|239579|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1387078070p2/239579.jpg] fair in Broadstairs, and through Andy’s everyday life. This was far more about Andy's experiences than the books he had read, themselves. I enjoyed that…because, as I have already mentioned, I already like Andy.
Some of the books he chose for his fifty were ones I had read; some are on my TBR, waiting; others were total unknowns to me. A few were my own favorites or most hated, and it was so interesting to see his reactions correspond or deviate from my own.
The chapter that compares [b:Moby-Dick or, the Whale|153747|Moby-Dick or, the Whale|Herman Melville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327940656l/153747._SY75_.jpg|2409320] to [b:The Da Vinci Code|968|The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)|Dan Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579621267l/968._SY75_.jpg|2982101] is hilarious and, at the same time, somewhat sad. It says a lot about the rest of us that [a:Dan Brown|630|Dan Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1399396714p2/630.jpg] got fame and fortune and [a:Herman Melville|1624|Herman Melville|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495029910p2/1624.jpg] was long dead before his genius was recognized. I also enjoyed his thoughts on [a:Leo Tolstoy|128382|Leo Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1617138673p2/128382.jpg] and the challenge of trying to read [b:War and peace|23130901|War and peace|Leo Tolstoy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409549250l/23130901._SX50_.jpg|4912783] while raising a baby.
Like everyone on Goodreads, I have my own list of books I have to get to. This was one of them, consider it done. show less
At the outset, he talked about how he had accumulated books before embarking on his plan to make a “betterment list” and how often he had acquired books he had sometimes claimed to have read (because he felt he should have), but in reality never did.
“I saw I had got it wrong. I had show more confused “art” with “shopping.” he said. I laughed and I knew I would be in for the ride, wherever it took me. It took me through the streets of London, to a [a:Charles Dickens|239579|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1387078070p2/239579.jpg] fair in Broadstairs, and through Andy’s everyday life. This was far more about Andy's experiences than the books he had read, themselves. I enjoyed that…because, as I have already mentioned, I already like Andy.
Some of the books he chose for his fifty were ones I had read; some are on my TBR, waiting; others were total unknowns to me. A few were my own favorites or most hated, and it was so interesting to see his reactions correspond or deviate from my own.
The chapter that compares [b:Moby-Dick or, the Whale|153747|Moby-Dick or, the Whale|Herman Melville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327940656l/153747._SY75_.jpg|2409320] to [b:The Da Vinci Code|968|The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)|Dan Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579621267l/968._SY75_.jpg|2982101] is hilarious and, at the same time, somewhat sad. It says a lot about the rest of us that [a:Dan Brown|630|Dan Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1399396714p2/630.jpg] got fame and fortune and [a:Herman Melville|1624|Herman Melville|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495029910p2/1624.jpg] was long dead before his genius was recognized. I also enjoyed his thoughts on [a:Leo Tolstoy|128382|Leo Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1617138673p2/128382.jpg] and the challenge of trying to read [b:War and peace|23130901|War and peace|Leo Tolstoy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409549250l/23130901._SX50_.jpg|4912783] while raising a baby.
Like everyone on Goodreads, I have my own list of books I have to get to. This was one of them, consider it done. show less
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