So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading

by Sara Nelson

Book Overview

The well-known publishing correspondent and self-described "readaholic" chronicles a year spent reading-and the surprises it brought. In early 2002, Sara Nelson-editor, reporter, reviewer, mother,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425198197
• ISBN13: 9780425198193
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Admitting it is the First Step

Never has a book described to me to a tee.Sara Nelson's witty chronicle, So Many Books So Little Time, depicts the life of a book lover, a person who can't go a day without reading or finds herself sneaking moments to read anywhere at any time. I, myself, am a confessed bookaholic, having at the moment about 175 novels in my TBR (To Be Read) pile. Reading Nelson's ode to reading lets me know I'm not alone. I can come "out of the closet" (where there's more books than standing room).The premise of Nelson's book revolves around her project to read at least one book a week for a year. In her weekly entries, Nelson discusses what she has or has not read, what attracted her to certain books, and how those books intertwine with her life. What really makes this book stand out is Nelson's witty repartee, her ability to make me laugh out loud and recognize just how much we have in common. The book also works because of Nelson's various experiences in the publishing word where she's been a reporter and a reviewer, among other things. Book Lovers, we finally have something that unites us! Read So Many Books, So Little Time and be proud!

A Must Have for "Bookaholics"

Wow! I couldn't put this book down! This is not just a book about books, but also about authors, and the pleasures and pains that books can bring. I really liked this book because Mrs. Nelson gives her opinions of the books that she has read, both good and bad, and it also has a lot of suggestions for readers. This is a pretty small book, and a very fast read. I recommend this to anyone who LOVES to read! It would make a great holiday present!

Breathe deep...the essense of good books.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of this extremely entertaining and well written book about my favorite subject...books, and the passionate love a lifelong reader experiences reading them, sneaking them into bathrooms for a couple extra paragraphs before getting back to work, falling asleep with them in bed, and all the other crazy little things that we sometimes think we're alone in doing. The author, Sara Nelson, works as an editor at a New York magazine, and has pretty much lived and breathed books her whole life. With SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME, she's also written the perfect book for those of us who catalogue various eras in our lives by the books we were reading at the time. If you're a book person (and there's a good chance you might be if spend time reading what other people have to say about books in these online reviews) you're bound to identify with and be caught up by Sara Nelson's enthusiastic and fun to read memoir. Nelson set out to read a different book each week for a year and write about her various experiences. Because a really good book is able to make you feel attuned to all of the rich possibilities of life, just as with your unique experiences of life itself, it's impossible to predict what your reactions to a book will be, before you've spent the time with it cradled in your hands. There are unexpected moments in Nelson's year of passionate reading, in which she either is left cold by books she was all prepared, on the recommendations of valued friends of family, to love, or when she found treasure troves hidden in the least expected places.There's nothing like finding something special and magical in an unexpected place, and that's what I really felt after reading this book, which had just shown up one day in my mail box. It's well worth your time. SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME is not only a cool bumper sticker slogan, but it's now also a great book that celebrates all of the obvious things, along with all of the more subtle minutiae, that make reading such an essential and fabulous pastime.If good books are like oxygen to you, you should treat yourself to a deep inhalation of this wonderful little book.

A Secret Pass

To read Sara Nelson's book is to obtain a top-secret pass. Into the halls of power and might? No. Into the corridors of a passionate reader's mind, yes. In fact, her ode to literature might be titled "Finding Mr. Write." She points out, quite fittingly, the relationship between readers and their chosen printed companions. If you, like Ms. Nelson and this reviewer, have ever fawned over an intriguing title on the shelf like a teenager harboring a crush, then you'll adore the insights and shared intimacies of "So Many Books, So Little Time."Nelson attacks her subject with, uh, uninhibited desire. Examining a year of her own reading habits, she unveils the tendencies and quibbles and sparks of heated excitement found between the covers. (Of printed matter, of course--don't let her infatuations confuse you.) The metaphor is appropriate, if you share her love for books. There's the starry-eyed introduction, the clumsy yet heady getting-to-know-you stage, the culminating union of heart and soul. Our mothers tried to warn us, though: "Be careful, I tell ya. Most boys are up to no good." Yeah, and not all books are as wonderful as they appear; not all classics live up to our expectations.Nelson's unafraid of pointing fingers here. She tells us which ones left her uninvolved and clammy. While dispensing insights into her own roles as wife and mother, she also reveals truths she's discovered through the joys (and travails) of reading. Not all books are for everyone. Not everyone finds a match the first time around. Nelson never loses faith, however, in the idea that reader and book will find each other eventually.In this search for Mr. Write, Nelson keeps us laughing at her, at ourselves, and the wacky world around us. For the jaded among us, beware...You might find yourself falling in love all over again.