Book Review: Judging a Book by Its Lover

Title: Judging a Book by Its Lover
Author: Lauren Leto
Publisher/Year: Harper Perennial / 2012
Source/Format: Publisher / Print
Date Finished: 17 October 2012
Book # 57

Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid

The Short and Sweet of It
In a series of useful, funny, witty essays, Leto addresses book related issues like: picking up a mate in a bookstore, faking book knowledge, stereotyping readers by their favorite author, the move to ebooks, and speaking condescendingly. Book lovers shall be amused.

A Bit of a Ramble
I loved this. Seriously loved it. I have so many pages dog-eared, it's a bit ridiculous. As for dog-earring, Leto would highly approve. Reading this book felt like, well, honestly, it felt like listening to some of my favorite professors in college: the low-key, unprofessional, snarky, relaxed professors who were both intelligent and amused by the intelligentsia.

She really captured my heart with her chapter on Stereotyping People by Favorite Author. Too funny. Here are some examples:

Jodi Picoult: Your mom when she's at her time of the month.
William Shakespeare: People who like bondage.
Nick Hornby: Guys who wear skinny jeans and the girls who love them.
Elizabeth Gilbert: Women who liked the movie Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood but didn't read the book.
Max Barry: People who don't mind the color orange.
James Joyce: People who do not like John Cusack movies.
Terry Pratchett: People who really like monkeys.

I could seriously go on. Hilarious. There is even a chapter on What Your Child Will Grow Up to Be If You Read Them..... Take, for example, the entry on Clifford:

A big, red dog who...wait, does Clifford ever do anything? It's a boring book for boring kids. A gigantic dog that doesn't eat humans or at least crush a couple of houses? Snooze fest. Congratulations on begetting an average kid who will find a great position in middle management and have a somewhat happy marriage.

It's funny cuz it's true.

I powered through the book in only three nights - which is quite impressive for me since I only get about 15-30 minutes of reading after baby nut loses her fight against sleep. I could go on and on quoting this book. Leto really captures the joys of reading, the ridiculousness of reading snobbery, and the heart of readers everywhere. I highly recommend this one.


NOTES: Received from publisher