I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers

So, first of all, the title of this book basically reflects my permanent mood. And secondly, like the primary author, I am a lover of books and I've totally had the experience of a literature class destroying my pleasure in reading. Of course, I have and will likely always come back to reading, like an alcoholic returning to drinking. Which is why this small volume, with short articles, poetry, quotes, and art about reading, is a delight to my soul.

Tiny book for suckers. Like one of those little old Hallmark gift books, but for NYC snobs.

For example, the essay on Slow Reading advocates classics that require work to be appreciated to ppl who have not even made room in their day for 30 minutes of reading because they're busy on Twitter. Magazine articles, like the essay itself which is from the magazine The Atlantic, "don't count." Nor does non-fiction, or genre fiction, or much else, according to the essayist. Huh. Way to insult your target audience... good job motivating us that way....

I don't care at all for the pictures, either; they mostly mean nothing to me. and many are t-shirt mottoes in pretty lettering. I do admit the shelf of books about Piet Mondrian is cute, because show more they have red, white, blue, and yellow spines and are arranged to resemble one of his works. There's also a photo of a raised garden bed, built to look like an open book, with a lawn instead of flowers... but I tried to follow up and could not find a picture of it online... in any case, it's a photo of art, not art given unto this book.

Not recommended.

Now I'm wondering. Have I ever liked a book about books? Of course I would want to, but have I ever not been disappointed? Hmm.... show less

This little gift book is adorable and a must have for all bibliophiles. It contains a few short essays on the joy of reading, lots of gorgeous drawings, prints, and cartoons celebrating the greatness of books, and quite a few quotes from authors and poets on being a bibliophile. All in all it's a small cute book, that will make a great addition to any coffee table, book shelf, or display. I'd love if I could get some of the art bigger and framed around my house, it's that good!

This was an odd assortment of essays about books, a few poems, and mostly images of books or art appreciating books. It didn't take much time to read at all (which is ironic, given that one of the essays is about slow-reading - I'm a speed-reader, okay?) Honestly, I get more pleasure out of scrolling through my book-related page on Pinterest.

This slight book has been described as a book of "art" for book lovers. I wouldn't go that far. It's more like a collection of Pinterest memes than art. Some of them I've seen before (so they must be fairly common or well-known, and probably wouldn't be anything new to most 75'ers), and some I'd never heard of. These were mostly pictures, poems, quotations, etc. A very quick read, and nothing particularly memorable. Maybe worth 15 minutes or so.

2 stars

This is mostly a book of art with a few passages about the author's reading life. Everything about it made me feel cozy and inspired me to buy more bookish art!

Cute little book (94 pages) with a few good essays, art work, and quotes. As eye candy and a little snack it was great.