Email this review to a friend.

As one who was never a true "reader" until I hit my twenties, and then as one who began to read for a living, and has since read, or at least skimmed, thousands of books, it's very difficult to focus on one in particular. Looking back, however, the ones that got me started were rather curious choices: Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, and The Essays of Alfred North Whitehead were two I moved through (admittedly, very slowly), while I worked as a secretary at the Department of State. Then I jumped into Crime and Punishment, feeling the need to catch up with what others my age had been reading years earlier. After marriage, Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique awakened in me the possibilities of life outside the shelter of my home, offering up prospects I'd never allowed myself to dream. She was -- and is -- a true motivator. Since then, the series of novels by C.P. Snow, particularly The Masters, and Alan Payton's Cry The Beloved Country have become extraordinary favorites of mine. On a more contemporary basis, E.L. Doctorow's Loon Lake, and The Ciderhouse Rules by John Irving are glorious reading. And perhaps two of my very favorites are by Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale and Cat's Eye. Reading has created a world of connections for me, connections to my own life and to the lives of others around me. I see and recognize that so much of fiction, admittedly produced by the art of the imagination, is based in the reality around us. I have learned so much from my reading over the years. My only sadness is that I did not begin to enjoy reading earlier in my life.

Reviewed by Diane R., Host of The Diane Rehm Show

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.