3.5 stars

This book was, overall, better than I expected. I'm drawn to books about books because I love seeing what other people love to read, and why, and hope to find recommendations for books that maybe I will love.

To be clear, though, this isn't really about books. It's a memoir, with the books she read at various points in her life briefly mentioned here and there.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the author can be pretentious - in the fancy-schmancy "literary" books she tends to read and the "big words" she uses (unnecessarily) in her own writing. Paul mentions in her book that she realizes she is privileged - but I think she has no clue just how privileged. (She spends an awful lot of time traveling the world on her daddy's dime and the few times when she starts to seem "average," she then throws in an aside that changes the story she was telling entirely...)

Also, Paul includes spoilers for a number of books! Argh! Readers, of all people, should have the decency not to ruin books for other readers!

And yet, I found the first half, especially, really funny. She talks about her growing-up years and includes things like wanting her local librarians to like her and recognize that she's "one of them." That's the kind of thing I can relate to.

I do wish there was an index of all the books she mentioned. (I actually think this feature should be standard in any book about books.)

Note: Some profanity.

"There is something especially enjoyable about reading on trains and on planes and in coffee shops, where the gesture constitutes a futile cultural rebuke to everyone else's tablet or smartphone. They never notice." p 129 ( )

I’m a huge sucker for books about books, so it’s probably no surprise that I really like this one. Paul takes us through Bob—her “book of books”—and the life events that surround these titles. It’s a fascinating peek into someone else’s reading life and I love that voyeuristic aspect of learning about someone else’s reading habits. Also fun was hearing Paul’s take on “Kidlit,” a book club group that I’ve read [a:Gretchen Rubin|21246|Gretchen Rubin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1252934548p2/21246.jpg] talk about many times in her books.

I don’t think anything can ever top Anne Fadiman’s [b:Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader|46890|Ex Libris Confessions of a Common Reader|Anne Fadiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435782351s/46890.jpg|1468318] for me in terms of books on books—but this was a great one, and I’d recommend it to avid readers who are fascinated by the processes and philosophies of reading. ( )

Gave 3-1/2 stars 1st time, 5 2nd. From APL. Made several false starts (condo troubles distractions) before finally settling in. Got book tips. Lingered over it so as not to be done. Writes like a journalist, my fav. Don't know what else to say. Loved it. ( )

I had no real idea what to expect from this book; the subtitle guaranteed I was going to read it, but how do you write a book about your personal reading list?

You don't, as it turns out. You use it as context, a frame from which you hang your memoirs. That's not to say that books and a love of reading isn't prominent - it is. I'd call it a 60/40 split, memoir to books. But at the end, the reader is going to know way more about Pamela Paul than about her list of books read.

And Pamela Paul is an interesting person on paper (I don't presume to know what she'd be like in reality). Some readers might find the focus on her world travels heavy-handed, but she spends enough time on her childhood to make it clear hers was not a privileged upbringing. She and I are the same age, and our lives, both in childhood and early adulthood have some interesting parallels, although quite a few ginormous differences. (Among others, she assumes every girl of our generation who read A Wrinkle in Time found it a life changing classic. I did not. Even as a kid I was bored by all things space, dooming it from the start, but I clearly remember reading it as part of my schoolwork and thinking it heavy-handed and ... please forgive me for saying this, condescending.)

Overall, I felt it easy to relate to her and the inner-self she lets the reader see, and how books played a pivotal part. Just about everything I read about the book beforehand mentioned the humor and wit with which it was written. I can see that's true, but - and this bugged me the entire time, because I couldn't figure out why - I couldn't feel it. I knew there were parts that were meant to be funny, but they didn't affect me the way they were meant to, nor the way I thought they should have. Somehow, the timing of my reading and her writing were off. This meant that while I really enjoyed the book, I finished it feeling like there was a failure somewhere in the transmission from the page to my brain.

It's a thought provoking read both in terms of how and what we read, and the events of our lives. Will possibly do terrible things to a reader's TBR. ( )

Pamela Paul is the editor of the New York Times Book Review, and I am her biggest fan. Every Friday, I wake up and think, "Hooray! Book Review podcast day!" and wait until 3 p.m. when the newest episode of book criticism and author interviews downloads to my phone for listening.

Pamela, if you're reading this, don't be alarmed. The bookish content you create just speaks to me on a very personal level.

Since her early twenties, Pamela has kept a Book of Books (Bob) - a notebook filled with every book she has read over the last ~30 years. It's like Goodreads, but more romantic. "My Life with Bob" is a memoir of Pamela's reading life, and the notebook that's traveled with her through challenges, promotions, and creating and losing family. Not only is she a great book reviewer, but a great writer, too. ( )