Title: The Books TheyGave Me
Author: Jen Adams
Review: This is a
book about books. Books that people have
been given and how their lives were changed or touched by these books. I enjoyed reading about the different books,
especially the ones I had read and how they affected their lives.
I was given the book, Where the
Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, when I was younger by my Aunt Pat. I loved that book and read it every night
until I had every poem there memorized.
This book really opened my eyes to the funny things that people say, do
and other peoples imagination. I read and I laughed and I
loved that book and the others that followed it. What a wonderful gift that I have now given
to my children to enjoy. I love books
because they are gifts that keep giving…year after year after year.
This book reminds me of the Post Secret Series of books, which I
love. This is a book about books that
anyone who reads and enjoys the written word will also love. I may not have agreed with everyone’s ideas
of why the books were important, but I respect their opinions and enjoyed the
insight it gave me into those books, even the ones I have read.
Publisher: Published November 6th 2012 by
Atria Books
ISBN: 9781451688795
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 256
Quick Review: 4 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It:
I thought it sounded interesting.
Where I Obtained the Book:
Sent by the publisher for review.
Synopsis:
THE GIFT OF A BOOK BECOMES PART OF THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE. Perhaps it
came with a note as simple as “This made me think of you,” but it takes up
residence in your heart and your home. The Books They Gave Me is a mixtape of
stories behind books given and received. Some of the stories are poignant, some
snarky, some romantic, some disastrous—but all are illuminating. Jen Adams
collected nearly two hundred of the most provocative stories submitted to the
tumblr blog TheBooksTheyGaveMe.com to capture the many ways books can change
our lives and loves, revealing volumes about the relationships that inspired
the gifts. These stories are, by turns, romantic, cynical, funny, dark, and
hopeful. There’s the poorly thought out gift of Lolita from a thirty-year-old
man to a teenage girl. There’s the couple who tried to read Ulysses together
over the course of their long-distance relationship and never finished it.
There’s the girl whose school library wouldn’t allow her to check out
Fahrenheit 451, but who received it at Christmas with the note, “Little Sister:
Read everything you can. Subvert Authority! Love always, your big brother.”
These are stories of people falling in love, regretting mistakes, and finding
hope. Together they constitute a love letter to the book as physical object and
inspiration.
Illustrated in full color with the jackets of beloved editions, The
Books They Gave Me is, above all, an uplifting testament to the power of
literature.
Author Biography: After a decade and a half spent in Chicago,
where she worked as a freelance writer and served as a founding contributing
editor of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine, Jennifer Adams moved to New York to be
closer to The Strand. She is at work on a variety of projects, including a
zombie novel for middle-grades readers. She blogs sporadically at
Jen-Adams.com. She lives in Astoria, New York, and is the mother of two boys.
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