Lucy Mangan
Author of Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading
Works by Lucy Mangan
Associated Works
Harry Potter: A History of Magic: The Book of the Exhibition (2018) — Contributor, some editions — 1,185 copies, 4 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1974
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- journalist
- Organizations
- The Guardian (columnist)
- Nationality
- UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Discussions
Lucy Mangan in Bookcases: If You Build/Buy Them, They Will Fill (November 2021)
Reviews
Lucy Mangan, it's fair to say, is a book lover. Her earlier book, Bookworm, tells the story of her bookish childhood, and this one, 'Bookish: How Reading Shapes our Lives', takes up where that one left off, as the teenage (but equally bookish) Lucy is moving on to adult books. And as we follow her progress to the current day we encounter all sorts of books that are important at different times, from studying 'Gawain and the Green Knight' in Middle English at Cambridge to Lee Child's Jack show more Reacher books which got her through the toddlerhood of her young son.
But rather than talking about a love of individual books, what this book is so good at is talking about a love of reading and books in general, in a way that really spoke to me. Here she is on re-reading:
I read Bookworm, a few years ago and enjoyed it but didn't love it, perhaps because the favourite books of the young Lucy weren't my favourites (I was definitely a fantasy loving child, and she definitely wasn't). But I loved this one. We still aren't necessarily reading the same books, but that doesn't really matter. Very strongly recommended. show less
But rather than talking about a love of individual books, what this book is so good at is talking about a love of reading and books in general, in a way that really spoke to me. Here she is on re-reading:
'I was an obsessive re-reader. I would be still, if I had the time and remained unaware of my limited span on this Earth and the number of absolutely irresistible books coming out each year. All reading is comfort reading, but oh God, the absolute joy and security that comes with sinking back into a book that you already know virtually by heart. You can lean into the twists and turns, appreciating them anew, but knowing nothing's going to surprise you this time. You can linger over the best parts, skim over others – effectively performing a bespoke edit that is your right as a reader; enjoy the words, the make-up, the structure; get to know the characters so well that you can take a moment here and there to stare off into the distance and imagine further scenes for them, knowing exactly how they'd react; eagerly anticipate your favourite moments and sigh with satisfaction once they're past; and ... oh, just enjoy the whole thing, every bit of it, all over again.'
I read Bookworm, a few years ago and enjoyed it but didn't love it, perhaps because the favourite books of the young Lucy weren't my favourites (I was definitely a fantasy loving child, and she definitely wasn't). But I loved this one. We still aren't necessarily reading the same books, but that doesn't really matter. Very strongly recommended. show less
A little bit of a dumb subtitle, I feel, as it makes the book sound dreadfully dry, which it is anything but. This is a memoir of Mangan's reading life from secondary school through the present (middle age and motherhood), and it's wonderful. She has a strong voice and a quirky sense of humor which I vibed with, and the books she talks about are just the right combination of things I've also read and things I haven't but that sound good. Recommended strongly if you like this kind of thing.
Finally, a book about books and reading that doesn’t sneer at genre fiction in favour of the DWG (dead white guy) canon, despite the author’s degree in Literature from Cambridge. Lucy Mangan may admire Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer, Spenser Edmunds and the like, but she’s also fond of Lee Child, Marian Keyes, Emily Henry and Riley Sager, and not afraid to admit it.
Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives is a follow up to Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, in which Mangan shares her show more love of books as a child. Here Lucy discusses her relationship with reading from late adolescence through to midlife adulthood.
The narrative is generally lighthearted though the author touches on some serious subjects such as stress, grief, and the pandemic. Mangan is an engaging writer who shares her thoughts and experiences articulately with enthusiasm and sincerity.
Mangan and I are of a similar age so many of the books she references are familiar, and we have enjoyed several of the same titles. We also share some milestones - university, marriage, motherhood, lockdown, so I could relate to how these events affected her reading habits. I too have a swathe of books that fall into “the category of Things I Feel I Might Like and Will Get to In the Fullness of Time, But Certainly Not Within What Normal People Would Call a Reasonable Period.” Regrettably I don’t have a dedicated library in my back garden, and my collection of physical books is slightly more modest, but maybe one day.
I enjoyed Bookish, it’s written for readers by a reader who, like me, reads, “Not to impress others, not under a completist compulsion, not to please someone or to try and make myself amenable to them…” but because, “A love of books is something ineradicable…” that brings comfort and joy. show less
Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives is a follow up to Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, in which Mangan shares her show more love of books as a child. Here Lucy discusses her relationship with reading from late adolescence through to midlife adulthood.
The narrative is generally lighthearted though the author touches on some serious subjects such as stress, grief, and the pandemic. Mangan is an engaging writer who shares her thoughts and experiences articulately with enthusiasm and sincerity.
Mangan and I are of a similar age so many of the books she references are familiar, and we have enjoyed several of the same titles. We also share some milestones - university, marriage, motherhood, lockdown, so I could relate to how these events affected her reading habits. I too have a swathe of books that fall into “the category of Things I Feel I Might Like and Will Get to In the Fullness of Time, But Certainly Not Within What Normal People Would Call a Reasonable Period.” Regrettably I don’t have a dedicated library in my back garden, and my collection of physical books is slightly more modest, but maybe one day.
I enjoyed Bookish, it’s written for readers by a reader who, like me, reads, “Not to impress others, not under a completist compulsion, not to please someone or to try and make myself amenable to them…” but because, “A love of books is something ineradicable…” that brings comfort and joy. show less
This book is the literary equivalent of those visual illusions that psychologists try to hang meaning on depending on what you see - like the one that's either an old woman or a candlestick. Or is it an old woman / young woman? Anyway, whatever, you know what I mean.
As someone who is voluntarily childless, this book was a hilarious - and I mean laugh-out-loud hilarious - justification that my decision to stick with the furry and feathered walks of life, rather than replicating my own DNA, show more was the right decision for me (and MT, who came to the same decision long before we met). Her kids are hysterical, but they're hard work and are constantly opening up avenues of conversation that I'd hurt myself to avoid having. Mangen's descriptions of child birth should be required reading in human development classes as psychological birth control. I was made to be an Aunt.
There was another - unintended, I'm certain - consequence this book had for me, one that is again tied, I'm equally certain, to our choice to stick with non-human family members, and that's the lack of suppressed rage that lies as an undercurrent in Liz and Richard's marriage, that I recognise in the marriages of my friends with children. It's not all chocolates and roses here at chez zoo by a long shot, but without the stress and pressure of making new humans that will hopefully treat the world better than we have, MT and I have experienced more fun than festering resentment. Of course, I also recognise the near-miracle that he's one of the 1 in 100,000 men who seem to have been raised without the ingrained gender biases and learned helplessness most are saddled with when it comes to matters of home keeping. Still, the book really gave me a few moments of "do you really appreciate how lucky you are? really, truly?", which I think constitutes healthy self-reflection.
Putting all that aside, I have to figure out how to get my sister-in-law to read this, because, as the mother of 2, she will appreciate this book for all the opposite reasons: because Lucy Mangen wrote her truth, and she will laugh as she nods her neck stiff in righteous agreement of the trials and tribulations of an all-human family of 4.
I read so much of this out loud to MT (honestly, it's almost been a nightly story-time around here lately) that he actually insisted I rate this 4.5 stars. As he said, it made us both laugh out loud and the writing was excellent (which gives you an indication of how much I read out loud; he was able to judge the quality of the writing). I'd been thinking more 4 stars, but since he put up with all the reading out loud, I acquiesced.
If you need a laugh, you won't go wrong with this one. show less
As someone who is voluntarily childless, this book was a hilarious - and I mean laugh-out-loud hilarious - justification that my decision to stick with the furry and feathered walks of life, rather than replicating my own DNA, show more was the right decision for me (and MT, who came to the same decision long before we met). Her kids are hysterical, but they're hard work and are constantly opening up avenues of conversation that I'd hurt myself to avoid having. Mangen's descriptions of child birth should be required reading in human development classes as psychological birth control. I was made to be an Aunt.
There was another - unintended, I'm certain - consequence this book had for me, one that is again tied, I'm equally certain, to our choice to stick with non-human family members, and that's the lack of suppressed rage that lies as an undercurrent in Liz and Richard's marriage, that I recognise in the marriages of my friends with children. It's not all chocolates and roses here at chez zoo by a long shot, but without the stress and pressure of making new humans that will hopefully treat the world better than we have, MT and I have experienced more fun than festering resentment. Of course, I also recognise the near-miracle that he's one of the 1 in 100,000 men who seem to have been raised without the ingrained gender biases and learned helplessness most are saddled with when it comes to matters of home keeping. Still, the book really gave me a few moments of "do you really appreciate how lucky you are? really, truly?", which I think constitutes healthy self-reflection.
Putting all that aside, I have to figure out how to get my sister-in-law to read this, because, as the mother of 2, she will appreciate this book for all the opposite reasons: because Lucy Mangen wrote her truth, and she will laugh as she nods her neck stiff in righteous agreement of the trials and tribulations of an all-human family of 4.
I read so much of this out loud to MT (honestly, it's almost been a nightly story-time around here lately) that he actually insisted I rate this 4.5 stars. As he said, it made us both laugh out loud and the writing was excellent (which gives you an indication of how much I read out loud; he was able to judge the quality of the writing). I'd been thinking more 4 stars, but since he put up with all the reading out loud, I acquiesced.
If you need a laugh, you won't go wrong with this one. show less
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