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What We See When We Read
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
A San Francisco Chronicleand Kirkus Best Book of the YearA gorgeously unique, fully illustrated exploration into the phenomenology of readinghow we visualize images from reading works of literature, from one of our very best book jacket designers, himself a passionate reader. What do we see when we read? Did Tolstoy really describe Anna Karenina? Did Melville ever really tell us what, exactly, Ishmael looked like? The collection of fragmented images on a pagea graceful ear there, a stray curl, a hat positioned just soand other clues and signifiers helps us to create an image of a character. But in fact our sense that we know a character intimately has little to do with our ability to concretely picture our belovedor reviledliterary figures. In this remarkable work of nonfiction, Knopf's Associate Art Director Peter Mendelsund combines his profession, as an award-winning designer; his first career, as a classically trained pianist; and his first love, literaturehe considers himself first and foremost as a readerinto what is sure to be one of the most provocative and unusual investigations into how we understand the act of reading.From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Andrea313
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Mehso-so

#ReadingAboutReading is usually my jam, but this one is more than a little pretentious without being particularly insightful. However, I love the acknowledgement of the creativity and experience we individually bring to the act of reading- conceiving of reading as a means of co-creation is straight up my alley. It goes quickly so if you're on the fence, I say go for it- and it made me want to re-read Anna Karenina and To the Lighthouse so win-win?

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Gina
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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♡♡♡

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Gina
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Oh the strange books I read...

bibliothecarivs I've heard this one is good! 3y
ReadingOver50 I don‘t see anything when I read. 3y
Gina @bibliothecarivs I am really enjoying it. But it is more of a art piece than an informational book. 3y
Gina @ReadingOver50 you know I kinda feel the same way in a way. That is why I got the book. Just to explore a different pov ;) 3y
14 likes4 comments
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NicoleCeBallos
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Panpan

I have one word to describe this book. Pretentious.

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TK-421
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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“Our brains will treat a book as if it were any other of the world's many unfiltered, encrypted signals. That is, the author's book, for readers, reverts to a species of noise. We take in as much of the author's world as we can, and mix this material with our own in the alembic of our reading minds, combining them to alchemize something unique.” #revert #QuotsyJan21

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bookishnerd
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Mehso-so

My 5th read for 2021. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. There were some parts where I was really invested and was thinking this sounds like me, but then there were other parts that I found myself only sort of paying attention to. I am glad I read it and I am glad for the parts that got me thinking, but not a new favorite book and not one I can see myself rereading.

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Biblionut
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Mehso-so

A book on how we visualize characters and settings when we read. I have to admit that I got a little bored in the middle, thankfully it went by quickly because there are many illustrations. I think I would rather just read than ponder on all the whys and hows.

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Biblionut
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Do you agree?

emtobiasz It‘s an interesting question, but I don‘t know how we would ever hope to study that visualization abilities of the past versus the present. I do know there are studies of how children‘s imaginations work exposed to different kinds of media and toys that suggest that kids are more creative with more open ended toys— blocks have more possibilities than movie tie-in action figures, say, which kids tend to use to reenact the movie. 5y
emtobiasz But people can be incredibly creative within the parameters of known stories and visuals, too. Think of the vast array of fan fiction, for example! I worry about romanticizing the past too much as “a simpler time”, or assuming that kids today can give us an insight in past humans. 5y
emtobiasz There are some of my complicated thoughts on a complicated idea 😏 5y
Biblionut @emtobiasz 👍🏻 5y
10 likes4 comments
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24in48
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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TEN DAYS UNTIL #24in48! Are you joining us? Be sure to sign up at 24in48.com!

rmaclean4 So looking forward to a weekend filled with reading!! 5y
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Ash.on.the.line
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Not home yet to do my official check in but a good day! Walking out and about with my mom was great! This was from the waiting area while she got her hair cut! Once home I‘ll do my yoga and check in! 😊 feelin pretty good! #BFC #BookFitnessChallenge

TheSpineView Awesome! 6y
wanderinglynn Way to go! 🙌🏻 6y
BookwormAHN Great job 👏🏻 6y
CoverToCoverGirl Excellent! 6y
bewareofwords You‘re doing great! 👏🏽 6y
44 likes5 comments
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TelevisionNeighbor
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Mehso-so

These were both really weird and trippy. And you can read them in one sitting. One is fiction, one is non fiction. Fever Dream made me want to hug my child. I definitely recommend What We See When We Read to anyone who loves reading. Makes ya think about your brain and what‘s going on in there when you look at words on a page.

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thea-block
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Found a crazy old bookstore on the Oregon Coast this weekend. Had to drop my husband off at the rental house so I could go back and enjoy the 8000+ feet of shelves of books! Quite an experience! Bought a few Georgette Heyer and Dorothy L Sayers books to complete my collections. Also picked up Crocodile on the Sandbank - Peters, and the tagged book which I‘m excited to add to my ‘books about books‘ collection! #bookstores #bookhaul #booksonthefloor

Bradleygirl That looks amazing 10/10 would browse 6y
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ChrisBohjalian
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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So excited to read this gift from my daughter, Grace Experience.

JSW Such an interesting book. 6y
CoffeeK8 This book is amazing! I use examples from it in professional development to help teachers understand how we can help support student comprehension through visualization strategies 6y
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CoffeeK8
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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I am so in for this challenge, my summer plan is to read a number of teaching books that have built up over the school year. Let‘s do this! #makemereadit Readathon #teachersoflitsy

BeansPage Awesome to have you with us sweetheart 🤘🏻 6y
kspenmoll Good for you! Impressed! #teachersofLitsy 6y
kspenmoll The tagged book looks fascinating.., 6y
CoffeeK8 @kspenmoll I adore this book, I use it during teacher training to help explore the visualizing process (I do literacy support for a district) 6y
50 likes4 comments
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emtobiasz
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Day off #bookhaul from Half Price Books 📚

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KimmyM
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Pickpick

This was such a fascinating book! It was actually a very quick read, because several pages have images only, and it was super interesting.
I do wish it had gone deeper into the subject but maybe there are other books on the topic that I can seek.
4 🌟/ 5

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KimmyM
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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I read #nonfiction at a wayyyyyy slower pace than I read fiction so I'm not too far into this one yet, but I am really liking it so far.

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KimmyM
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Saturday night plans!
#bookandabeverage #nonfiction

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aeeklund
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Mind. Blown.

Somehow I never stopped to think about this.

elkeOriginal This is too much for a Monday morning 🤯 7y
aeeklund @elkeo Does it help that I meant to post this days ago? I don‘t have the brain capacity to comprehend this yet this morning either... ☕️☕️☕️☕️ 7y
Kalalalatja Whaaaaaaaat 🤯🤯 7y
wanderinglynn 🤯 And this is why I have problems writing reviews - I get too immersed. 7y
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Bry
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Pickpick

Of course I read a book about reading for the #24in48 readathon! It was a quick read with lots of illustrations and short pages but it also made me think more deeply about how I visualize what I‘m reading - how much is actually described vs. how much I‘m making up based on my own memories and perceptions. 🤔

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BookishMarginalia
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Have you ever wondered what #AnnaKarenina looks like?

Moray_Reads My entire department read this a couple of years ago when we had to supervise the removal of a collection of rare books. It kept the boredom (and the cold) at bay for a little while! 7y
Heideschrampf Sounds awesome!! 7y
Rachbb3 Wow. That's interesting. #annakareninareadalong 7y
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Suet624 Hmmm ... that‘s kind of what I thought she would look like. 7y
MallenNC I have to admit when I read I just imagine actors I like as the characters! But the book sounds very interesting. 7y
vivastory I loved this book 7y
OrangeMooseReads Looks about right 7y
Leftcoastzen I thought that book was amazing 7y
SailorMoon Would you suggest it? I'm really curious to see what the real characters are supposed to look like... although I do as @MallenNC and picture actors I would see perfect for the roles 6y
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CoffeeK8
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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1. Yes - 1 book for work, 1 audiobook, 1 for bookclub and 1 more, I get distracted by more than that.
2. Yes, they know me by name!
3. Books usually, but I always am late with the kids‘ movies
4. Yes, but only on my own books
5. Sometimes
#yesorno #readinghabits #peekinsidemylife

MarriedtoMrT Solidarity on 4! I don‘t mind my own books looking a little loved. 7y
CoffeeK8 @MarriedtoMrT good to know I‘m not the only one! 📄 7y
31 likes2 comments
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Heatheringheights
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Reminded of this #tbr in The Getty bookstore.

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JessFerg
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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How ironic.

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scripturient
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Just made another book drop at my university. Both Mendelsund and Stewart's books are waiting for lucky finders. 🤗😁 #ibelieveinbookfairies

Sarah83 Cool idea. 😉 8y
Texreader That's so awesome. 8y
julesG Are you going to check whether they've gone later? 8y
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scripturient @julesG I already did! The first one's already gone. 😊 8y
Chelsey What a fun idea! 8y
tpixie What does your sticker say? I'll just write on the inside ' take me home and read me' But you have a fancy sticker!! And fun hiding spots!!! 8y
julesG @tpixie The stickers are the official book fairy stickers. You can order them at ibelieveinbookfairies.com 8y
tpixie Thanks! 8y
melbeautyandbooks Love it! 8y
Laura317 How fun!! I might order a few stickers and try it out. 8y
Chelsey Just two days later I found my first fairy offering!! I'm so glad I'd seen your post so I recognized it for what it was. #ibelieveinbookfairies !!! (edited) 8y
scripturient @Chelsey That is awesome! 😍 Which book did you find? 8y
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Brenley
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Man, I really want to read this book with my students... it would be a great book to talk about in a creative writing class. #currentread #teachersoflitsy

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Brenley
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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#weekendreading Finally getting to this. Trying to read the books I picked out for myself before officially moving into the new place... it's harder than I thought. But this seems like a really interesting read!!

Moray_Reads This book went round my whole office a couple of years ago when we were supervising the removal of a whole collection of rare books (about 900 volumes!) 8y
tournevis I liked it when I read it. 8y
Brenley @Moray_Reads @tournevis I'm really enjoying it so far!!! It's different than I thought it was going to be. (edited) 8y
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Jokila
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Lindy This would be a great book for discussion, since readers have different things going on in their heads. I enjoyed this, but it raises questions. 8y
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olyvianne
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
Pickpick

A good, interesting book, if a little monolithic.

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scripturient
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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❤❤❤

kspenmoll 😊💚 8y
minkyb Beautiful. 8y
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scripturient
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Mehso-so

An interesting book that makes you think about how we perceive text and how imagination works. However, as an academic I was cringing at the frequent lack of source references (the author borrows notions from de Saussure, Derrida and numerous others) and the random mishmash of theoretical foundations. So yes, it's a nice read with fun graphics but I have to say it's not much more. Sorry, Mr Mendelsund.

tricours What's your academic field? 8y
respekt1111 I agree with your assessment. Better in theory than execution. 8y
ReadingEnvy [needs citation] heh 8y
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lauralovesbooks1
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Pickpick

I thought this was fascinating. Mendelsund explores this concept from the perspective of a visual artist and the mix of text with graphics and images is incredibly effective.

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lauralovesbooks1
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Love this.

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LibrarianJen
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Oh my gosh @PatriciaU thank you so much for my #litsygoespostalog secret Santa gifts! It's all so wonderfully perfect! ❤

PatriciaU So glad you like it, Jen! It's a little local, a little bookish, and a little library! (edited) 8y
36 likes1 comment
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scripturient
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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This is a weird little book but it also provides an interesting perspective on what we all love so much. Definitely makes me think about how we visualize fictional characters etc.

CoffeeK8 This book is wonderful! 💖 8y
Lindy I love this book, even though it doesn't take into account that not all readers have the same things going on in their brains. 8y
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scripturient
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Looks like this Litten has been a very good girl this year. 😊❤❤🎄

Sarah83 Wow 😉 und sehr neil gaiman-lastig. 🖒 8y
julesG Quite a nice stack. My family insist that I should read the books I have, so no books for me under the tree. :(( 8y
Suzze Nice! No one ever buys me books. I guess because they trip on them everywhere when they come over. 😁 8y
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LeahBergen 👏🏻👏🏻 8y
Zelma @julesG well, that's just no fun! There is always room for more books. 😉 8y
Gissy 🎄🎅🏼🎁📚📚📚📚📚👏👏👏👏 8y
179 likes6 comments
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mhillis
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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bookwrm526
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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#seasonsreadings2016 I didn't think I had any #bookswithpictures but then I remembered this one. It's a pretty interesting, quick read with lots of pictures and some very interesting thoughts about how we engage with what we read.

jmtrivera That's neat! 8y
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suvata
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Pickpick

Very interesting and informative. The illustrations were perfect.

Lacythebookworm Loved this one! Really made me think! 💭😊 8y
suvata I thought it was dead on. I never realized what I was doing while I was reading but it all made sense after I read this book. 8y
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scripturient
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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❤️📚🤓🚀⏰

rachelm ❤️ 8y
vivastory @scripturient Peter Mendelsund is one of my favorite working book designers. If you haven't already, I highly recommend his collection "Cover." One of my favorite book design art books. 8y
PatriciaU What a wonderful quote. 8y
ReadingEnvy I loved this book, what a pleasure. 8y
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teo
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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scripturient
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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😂😂😊 Yes, this is how it's going down. 😊

jessberk13 Hahaha so accurate 8y
Suetara So true! ❤️ 8y
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HighShelfEsteem
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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I try really hard to think outside my own experience when visualizing fiction, but it can be really hard sometimes. The same living room will sometimes show up in my mind from book to book. Do any of you have the same issue? Just curious!

bmsddk A fascinating concept! Made me realize my visuals are abstract. Hard to say the same look shows up because my impressions aren't looks unless I consciously work it out, in which case I rely on the book's description (which is funny, because I don't like overly descriptive books). Characters come to mind clearly though; they're always different from each other. As I read, I'll pay more attention to see if familiar impressions pop up! Thanks! 8y
bmsddk Are there elements you visualize more varied than others? 8y
HighShelfEsteem Characters are definitely more varied. I just find that certain house and apartment layouts repeat themselves in my mind, especially if the setting is in a US city or suburb 8y
NellieB Yes! Houses too. It kind of makes me crazy. 8y
24 likes4 comments
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BeththeBookDragon
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Like everyone else, my #blameitonlitsy is the burgeoning TBR!! #somethingforsept #day19

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LitHousewife
What We See When We Read | Peter Mendelsund
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Pickpick

This book was really interesting and the perfect thing to pick up when you're in a funk. I don't often read about reading, but I enjoy it. This will make me think about what I'm seeing when I read from here on out.

Although there weren't spoilers, I wished I'd read Anna Karenina and To the Lighthouse before reading this as he refers to them often. I've read Ulysses, so I could appreciate what he was saying about Buck Mulligan.

ImaginativeMom I enjoyed this one, too. 😊 8y
MrBook Nice review 😊👍🏻. 8y
Sydsavvy It was interesting! 8y
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Megabooks Definitely going on my TBR. #ebc 8y
Coleen This one is on my TBR, but I've never known anyone else who's read it. Thanks for your review! 8y
Reviewsbylola I am almost 2/3 of the way through Anna Karenina on the serial reader app so I will keep this in mind for when I finally finish! 8y
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