Dear Reader

 Full title: Dear reader: The comfort and joy of books

Author: Cathy Rentzenbrink

Genre: Nonfiction

Original publication date: September 17, 2020

Book description: 

'Reading has saved my life, again and again, and has held my hand through every difficult time'

For as long as she can remember, Cathy Rentzenbrink has lost and found herself in stories. Growing up she was rarely seen without her nose in a book and read in secret long after lights out. When tragedy struck, books kept her afloat. Eventually they lit the way to a new path, first as a bookseller and then as a writer. No matter what the future holds, reading will always help.

Dear Reader is a moving, funny and joyous exploration of how books can change the course of your life, packed with recommendations from one reader to another.

Thoughts:

This is a  book about books. I found his by chance mentioned in a video about reading books about books and as it's nonfiction I wished to pick it up. 

This is nothing groundbreaking. It is a mix of memoir growing up as a shy kid and also touches on a very personal moment. The accident of her brother and how he never woke up so in a way its a good way to get a little insight of what it is to grow up with this situation and how books were a comfort and escape zone for her. We get a lot of books mentioned that can help you find a few that you have either not heard from or you have yet to read. This helps you build or add a few more to your personal TBR. 

It is a quick read if you sit through it it can be done in a single afternoon. We follow her from childhood to adulthood. She talks about her different jobs, one as a bookseller that was interesting to hear about. I was sincerely bored throughout the whole thing. The recommendations are nothing extraordinary and the life story of a virtual stranger was not captivating enough. It felt very long to get through even if I did finish it in a single day.

It is best to read this if you are already a fan of the author. 

As a side note: there is a praise of the author J.K. Rowling and she describes her love and what it meant to read Harry Potter growing up. This might be worth taking note of as there have been a few hurtful comments made by the author, not only this last few months but a few times in the last few years. Be aware that she will be mentioned and praised for building the world of magic and wizards that almost everyone grew up reading about. From what I got from the read the author Rentzenbrink does not share Rowling's opinion about the trans community, or at least that does not come across in her writing but as a story about her love of books Harry Potter is mentioned. At this point, I think it's pretty difficult for people to hate Harry Potter because of the author. The world has meant so much for many readers around the world that the love for the magical world is separate from the feelings for the creator of such a world.

If there is a reason I dislike following authors on social media is this, sometimes you find the creator of worlds you love to be such despicable human beings that you start to hate them.

There is nothing wrong with this book. It is a case of not for me. This book was written very well and it tells the life of a person I should not be allowed to rate someone's life or opinions but as this is a book I read for entertainment in that aspect I found it was not attention-grabbing for me, but I believe it could be very useful or inspiring for others. 

I am very sad I didn't enjoy this book. I should have maybe waited to read a few of the works by the author before starting a book about her life so I could find myself caring a bit more about her experiences. This has such a beautiful cover! 

You can always try to read books online first and if you find them enjoyable buy the physical copy, later on, to add it to your collection. I don't mean to be mean but I am glad to have read this in Scribd first. I did not spend money on this specific book. Also, it helps your pocket when you actually read books included in subscriptions ad not have to pay for each individual one. Feel free to use the referral code: https://www.scribd.com/g/72ocvr

With this, you get a 60-day free trial period and you can then purchase your subscription at approx $8.99 per month. You do not get any extra charge if you use this code, I do get a reward of a 30-day free period if you join using my code. 

I have been using Scribd for a year or more by now I really enjoy it. You can get access to a few audiobooks per month and tons of ebooks. Be aware that audiobooks are limited (you get I believe 2 per month), at least the most popular books or authors, a few older ones are available to hear as many as you want. The ebooks so far I have seen do not have a limit to how many you read in a single month.

This turned more rambly than I expected. Sorry about that. 

This is it, for now, thank you for continuing to join me this far. I am so happy and grateful for this. It has been a long journey with ups and downs, even if I do take sudden breaks from here I always find it so fulfilling to return. I am just so glad to be able to share my joy of books with other people online. Thank you for your support.

See you next time, stay safe and healthy!