Editorial Review:
Sometimes subtle, sometimes striking, the interplay between our lives and our books is the subject of this unique memoir by well-known publishing correspondent and self-described "readaholic" Sara Nelson. From Solzhenitsyn to Laura Zigman, Catherine M. to Captain Underpants, the result is a personal chronicle of insight, wit, and enough infectious enthusiasm to make a passionate reader out of anybody.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
I LOVE THIS BOOK!...  2008-06-05
When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued by its premise, as I never go anywhere without at least one or two books in my bag and am a confirmed book lover and avid reader. If I go on vacation, I pack a bag just for the dozen or so books that I simply must take along with me. I am most comfortable when I am surrounded by books. In fact, I look forward to retirement, so that I will have more time to read. I simply love to read! I cannot imagine a world without books and, quite frankly, I have never understood people who say that they do not care to read.
So, this book seemed to be right up my alley. Well, the author does not disappoint, as she takes the reader along with her on her very personal journey. Her goal, not an overly ambitious one, is a book a week for fifty-two weeks. She does not necessarily stick to her list of books, and she meanders along, changing course in mid-stream sometimes, as many of us so often do. Yet, she always keeps up an entertaining discourse on the book that she is reading or has read, remarking upon its place in her world. She interweaves snippets of her personal life with her thoughts on those books that she reads. She talks about authors and the impact that some of their work has had on her, as well as her reading likes and dislikes.
The author writes in a light and breezy conversational tone, so that, at times, it almost seems as if one old friend were talking to another about some books she had enjoyed. I was delighted to discover that we liked many of the same books for many of the same reasons. Within the pages of this book, I also happily discovered some new titles that piqued my interest. Moreover, the author, knowing how insatiable some book lovers are, even appends three lists at the end of her book, which lists consist of books she had planned to read during that year of reading, books she actually did read but did not discuss in her book, and books in her must read pile. What book lover is not familiar with that ubiquitous must read pile of books! Anyway, I did enjoy perusing through her lists, looking for books of interest.
This book is a light-hearted sojourn into the world of reading and books that is meant to be a sharing of a wonderful passion. It is a funny and charming work of non-fiction. I thank the author for sharing her thoughts and insights, as I very much enjoyed reading them. It is, as always, a pleasure to come across such an enthusiastic fellow book lover.
Fun. 2008-04-01
Sara Nelson, So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading (Putnam, 2003)
I had this book on my goal list for three years before getting to it. Then I finally started reading it on January 31... and did not finish it until March 20. To say that I understand the book's title (and recognize the irony in my own approach to it) would be, perhaps, understating the case.
I'm not one for memoirs, but it was impossible for me not to pick up a memoir about a woman whose goal is to read one book a week for an entire year and keep a journal about it. I mean, that's just perfect fodder for a bibliophile, right? And it helps that Nelson's narrative voice is keen and witty. This book is a collection of conversations I'd hope to have with someone I was tandem-reading books with; there's a lot about the books, of course, but Nelson also ties the books into her life (usually during musings on why a particular book jumped out at her at the particular time she read it), current and historical events, and all sorts of other ephemera. Well, ephemera to the book lover, anyway; who needs life when you have a bushel of cherry shelves crammed with books whose spines are calling out to you every minute of the day? Oh, yeah, I grok where Sara Nelson is coming from, I surely do.
I will warn voracious readers that, like Nancy Pearl's Book Lust, So Many Books, So Little Time is the kind of book that will add any number of titles to your to-be-read stack. Even books that don't sound interesting in the least are written up by Nelson so well that I felt the need to add them to the list, just because she makes them sound so enchantingly bad. So while ultimately this book might lead you to a much thinner wallet, I wholeheartedly recommend it. ****
Bibliophile confesses all, one book lover to another 2008-02-25
"My books are my secret lovers, the friends I run to to get away from the daily drudgeries of life, to try out something new, and yes, to get away, for a few hours, from (husband Leo). He doesn't need to know that my books are the affairs I do not have." - Sara Nelson in SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME
Sara Nelson, at the time a book reviewer for Glamour magazine, vowed to read a book a week during 2002. In SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME, she tells us, her fellow bibliophiles, how she fared, as well as her past and present experiences with the great passion of her life - reading.
Upon completion of this engaging volume, I was tempted to award 3 or 4 stars, chiefly because her literary interests are so different from mine and I couldn't relate to most of the particular titles that she mentions. (I've heard of perhaps only a third of them, and have myself read only a couple. Indeed, she reads only the rare historical novel, and, almost incomprehensibly and reprehensibly, non-fiction works of history not at all.) But, this would have been supreme self-centeredness on my part. Sara does with excellence what she intended to do, i.e. describe what are for her and for the rest of us compulsive book lovers the varied facets of the reading experience, many of which we hardly ever give a thought. Several times I found myself nodding in affirmation of her written words and thinking, "Yup, you hit that right on."
SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME is divided into thirty-five chapters, plus Prologue and Epilogue. Each chapter is headed by a date and title, the former, in the aggregate, sequentially and more or less evenly spaced out over 2002. Each chapter, with reference to specific book titles, deals with an aspect of book consumption. As examples:
"February 1, Double-Booked" about the practice of having one book for home and one for away. In Nelson's case, as in mine, the former is usually hardcover and the latter a more portable softcover.
"February 27, The Clean Plate Book Club" concerning the obsession to finish a book once begun, and the maturation process that eventually allows one to permanently toss one that's not working. For me at 59, this still goes against the grain, but I've learned. Thankfully, I find myself in the predicament only rarely.
"March 22, Sharing Books Gives Me Heartburn" about the painful practice of lending books out and perhaps not getting them back. I never lend books, but freely give them away when I'm through with them.
"June 1, Summer Reading" concerning the overly optimistic notion that one will have the time to read on those summer weekends away at the beach resort, or wherever. Verily, vacations with my wife are death marches; who has time to read?
"July 20, Reading Confidential", or how to fall in and out of love with a particular author.
"September 18, Kid Stuff", about the impact the books of childhood may have on our lives. I'll never forget the Young Trailer series by Joseph Altsheler featuring the Kentucky frontiersmen Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, Shif'less Sol Hyde, Long Jim Hart, and Silent Tom Ross.
"September 25, Sex and the City", concerning the prurient pay-off a best-selling erotic novel may or may not provide the reader. Well, I recall becoming feverish as a young adolescent upon reading my secret copy of FANNIE HILL.
"November 15, Oeuvre and Oeuvre Again", regarding the branding of writers by the publishers, and the prudent disinclination to read too many books by the same author back to back. This is a policy I've followed religiously, except after I discovered Gerald Seymour.
"November 25, Openings", or the ability of a book's opening lines to grab and not let go (for better or worse).
"December 10, Friends and Family", about the pressure of being asked by a writer, sometimes a friend or family member, to read a work and give an honest opinion. Writers occasionally ask me to read and review their stuff; I've made several friends and, I suspect, a few enemies. One of the former actually created a fictional character bearing my name in one of his action thrillers (Hot Blood (A Dan Shepherd Mystery) ); my double-take would've been fodder for the old TV show "Candid Camera".
Only once did I become irritated with the author, and this over a small point of geography. As a resident of New York City, I doubt Sara would seriously claim that Philadelphia is near Richmond, VA. Yet, when referring to the WWII American internment camp for Japanese-American citizens at Manzanar in the Owens Valley near present day Independence, CA, she states it being "near Santa Ana, California" though the two places are separated by roughly 260 miles, about the same distance separating Philly and Richmond. Perhaps Nelson should add a Rand McNally 2008 Road Atlas: Large Scale- United States (Rand Mcnally Large Scale Road Atlas USA) to her "must read" stack.
Despite my single twinge of irritation and my general inability to relate to the author's choice of reading materials, I'm awarding five stars because, in the end, Sara shares the view:
"I've lived the past year exactly how I wanted to - between the covers of books and in the places in my head that those books have taken me. I've been agitated, excited, enthralled, annoyed, frustrated, and sometimes a little bored. But I've never been lonely."
Indeed, because of books, this statement applies to my entire life. Thank you, Sara, for reminding me of this truth.
"I escape into books." 2008-01-07
Sara Nelson's "So Many Books, So Little Time" is an account of a reading life told with delightful wit and charm. So many people these days are doing or not doing something for a year. Two recent bestsellers come to mind: "Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping" and "The Year of Living Biblically." Nelson's undertaking was "a year of passionate reading." She set out to read a book a week and planned to record her thoughts and impressions. This may sound like a formidable task but for a book nut, it's a piece of cake. Nelson is an insomniac who wanders around her house at odd hours, so she'll read at three o'clock in the morning when most people are fast asleep. Like all bibliophiles, she takes books almost anywhere she goes, especially if there's waiting time involved. Standing on line in the post office or sitting on a bus? These are perfect reading opportunities. Since Nelson owns a huge number of books and has access to many others through her job, friends, and bookstores, supply is not a problem. The main difficulty was deciding exactly what to read.
Although Nelson's tastes in reading are uniquely hers, she does offer some advice that I heartily endorse: 1. Do not finish a book that you detest because of a misplaced sense of guilt. 2. Do not allow yourself to be emotionally blackmailed into reading something simply because a friend insists that it is AMAZING. 3. Do not be instantly seduced by the media hype surrounding a particular book.
Books are living and breathing entities that may have great meaning for particular individuals. A book might serve as a rite of passage for one person, and for another, it may strike a chord because of a significant event in his or her life. Nelson mentions Nora Ephron's "Heartburn," an autobiographical female revenge story about a woman scorned; sharing Ephron's bittersweet experiences can serve as a catharsis for someone who finds herself in a similar predicament.
"So Many Books" is intensely personal and extremely amusing. Nelson chats candidly about life with her husband and son (and how reading fits into her busy routine), and she discusses her opinion of works ranging from "Anna Karenina," to "Charlotte's Web." She also talks about how special this year was for her: "I've lived the past year exactly how I've wanted to--between the covers of books and in the places in my head that those books have taken me. I've been agitated, frustrated, and sometimes a little bored. But I've never been lonely." She insists that "to read a book is to have a relationship." I couldn't agree more.
A mixed bag  2008-01-05
One of the senior contributing editors to Glamour magazine lines up a reading list of 52 books (99% novels) to read during the year. This collection of essays tracks her troubles sticking to the list; her thoughts on book lending, book covers, and hype; and how books gave her insights on her volatile Japanese-American husband.
Interesting that she didn't just write 52 book reviews. Instead she concentrated on the process of reading (how she picks books, how some are easy or hard to get into, her motives for reading or avoiding certain titles, what books say about their owners), and how novels shape her life.
Of course, as a cynical New Yorker, she despises all books on self-help or spirituality. Much of the fiction she did pick didn't really move me: she re-read Marjorie Morningstar, Heartburn, and Charlotte's Web, she skims others that "everyone" is talking about.
One thing that is hard to like: she makes countless unnecessarily catty remarks about people in her social circle, and you get the uneasy feeling that they may easily recognize themselves if they read her book. However, I did like how she and her sister care enough to work with their intensively competitive relationship. A mixed bag in this book, but mostly good stuff here.
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