What's a Common Reader -- and what is Uncommon Reading?

Virginia Woolf defined a common reader as someone who is not a scholar; not a critic. A common reader "reads for his own pleasure rather than to impart knowledge or correct the opinions of others. Above all, he is guided by an instinct to create for himself, out of whatever odds and ends he can come by, some kind of whole." By that definition, I'm definitely a common reader -- reading an uncommonly large and diverse collection of books.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Just Added to My Shelves:

A few of the books I've added to my (already overloaded) bookshelves in the last ten days or so; I'm hoping to get to at least some of these before the end of the summer!
  • The Good Muslim by Tahmina Anam (Amazon Vine, advance copy)
  • The White Devil by Justin Evans (Amazon Vine, advance review copy)
  • The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud (Library)
  • Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays by Chinua Achebe (gift)
  • The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton (UK purchase)
  • Unnatural Selection by Mara Hvistendahl (publisher giveaway)
  • Fatal Risk by Roddy Boyd (publisher review copy)
  • French Leave by Anna Gavalda (Library)
  • Nothing Daunted by Elizabeth Wickenden (purchase)
  • On the Origin of Teepees by Jonnie Hughes (publisher e-galley)
  • Class Warfare by Steven Brill (publisher e-galley)
And now that I'm back from my trip to the West Coast (attending a fascinating conference about corporate governance at Stanford), I'll be able to catch up on posting what I've been reading and what I can recommend here!
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