Book Reviews of So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading

Amazing, funny book that everyone who reads should read. How can any reader not love a book about reading and books! I was going to keep it and try to tackle all the books she reads in her year of writing this, but to be honest, while I love her writing, her reading tastes bore me. There was only one she read that I have already read and loved which was "Kitchen Confidential". The only other book she mentioned that I have read, she didn't read. Which is "Confederacy of Dunces". So while I'm not keen on her tastes in reading material, her writing about them and her experiences along the way is out of this world good!

I had a hard time getting through this. I could only read one or two chapters at a time and then needed to take a break. I think the book was way overhyped...the author's goal was to journal her reading experiences for a year, but it ended up being a pretentious name-dropping fest "oh i know this author" or "oh i know the actor who was in the movie made from this book" yada yada yada. I did find a few good books to read among her choices, though.

This is such a great book! People either love it or hate it. Here's the thing: if you're looking for just a list of good books to read and nothing more, put this book down and pick up Nancy Pearl's Book Lust. If you don't mind something more, then you've found the right book. Sara Nelson decided that she was going to spend one year reading a book a week from a list that she made. Instead she learned that you can't pick your books, books pick you. So instead of reading the books that she was "suppose" to, she feel in and out of love with books that fit her mood. She shows how for alot of readers (including myself,) that you read what fits your mood. Sara Nelson shows a very honest portrayal of her reading habits, such as: loving a writer's first novel and hating the next, not reading classics, refusing to read anything on any bestseller's list or reading anything that is overhyped, being careful what you recommend to someone to read, and also learning how to put a book down if it doesn't speak to you instead of trudging through it. "So many books, so little time" is a great book and highly recommended. You'll walk around everywhere with it until you're finished.

The author comes across as hypocritical and whiny in my opinion. She is constantly contradicting her choice of weekly read and the way she chooses it. She also really gives me too much information into her bi-ethnic jewish-japanese household and its problems. I really am not interested in her life, I just wanted to know what she was reading.... and I'm not really interested in that anymore either.

I found this book to be very dry reading, not at all what I was expecting. Very disappointing.

For those who love to read, this a one reader's experience choosing books to read and how reading adds so much to our life. It was very enjoyable to share the love of reading that we all have!

I muddled through it somehow................

This is the best book about books that I've read. She really gets what it's like to be a book lover!

Sara Nelson is a delight. Great book detailing her "Book a week" project. Very interesting & inspiring.

Fun, breezy, chatty book about the surprises and joys of reading.

I adored this book. Fun, easy, and enlightening for all who love to read. Delightful.

A fairly interesting book about....reading books. The author has a lot of different approaches to discussing the subject (what you get from acknowledgements, ways of choosing your next book, the dangers of recommending a book to someone, etc) and ways of thinking about books that I enjoyed but I would have liked a little more depth in areas. Also, I hadn't heard of a lot of the books she read so I couldn't tell if we would be "compatible" in our book tastes. Would have been helpful to know. Also, some of the books she described that I would have liked to read, she "gave away" the endings which bothered me. Was a bit thought-provoking though, and I would love to see other authors/readers try this approach!!!

wonderful essays about the joys of reading ... and owning way too many books!!

I am posting the unpopular opinion. I did NOT like this book. I found the author to be pretentious and self-serving with a lot of filler in an attempt to be clever and witty. I stopped reading it when she was ranting on about how she never finishes a book that didn't meet her high and well-educated standards. I took her advice and stopped reading right there...and I am usually one who finishes most books I start just so I can feel I've accomplished something. Nope, not this time, and I don't feel one bit guilty about it either.

I didn't think there was another person that had such similar tastes as I did. There are times when friends have liked one or two books that I loved but not consistently like Ms. Nelson. Not only did we like the same books for the same reasons but we also didn't like many of the same books. Amazing.

this was a good read

I enjoyed this book and found a lot to relate to, since I too am a book crazy wife with a non-reading hubby. I've read a lot of the books she talked about here in her reading year so that also added interest. Basically though this is a collection of essays or journal responses to the books she reads throughout the year. A fun and easy read that expanded my ever-lengthening booklist, I took notes while reading it to remember things she mentioned that I too want to check out. I actually got something recommended to me by this book from the library today!

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