A Reader's Book of Days

There is an story story or 3 for every day of the year, and each one concerns an author, a book, a poem - and each one is massively interesting to a reader. For instance, the entry for July 21, 1940 concerns H.A. and Margret Rey escaping Nazi France to end up in New York with a pile of manuscripts and drawings about a mischievous monkey named Fifi - later changed to Curious George. The 21st was the actual day they sailed from Lisbon to Rio, but the entry briefly covered the back story and the conclusion to their journey. I read it rapidly because I found it so interesting, but now I keep it by my bed to read each night before sleep.

Some fascinating sidelights about books and authors here. The presentation is serious but not tedious. This would be a great book to read in tiny bits.
I read it all in one go, rather than spacing it day by day or even monthly. This may have distorted my impression of the content, which included far too many mentions of Dickens (and I'm a fan) and a ridiculous amount of information about Hemingway, much of it not related to books.
Still, well worth a read for any but the most casual of readers.

The author deserves a medal solely for the commitment to research to make this book happen. I took a year to read the book, each day reading that date's entry. I used it to begin my day, along with a cup of coffee. It nudged me toward many other books and offered lots of tidbits about authors or their characters, all linked to a specific date and often a specific year. Good book to keep in my library. (Wrote a column about it 1-3-2026.)

I intended to read a page or two every day of this year... I managed to do that until March and then sporadically picked it up once or twice. I then panic-finished reading the majority of the book the last week or so of December.

It's a well-researched book, but it is quite dry. I personally gravitated to the entries about authors or books I've read, but there was some interesting facts about other writers I've never heard of too. This is certainly a good coffee table book, but a riveting read? Not for me.

Who knew Ernest Hemingway got injured so frequently though? Not me until after reading this book. (I could have survived without knowing that though...)

A readable and fascinating literary miscellany, with tidbits of bookish fun for each day of the year (with special monthly introductions and reading recommendations). I can't say I waited and read each day as it came, but I've made my way slowly through this book for the last few months, and have quite enjoyed the experience.

“November in the anti-April: gray and dreary, the beginning of the end of things rather than rebirth. It’s the month you hunker down- that is if you don't give up entirely.” (Page 343)

The above comes from the introduction to the month that also happens to be the month of my birth. I looked this up following the pattern of many readers according to the author, Tom Nissley in his introduction to his book, A Reader’s Book of Days. He says most readers will investigate their own month and date of birth before branching out via various means. That was certainly my experience as I went to the chapter on November first upon opening the book. In addition to short quotes from various pieces in the introduction he suggests various books show more for reading that have links to November. Bleak House by Charles Dickens, New Grub Street by George Gissing, The Death of Jim Loney by James Welch and The Ice Storm by Rick Moody among other titles/authors are suggested.

Since nothing important ever happened until the 20th (my birthday for you non-worshippers) I looked there next. On the 20th of November Nadine Gordimer was born in 1923 and Don DeLillo in 1936. Wolfgang Borchert died in 1947 and in 1995 Robie Macauley. On this date literary agent Marguerite E. Harper warned the 26 year old Elmore Leonard “DON’T GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB TO WRITE. I say this very seriously.” (Page 365) This was also the day in 1942 when Ernest Hemingway took his sport fishing boat, Pilar, out of Havana Harbor with a crew of five and few weapons to hunt for German submarines. Other interesting items are mentioned on this date, but compared to other dates in the book; this is one of the lighter days in literary history.

This same format is used for each month throughout the book. A brief and interesting introduction to the month with quotes from various books of note before a list of suggested reading that relates to the month in some way. That is followed by the days of the month with a list of births, deaths, and notable events for each day. Also included are bits of trivia and the occasional and clever small black and white drawn illustration. There are approximately 100 illustrations that bring character and enjoyment to the book. A detailed list of acknowledgments along with a 25 page index brings this 464 page book to a close.

As the subtitle makes clear this book features True Tales From The Lives And Works Of Writers For Every Day Of The Year. There is a wealth of interesting information in this book that celebrates both the love of books as well as the writers who write them. Not only can you learn new information --sometimes very funny--about some of your favorite books and authors A Reader’s Book of Days also provides numerous recommendations for a lifetime of exceptional reading.

A Readers Book of Days: True Tales From The Lives And Works Of Writers For Every Day Of The Year
Tom Nissley
http://www.ephemeralfirmament.typepad.com/#
Illustrated by Joanna Neborsky
http://www.joannaneborsky.com/
W. W. Norton & Company
http://www.wwnorton.com
November 2013
ISBN# 978-0-393-23962-1
Hardback (e-book version available)
464 Pages
$24.95

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
Mind Slices and Carpathian Shadows, Volume II
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I have been reading this book - one entry per day - for 2 months now and I am afraid I have to say it isn't as good as I had hoped it would be. It is rather dry - and the author discusses very few authors that I have even heard of. I will keep reading - hoping I find more things that interest me.
First, I do need to say that I have not read this entire book. It is a book that was meant to be read over many days – 365, to be exact. The author has compiled tons of information about all things literary – and put it in this book. The book is arranged chronologically, throughout the year. Each month is introduced by a few pages of general information about books for that month and then a list of recommended books is given. For each day, show more the author tells tidbits about books and authors – everything from births and deaths to reviews, romances, and scandals. When I got the book, I did sit down and read specific days – my birthday, anniversary, holidays, etc. Some days are more interesting that others - but that is the way it is in life. Now, the book is in a handy place, while I am waiting for the New Year, when I will start reading the book daily. I think it is going to be a great routine for next year – reading a page a day! I won an Advance Reading Copy of this book in a Firstreads giveaway through Goodreads, and as such, the book I have does not have a complete table of contents, or an index, which I think would be extremely helpful (It would be nice if I could look up information about specific books or authors. I do believe the final finished product will have both a table of contents and an index.) show less