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How to Read a Book
An award-winning novelist reveals the books that have captivated her and the influence they have had on her life and writing. Highlighting a true love affair with books, this story emphasizes the transformative power of the written word.
122 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2005
5 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Ana Morey
7 books9 followersKelly Ana Morey (born 1968) is a novelist and poet from New Zealand.
She grew up in New Guinea & currently lives in Kaipara
extract from Wikipedia
She grew up in New Guinea & currently lives in Kaipara
extract from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 25, 2020
This is a very short and very personal book, all about reading (and writing) experience. I enjoyed the informal narrative, very like having a chat with an old friend. Also, Morey is very realistic about everything – “One of the reasons writers read so avidly is because we’re looking for solutions to our own writerly problems. I’m not above pinching off other writers. Theft? Plagiarism? Au contraire: these days we call it post-modernism. It’s not only perfectly acceptable, but frankly de rigueur.”
A good deal of this book is about Morey writing her own books, but that is always something I find interesting to know about any author – the process they go through. A fictional ghost, Nanny Smack, turned up in her writing room. There she wrote Chapter 18 first, where Nanny Smack turns up from the mid-nineteenth century and starts dispensing bad advice. “By the time I got to the end of the chapter two days later, not only was I completely hooked but I had, up and running, five distinct characters, a location and a million unanswered questions.”
“I had no money, but I did have time, and words were free. So I made a deal with myself: I would write fiction until I found a job. The plan somehow made being an over-educated, unemployable woman in her early thirties, with no car or money, and living with her parents in the middle of nowhere, kind of okay.”
I also loved this little passage about what happened towards the end of the editing process for her first novel.
“Ridiculously, that same mad ten days when I edited and rewrote as if my life depended on it, I also got a job. A real-life, grown-up kind of job, the kind of job that didn’t require me to know the specials of the day.”
“…I’m not well versed in classics written before the arrival of modernism in the dying days of the nineteenth century. But I do have standards. For example I rarely, if ever, contemplate reading anything that has ‘Best Seller’ emblazoned on the cover, or is accompanied by an excess of hype. These kinds of books are to literature what McDonald’s is to food, or Celine Dion to music: easy to digest and tasteless. The public expects nothing and that’s exactly what they get.”
The last twenty odd pages of the book are made up of two sections; a reading diary and a list of 100 good books. I like the reading diary which spans a period from March to October, although the last couple of months fall away into writing and re-writing rather than reading. The diary is more interesting than, say, your Goodreads ‘Books Read’ because it shows how long books take to read as well as how often they are put down and abandoned in favour of something more interesting, even if that is a magazine. In a couple of lines, you can say what you liked and what was terrible more elegantly that in a formal review. You can also say what distracted you away from a particular book.
Who doesn’t love a list of books. My first instinctive response is to see how many I have read and how many I have on my shelves – or in other words would like to read one day. On this list it is 38/100, but quite a few of those are awaiting my attention.
A good deal of this book is about Morey writing her own books, but that is always something I find interesting to know about any author – the process they go through. A fictional ghost, Nanny Smack, turned up in her writing room. There she wrote Chapter 18 first, where Nanny Smack turns up from the mid-nineteenth century and starts dispensing bad advice. “By the time I got to the end of the chapter two days later, not only was I completely hooked but I had, up and running, five distinct characters, a location and a million unanswered questions.”
“I had no money, but I did have time, and words were free. So I made a deal with myself: I would write fiction until I found a job. The plan somehow made being an over-educated, unemployable woman in her early thirties, with no car or money, and living with her parents in the middle of nowhere, kind of okay.”
I also loved this little passage about what happened towards the end of the editing process for her first novel.
“Ridiculously, that same mad ten days when I edited and rewrote as if my life depended on it, I also got a job. A real-life, grown-up kind of job, the kind of job that didn’t require me to know the specials of the day.”
“…I’m not well versed in classics written before the arrival of modernism in the dying days of the nineteenth century. But I do have standards. For example I rarely, if ever, contemplate reading anything that has ‘Best Seller’ emblazoned on the cover, or is accompanied by an excess of hype. These kinds of books are to literature what McDonald’s is to food, or Celine Dion to music: easy to digest and tasteless. The public expects nothing and that’s exactly what they get.”
The last twenty odd pages of the book are made up of two sections; a reading diary and a list of 100 good books. I like the reading diary which spans a period from March to October, although the last couple of months fall away into writing and re-writing rather than reading. The diary is more interesting than, say, your Goodreads ‘Books Read’ because it shows how long books take to read as well as how often they are put down and abandoned in favour of something more interesting, even if that is a magazine. In a couple of lines, you can say what you liked and what was terrible more elegantly that in a formal review. You can also say what distracted you away from a particular book.
Who doesn’t love a list of books. My first instinctive response is to see how many I have read and how many I have on my shelves – or in other words would like to read one day. On this list it is 38/100, but quite a few of those are awaiting my attention.
October 14, 2020
This reads like a conversation with a friend who’s well studied in literature which is why this book isn’t for the casual reader.
Many names of authors that Morey read are being thrown into a sentence which makes this a more autobiographical, personal story instead of the initial idea i had for this book.
Many names of authors that Morey read are being thrown into a sentence which makes this a more autobiographical, personal story instead of the initial idea i had for this book.
September 17, 2023
This was an easy enough read for an hour or two on a lazy Sunday afternoon. There are no blinding insights or expert advice, which I don't think was the author's intention. Instead what we get here is a light-hearted, almost half-hearted stream of consciousness, which veers between dull, frank and interesting, making for an enjoyable enough read.
September 28, 2015
What a difference a couple of years makes. I originally read this book(let) in one session in 2011, and enjoyed it. A recent reread, however, has left me disappointed and wondering what planet I was on. There is definitely no problem with listing My Friend Flicka along with Lolita and Heart of Darkness, it is good to read a wide variety of books; I just got fed up with the number of part-read discarded books and the long list of authors towards the end. Life may be short but persevering with a book often brings rewards, whereas the amount of books that were discarded felt very negative. maybe a bit of research before embarking on a book is in order. I found the title to be quite misleading.
January 15, 2016
This was a fun little book, more about the books Morey reads while she's writing a book, the writing process and some snarky, but entertaining peeks at some of the book reviews she has written. I may try one of her novels, but she implies some use of stream of consciousness (blech), so we shall see.
April 17, 2009
I grew up reading comics in my teens and non-fiction in my tweens. I enjoyed both. Lately (on the verge of 30) I've been giving novels ago with mixed results, sometimes fiction is a chore for me. This book had some great advice on how to get more out my reading experience
July 21, 2022
I wanted to get a less serious (or maybe a writer’s) perspective of how to read a book to balance Mortimer Adler’s book of the same name that I am reading.
However, this book is certainly not about ‘how to read a book’. It is about the reading and writing experiences of Kelly Ana Morey.
Reading it felt like...
(Full review at The Content Creator blog.)
However, this book is certainly not about ‘how to read a book’. It is about the reading and writing experiences of Kelly Ana Morey.
Reading it felt like...
(Full review at The Content Creator blog.)
December 6, 2022
If you are looking to read book about how to read a book - please don't waste your time. Prepare to be bombarded with author names, book titles and a personal mini memoir.
November 24, 2015
I just chanced on this book in the library sale, 50c well spent, worth much much more. I was captivated by it. It is part Bio, part 'How to read a Book' and part 'How Kelly writes ...'.
Very enjoyable ... The book came about when she was invited to vote in yet another 'Best 100 Books Ever Written' ...
You just know that these lists will be filled with best sellers not 'Best Books Ever Written'. Like Kelly I largely ignore best sellers, I keep my eyes pealed and ears tuned for other recomendations, like books that motivated great writers.
Anyway Kelly is living and writing an interesting life. Throughout discussing books she is reading or has discarded.
A lively read. And she presents her 'Best 100 books' at the end.
Very enjoyable ... The book came about when she was invited to vote in yet another 'Best 100 Books Ever Written' ...
You just know that these lists will be filled with best sellers not 'Best Books Ever Written'. Like Kelly I largely ignore best sellers, I keep my eyes pealed and ears tuned for other recomendations, like books that motivated great writers.
Anyway Kelly is living and writing an interesting life. Throughout discussing books she is reading or has discarded.
A lively read. And she presents her 'Best 100 books' at the end.
January 5, 2017
Expected more. Found myself more worried about the author's smoking habit than much else. Perhaps I had difficulty relating to the author, had hoped for writing and reading inspiration but the constant references to chick-lit lost me. I believe she mentions some fantastic titles and her novels may be better but those titles were lost among the babbling.
June 15, 2014
Not much about how to read a book here. Nor is there much about how to write a book. It is anecdotal and mildly amusing and includes a reading diary where Morey reads very fast or abandons books after 30 pages. It's a very slight memoir.
April 10, 2014
how do i read books on this
April 12, 2017
Don't waste your time.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews