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Read All About It: My Year Of Falling In Love With Literature
Having amassed more books than he’ll ever be able to read in his lifetime, Paul Cuddihy decided at the start of 2013 that he would actually start reading some of them. He had fallen out of the habit of reading – though not of book buying – and he wanted to change that. So throughout 2013 he made a conscious decision to switch off his television set and go and do something less boring instead – read a book.
‘Read All About It’ charts Paul’s year of reading and what else was happening in his life and in the literary world.
‘I have never been able to resist a book about books.’
(Anne Fadiman)
‘Read All About It’ charts Paul’s year of reading and what else was happening in his life and in the literary world.
‘I have never been able to resist a book about books.’
(Anne Fadiman)
166 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 6, 2014
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 15, 2018
I’m being a little unfair giving this 2 stars, 2.5 maybe more accurate. It is a sort of diary, giving us details of the books the author reads in a year. I read it very quickly, and it’s a pleasant enough experience, but it didn’t rock my world. I enjoy non fiction as much as fiction, but he mainly reads fiction. There’s a lot of loyalty to Scottish writers, but I was surprised to realise he didn’t read any Alan Spence, whom I love. We like different books, obviously. Interesting premise, and kept me occupied on a rainy afternoon.
March 12, 2015
I really enjoy reading books about books. It's always interesting to read other people's opinions of the books I love or hate and it's a good way of finding books I might otherwise have never considered reading. This book endeared itself to me when I realised that the author is an inveterate book buyer to the despair of his wife. I love books in all their forms so this is where I differ from the author as I love reading e-books and buying them if only because I don't have to have somewhere to store them all and I don't have to dust them.
The author's year of reading covered an eclectic range of books from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - he enjoyed it to the 2013 Booker Prize shortlist - a mixed bag. The books he read were mainly fiction though there were some memoirs, good and bad, amongst the books he read in the year. I have added several books to my wish list on the strength of his year of reading.
The book is written in an easy chatty sort of style which makes it seem as though this is a friend talking to you over a drink about the books he read in the year in which he fell in love with literature again. There is a list of the books he read at the end of the book together with a list of his favourite books and some comments about each of them. There is also a selection of other people's favourite books. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves books and reading.
The author's year of reading covered an eclectic range of books from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - he enjoyed it to the 2013 Booker Prize shortlist - a mixed bag. The books he read were mainly fiction though there were some memoirs, good and bad, amongst the books he read in the year. I have added several books to my wish list on the strength of his year of reading.
The book is written in an easy chatty sort of style which makes it seem as though this is a friend talking to you over a drink about the books he read in the year in which he fell in love with literature again. There is a list of the books he read at the end of the book together with a list of his favourite books and some comments about each of them. There is also a selection of other people's favourite books. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves books and reading.
December 19, 2014
This is apt as it is my 70th book of the year and the author goes through his 71 book year of 2013. We overlap slightly, he prefers more historical fiction. He manages the trick of talking about the books without giving too much away. This must come from a lifetime of following Celtic.
June 1, 2015
26/05/2015 -
Since I have been hopping from book to book recently and struggling a bit to concentrate I thought I would read a book about reading. Paul Cuddihy set out to read as many books as he could in a year (2013) to be his year of reading and document his journey.
Paul covers a month's worth of reading per chapter. I like the fact that he's not a snob about books (except Katie Price "novels!") and reads all different genres (mainly novels) and authors from all walks of life including actors, the classics, contemporary, crime etc, I like his chatty style and often he makes you laugh as he puts forward his opinions of the author, the book or a commentary on current events that occur during his reading year. He also introduces the topic of films into his comments as well and he is not adverse to the use of social media and uses Twitter to occasionally to aid in finding books. And uses a kindle but like me finds holding a book in your hand is still the best way to read. But yes I did read this on an ipad!
I have friends who love to read one authors books one after the other but like Paul I just can't or should I say don't like to do that part of the fun is knowing you have an author you love knowing you have a lot of their books to read and I love to hop from author and genre all the time.
I have to say although I enjoyed reading Paul's book it hasn't revolutionised my reading habits I think they are too entrenched LOL!
But I have one observation why is it so many people seem to be able to read so fast it makes you feel so inadequate at max I can manage about 50 pgs in 90 mins.
Note: You can follow Paul on Twitter @PaulTheHunted
Since I have been hopping from book to book recently and struggling a bit to concentrate I thought I would read a book about reading. Paul Cuddihy set out to read as many books as he could in a year (2013) to be his year of reading and document his journey.
Paul covers a month's worth of reading per chapter. I like the fact that he's not a snob about books (except Katie Price "novels!") and reads all different genres (mainly novels) and authors from all walks of life including actors, the classics, contemporary, crime etc, I like his chatty style and often he makes you laugh as he puts forward his opinions of the author, the book or a commentary on current events that occur during his reading year. He also introduces the topic of films into his comments as well and he is not adverse to the use of social media and uses Twitter to occasionally to aid in finding books. And uses a kindle but like me finds holding a book in your hand is still the best way to read. But yes I did read this on an ipad!
I have friends who love to read one authors books one after the other but like Paul I just can't or should I say don't like to do that part of the fun is knowing you have an author you love knowing you have a lot of their books to read and I love to hop from author and genre all the time.
I have to say although I enjoyed reading Paul's book it hasn't revolutionised my reading habits I think they are too entrenched LOL!
But I have one observation why is it so many people seem to be able to read so fast it makes you feel so inadequate at max I can manage about 50 pgs in 90 mins.
Note: You can follow Paul on Twitter @PaulTheHunted
November 12, 2020
I wanted to love this but I've given in before the half way mark.
March 29, 2015
Paul Cuddihy, a Glasgow-based sports journalist and novelist, resolved one New Year's Eve a few years ago to make more time for reading. This is his account of the year that followed. It's little more than a reading diary, but I found it very enjoyable.
Rather than embark on some harebrained scheme like reading the encyclopedia (The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs) or reading a book in translation from every country in the world (The World Between Two Covers by Ann Morgan), both of which are very good books, by the way, Cuddihy reads books he's been meaning to read, or books he found browsing at the bookstore, or books someone's recommended. He did a couple of mini-stunts, such as reading all six shortlisted Man Booker books before the winner was announced and reading a trio of trilogies in another month. But those were exceptions.
In between discussion of the books he's reading, Cuddihy talks about bookstores, his unwieldy book collection, his transition to a Kindle (but only for traveling), writing, his family, his job, and the best place to get breakfast in Glasgow. It's a chatty book and even though his taste in books and mine have almost no overlap, I enjoyed his bookish and humorous thoughts.
Rather than embark on some harebrained scheme like reading the encyclopedia (The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs) or reading a book in translation from every country in the world (The World Between Two Covers by Ann Morgan), both of which are very good books, by the way, Cuddihy reads books he's been meaning to read, or books he found browsing at the bookstore, or books someone's recommended. He did a couple of mini-stunts, such as reading all six shortlisted Man Booker books before the winner was announced and reading a trio of trilogies in another month. But those were exceptions.
In between discussion of the books he's reading, Cuddihy talks about bookstores, his unwieldy book collection, his transition to a Kindle (but only for traveling), writing, his family, his job, and the best place to get breakfast in Glasgow. It's a chatty book and even though his taste in books and mine have almost no overlap, I enjoyed his bookish and humorous thoughts.
June 17, 2018
Really enjoyed this as I identify with the idea of a reading challenge. Broadly agreed with a lot of the books he admired and will be adding a lot of his recommendations to my ‘to be read’ list, which never gets any shorter.
My only quibbles would be his blind spot with Russian author’s and his dismissal of Jane Austen as ‘superior chick lit’. But then I am unlikely to read any of his sport related books, with the possible exception of The Sportswriter.
But, as long as the reader has read some of the books he talks about this is a diverting read. Excellent when travelling.
My only quibbles would be his blind spot with Russian author’s and his dismissal of Jane Austen as ‘superior chick lit’. But then I am unlikely to read any of his sport related books, with the possible exception of The Sportswriter.
But, as long as the reader has read some of the books he talks about this is a diverting read. Excellent when travelling.
January 14, 2016
Excellent
This book was so enjoyable. It was well written and led me to adding a load of new books onto my wish list with different genres. It was humorous too but what a fast reader he is, it puts my reading into the shade. The only thing I would have liked would be the X Ray facility as I had to keep closing the book and browsing every time I got to a book I wanted to know more about..
This book was so enjoyable. It was well written and led me to adding a load of new books onto my wish list with different genres. It was humorous too but what a fast reader he is, it puts my reading into the shade. The only thing I would have liked would be the X Ray facility as I had to keep closing the book and browsing every time I got to a book I wanted to know more about..
August 2, 2014
It passed the time on the planes one trip but I feel I could've passed it more entertainingly. Not awful, just a repetitive list of book blurbing with some personal life asides thrown in.
August 2, 2014
Absolutely loved this one. It was funny and inspiring. I'm looking forward to reading more and writing more now!
January 17, 2015
After an interesting first chapter, the book tails off rapidly. The author never misses a chance to mention his other writing projects but, on the whole, this is pretty poor stuff.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews