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Reading In Bed: Brief headlong essays about books & writers & reading & readers
If you love to read, or write, or both, you’ll appreciate Brian Doyle—passionate observer of and commentator on all things written. In this ultimate collection of his thoughts on writers and writing and readers and reading, he covered everything from what the books people keep stashed in the cars or sitting on their bookshelves tell you about them, to the pleasures of reading box scores or what’s hung on refrigerator doors, to the scent that books and newspapers give off as they age, to literary genres of books about nature or travel or Portland or almost any subject you can name, to (in his humble opinion) the great and not-so-great-but-still-essential writers, to why the essay is the coolest wildest literary form of all. But don’t believe us, listen to him:
“Think how many times in your own work you were typing along happily, cursing and humming, and suddenly you wrote something you didn’t know you felt so powerfully, and maybe you cried right there by the old typewriter, and marveled, not always happily, at what dark thread your typing had pulled from the mysterious fabric of your heart. Maybe that happens the most with essays. This could be.”
“Think how many times in your own work you were typing along happily, cursing and humming, and suddenly you wrote something you didn’t know you felt so powerfully, and maybe you cried right there by the old typewriter, and marveled, not always happily, at what dark thread your typing had pulled from the mysterious fabric of your heart. Maybe that happens the most with essays. This could be.”
197 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
41 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Brian Doyle
60 books724 followersDoyle's essays and poems have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, The American Scholar, Orion, Commonweal, and The Georgia Review, among other magazines and journals, and in The Times of London, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Kansas City Star, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Ottawa Citizen, and Newsday, among other newspapers. He was a book reviewer for The Oregonian and a contributing essayist to both Eureka Street magazine and The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia.
Doyle's essays have also been reprinted in:
* the Best American Essays anthologies of 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2005;
* in Best Spiritual Writing 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2005; and
* in Best Essays Northwest (2003);
* and in a dozen other anthologies and writing textbooks.
As for awards and honors, he had three startling children, an incomprehensible and fascinating marriage, and he was named to the 1983 Newton (Massachusetts) Men's Basketball League all-star team, and that was a really tough league.
Doyle delivered many dozens of peculiar and muttered speeches and lectures and rants about writing and stuttering grace at a variety of venues, among them Australian Catholic University and Xavier College (both in Melbourne, Australia), Aquinas Academy (in Sydney, Australia); Washington State, Seattle Pacific, Oregon, Utah State, Concordia, and Marylhurst universities; Boston, Lewis & Clark, and Linfield colleges; the universities of Utah, Oregon, Pittsburgh, and Portland; KBOO radio (Portland), ABC and 3AW radio (Australia); the College Theology Society; National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation," and in the PBS film Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero (2002).
Doyle was a native of New York, was fitfully educated at the University of Notre Dame, and was a magazine and newspaper journalist in Portland, Boston, and Chicago for more than twenty years. He was living in Portland, Oregon, with his family when died at age 60 from complications related to a brain tumor.
Doyle's essays have also been reprinted in:
* the Best American Essays anthologies of 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2005;
* in Best Spiritual Writing 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2005; and
* in Best Essays Northwest (2003);
* and in a dozen other anthologies and writing textbooks.
As for awards and honors, he had three startling children, an incomprehensible and fascinating marriage, and he was named to the 1983 Newton (Massachusetts) Men's Basketball League all-star team, and that was a really tough league.
Doyle delivered many dozens of peculiar and muttered speeches and lectures and rants about writing and stuttering grace at a variety of venues, among them Australian Catholic University and Xavier College (both in Melbourne, Australia), Aquinas Academy (in Sydney, Australia); Washington State, Seattle Pacific, Oregon, Utah State, Concordia, and Marylhurst universities; Boston, Lewis & Clark, and Linfield colleges; the universities of Utah, Oregon, Pittsburgh, and Portland; KBOO radio (Portland), ABC and 3AW radio (Australia); the College Theology Society; National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation," and in the PBS film Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero (2002).
Doyle was a native of New York, was fitfully educated at the University of Notre Dame, and was a magazine and newspaper journalist in Portland, Boston, and Chicago for more than twenty years. He was living in Portland, Oregon, with his family when died at age 60 from complications related to a brain tumor.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 5, 2018
Do you keep a book or books in your car, just in case you are found in a situation where you are book less? Do you peruse the shelves of friends, or acquaintances, and perhaps judge them by the books they read. Do you read signs, correcting misspellings in your head, or maybe actually changing the words? These and so many other topics are explored in these wonderfully entertaining essays by another author gone too soon. Everything concerned with reading and writing. So many topics I could and do relate too, guilty of many of his observations. Much here about literary criticisms and form letters, rejections and acceptances. Odes to some of his favorite and familiar authors.
I love this site. A book I would not have found and read if not for my friend here, Diane. Of course, now I have added and already bought a few of the books mentioned within. One of his favored authors is Robert Louis Stevenson, so I bought his collected works. Another is Cynthia Ozick, and also Molly Gloss,so bought a book each from their writings. Also need to read more from this author himself, an author my friend Laura is always telling me to read, so I bought two of his too. So, maybe a little costly read, but an entertaining one as well.
I love this site. A book I would not have found and read if not for my friend here, Diane. Of course, now I have added and already bought a few of the books mentioned within. One of his favored authors is Robert Louis Stevenson, so I bought his collected works. Another is Cynthia Ozick, and also Molly Gloss,so bought a book each from their writings. Also need to read more from this author himself, an author my friend Laura is always telling me to read, so I bought two of his too. So, maybe a little costly read, but an entertaining one as well.
February 16, 2018
I was excited to read this. Bought it right away. The overall passion for reading and writing I’m completely on board with.
That’s what I find inspiring about this book.
The author seemed like a very inspiring person.
However, the content and the writing itself was often flat, dry with long run on sentences.
Yet... the subject- was still inspiring....
Liked Parts!
Appreciated it!
Didn’t ‘love’ it.
That’s what I find inspiring about this book.
The author seemed like a very inspiring person.
However, the content and the writing itself was often flat, dry with long run on sentences.
Yet... the subject- was still inspiring....
Liked Parts!
Appreciated it!
Didn’t ‘love’ it.
April 30, 2020
This book of essays would be a pleasure for anyone who enjoys reading, writing, being amused, or wants to be exposed to names of great writers they have never heard of before. Doyle's style with its iconic run-on sentences is unique and refreshing. If there is humor in everything, Brian Doyle will find it. I sense I would like the man as much as I like his writing. Unfortunately, he died in 2017 at age 60. Another great writer taken too early.
I highly recommend this collection. This introduction to the world of essays has opened a genre I have not previously explored.
"The fact is that people who adhere to reading agendas, or grace monthly book clubs, or diligently set reading the works of Jane Austen in order, or read only novels by women, or only histories of imperial wars, or only the million novels of such graphomaniacs as P.G.Woodhouse and Agatha Christie, well, they awe and amaze me, for my reading lurches hilariously like a drunken sailor, and I sometimes look back on recent reading adventures with amusement, and wonder if those writers who spoke to me have ever even been in the same sentence before;"
"Periods are fascist."
I highly recommend this collection. This introduction to the world of essays has opened a genre I have not previously explored.
"The fact is that people who adhere to reading agendas, or grace monthly book clubs, or diligently set reading the works of Jane Austen in order, or read only novels by women, or only histories of imperial wars, or only the million novels of such graphomaniacs as P.G.Woodhouse and Agatha Christie, well, they awe and amaze me, for my reading lurches hilariously like a drunken sailor, and I sometimes look back on recent reading adventures with amusement, and wonder if those writers who spoke to me have ever even been in the same sentence before;"
"Periods are fascist."
January 24, 2018
Absolutely delightful.....loved every essay...love this author!
September 6, 2019
The essays are all very short and sweet. Perfect to read before bed. Brian Doyle is my go to author when I need to be reminded that life is good and deserves to be savored. My favorite essay is: A Note on the Similarity of Books to the People Who read Them..."Some humble, some pompous, some evil, some crammed with inextinguishable joy" you get the drift, so sweet and lovely. I enjoyed the reading essays more than the writing essays but still highly recommend the book, typos and all.
February 21, 2018
This is a perfect book to snuggle down with and read before drifting off at night, and that's just what I did. The book is broken into two parts: essays on reading and essays on writing. I adored the "reading" essays. Of those alone I would give 5 stars. They were very witty and clever. When I reached the end of the book I was sad to see that Brian Doyle had passed away a few months ago. He was very talented and I enjoy his work. 4 stars for Reading in Bed, a very good little book with a great title.
August 23, 2016
It felt like sacrilege to read this book anywhere but my bed. I loved many of these essays about readers and reading. Some were a little too niche-oriented for my liking (I'm not very familiar with the Portland writers community, and it felt like so many essays towards the end were related to this), but overall it's a great collection—Brian Doyle is always a favorite with me.
I did have a couple of complaints about the book, but these were more from an editing standpoint (egregious typos and the like).
I did have a couple of complaints about the book, but these were more from an editing standpoint (egregious typos and the like).
December 25, 2021
With this book, Doyle has cemented his place as one of my favourite authors. He has a way with the rolling, exquisitely-timed, phrase that is rarely matched.
December 4, 2018
Although Brian Doyle died this year at the young age of 60, he lives on in his writing. So many of his essays, in this book and in others, reference other writers and thinkers; it is obvious that he was widely read. This collection focuses on that reading, on publishing, and on his love of words and writing. Lovely!
September 11, 2016
It would have been lovely to come across one of these essays in The Oregonian, where many of them were originally posted. Don't try to read this straight through, like a book - they become repetitive. Enjoy one or two at a time instead and be charmed.
February 18, 2019
Doyle doing what he does best--unspooling stories and opinions about writers, editors, the practice of reading, the practices of writing and editing, the smell of books, the unsung literature of billboards and graffiti and family refrigerator postings. He finds stories everywhere.
One brief piece about the fading era of Catholic newspapers and magazines, one temporary genre in a world full of overlooked miracles, includes this line: "There is just so much work unwitnessed in the world at large, that to fail to witness just the small sea of Catholic journalism in my time would have been a sin, however small; but I tried to see it, and now you have too."
There is so much to witness. Spotting just one small thing, and saying something decent about it, is a small but important thing. That's why Doyle is a hero of mine.
One brief piece about the fading era of Catholic newspapers and magazines, one temporary genre in a world full of overlooked miracles, includes this line: "There is just so much work unwitnessed in the world at large, that to fail to witness just the small sea of Catholic journalism in my time would have been a sin, however small; but I tried to see it, and now you have too."
There is so much to witness. Spotting just one small thing, and saying something decent about it, is a small but important thing. That's why Doyle is a hero of mine.
August 12, 2020
Brian Doyle is my read-in-bed, read-when-life-is-bad-and-remember-it's-good, read-for-the-fun-of-words-and-sentences, late-writer-crush. Whether you are as deeply touched by his writing as I am or not - if you keep books in your purse, your car, and five of them in your carry-on on planes instead of a Kindle, this book of essays might be for you. If you read people's refrigerators and scan their shelves as soon as you go in their house, it's for you. If you have lists of "summer reading", "travel reading", "writers who write about a specific state", "prize winners" - all the lists of things you want to read - it's for you. If you love words, if you're a writer, an editor, or someone who can't resist correcting all the apostrophes everywhere you go, it's for you.
If you read my reviews of other Doyle books, you might think I'm being overly fulsome, so I'll say there are a few things I don't share with him. He loved baseball and basketball and I do not like either of those sports at all. He hated cats! (What's up with that?!) And based on these essays, we may have had different opinions about certain writers. I'm not a fan of Joseph Conrad at all, & I've never been able to get into Ursula LeGuin (I apologize, as I do live in Oregon). But a fun thing about these essays - while I suspect from reading them that Mr. Doyle was pretty steeped in the White Male Canon of literature, I would like to start a "books to read because Brian Doyle loved them" list. There are quite a few writers he discusses in these essays I've never heard of, let alone read. Mr. Doyle should have written an essay on the joys and guilts of the endless "want to read" list! (He probably did. I probably just haven't found it yet.)
Oooh, I almost forgot this so here's a quick edit - this edition has a lot of typos and errors in it! I read another review from someone here on Goodreads & she actually called the publisher & she was told it's the writer's responsibility to supply clean copy. Um, wrong. Having been sort of vaguely connected to publishing at one time in my life, that is wrong. Also, this edition is a reprint of a previous edition and I suspect it was rushed out after Mr. Doyle's death, and that's not cool. I only hope Mr. Doyle is grinning wryly at the whole thing, and I did wonder if he would giggle if I were to fix the mistakes in my copy!!
If you read my reviews of other Doyle books, you might think I'm being overly fulsome, so I'll say there are a few things I don't share with him. He loved baseball and basketball and I do not like either of those sports at all. He hated cats! (What's up with that?!) And based on these essays, we may have had different opinions about certain writers. I'm not a fan of Joseph Conrad at all, & I've never been able to get into Ursula LeGuin (I apologize, as I do live in Oregon). But a fun thing about these essays - while I suspect from reading them that Mr. Doyle was pretty steeped in the White Male Canon of literature, I would like to start a "books to read because Brian Doyle loved them" list. There are quite a few writers he discusses in these essays I've never heard of, let alone read. Mr. Doyle should have written an essay on the joys and guilts of the endless "want to read" list! (He probably did. I probably just haven't found it yet.)
Oooh, I almost forgot this so here's a quick edit - this edition has a lot of typos and errors in it! I read another review from someone here on Goodreads & she actually called the publisher & she was told it's the writer's responsibility to supply clean copy. Um, wrong. Having been sort of vaguely connected to publishing at one time in my life, that is wrong. Also, this edition is a reprint of a previous edition and I suspect it was rushed out after Mr. Doyle's death, and that's not cool. I only hope Mr. Doyle is grinning wryly at the whole thing, and I did wonder if he would giggle if I were to fix the mistakes in my copy!!
September 14, 2022
I came to love Doyle as the author of poetic prose through “How the Light Gets In” and “So Much the Very Best of Us”. So to give the broader collection the benefit of the benefit of the doubt, I will just say that perhaps I am not as well-read as the author so as to be able to enjoy the wittiness of his ‘headlong’ musings about the his literary favorites.
If you are a lover of Oregonian authors; can identify with the writings of Willa Cather, Robert L Stevenson, Annie Dillard, and Mark Twain; if you are the kind of reader who can move from book to book and connect concepts and themes and histories in the same way…or maybe you’re a writer who can appreciate the power that reading imputes to the written word; this book of essays might be for you.
Two favorites: the one about when you “mature” into being able to quit reading a book with out finishing, and the other a comparison between books and people - a beautiful analogy into the human experience.
That being said, I think I will still stick to the other collections myself.
If you are a lover of Oregonian authors; can identify with the writings of Willa Cather, Robert L Stevenson, Annie Dillard, and Mark Twain; if you are the kind of reader who can move from book to book and connect concepts and themes and histories in the same way…or maybe you’re a writer who can appreciate the power that reading imputes to the written word; this book of essays might be for you.
Two favorites: the one about when you “mature” into being able to quit reading a book with out finishing, and the other a comparison between books and people - a beautiful analogy into the human experience.
That being said, I think I will still stick to the other collections myself.
April 12, 2020
Brian Doyle is the master of long never-ending sentences, and I loved getting to know him better through this brief book of "headlong" essays about reading and writing. His sense of humor jumped off the page, and made me laugh out loud.
His books to read by age essay was hilarious (and inspired me to make a list HERE. His Christmas letter essay, which closes out the book was also a masterpiece.
Overall, I enjoyed the pieces about reading more than the ones about writing, but my general feeling was one of joy in a beautiful voice and some hilarious observations about the world.
His books to read by age essay was hilarious (and inspired me to make a list HERE. His Christmas letter essay, which closes out the book was also a masterpiece.
Overall, I enjoyed the pieces about reading more than the ones about writing, but my general feeling was one of joy in a beautiful voice and some hilarious observations about the world.
January 4, 2021
It pains me to give a book by Brian Doyle less than five stars (One Long River of Song is one of the best books I've ever read), but this book falls short of that standard. Some of the essays were really good, but the quality was inconsistent. I guess what I was looking for is another book like One Long River of Song -- a once-in-a-lifetime kind of book for any author.
June 15, 2021
I always enjoy Brian Doyle, tho I found this collection of essays too focused on a narrow range of topics to be as enjoyable as other collections. I like reading Brian Doyle for all the wandering and unpredictability of his writing. So now I wonder, why don't I keep books in the car? And what do our bookshelves say about us?
April 23, 2020
First time I have read Boyle. He is very witty, bright and clever. These essays cover a wide range of thought, all fun to read. Never realized I do “read” friends refrigerators.l Ha! He is known as a Catholic writer, but that is not too obvious in this book.
January 11, 2022
Brian Doyle’s essays on reading, writing, readers, and writers caused me to laugh out loud at least once per essay. His sense of humor and knowledge of his subjects synthesize beautifully to make the time reading in bed even more enjoyable than expected.
August 15, 2023
Brian Doyle's writing is just delightful. I admit this collection was not a wonderful as One Long River of Song but it was still lifted my heart. My "to read" list has been lengthened with many of Doyle's recommendations while my pocketbook is begging me to slow down.
December 16, 2020
This is a book to keep .... and when I'm thrashing about wondering what to read, I should wander around in this book again.
May 31, 2021
A celebration of reading from many points of view. Brian Doyle’s writing is infused with energy and light - and best of all he’s funny. I’m generally not a laugh out loud kinda gal when reading but this book gave me belly laughs and quiet giggles. I thoroughly enjoyed it and so will anybody who loves reading.
March 11, 2022
Brian Doyle does it again; another book of essays which had me weeping with laughter at his joyous, irreverent take on books and readers and then tearing up knowing that this writer died at the age of 60 in 2017 and there will be no more essays from this incandescent writer. The candle burned fierce for Brian Doyle and those so-called longish sentences are one writer's way of describing the joy and love of being here in the universe.
I had been checking out & reading everything my local library has of Brian Doyle, essays, novels, however this particular title was not one they stocked (the shame) so I had to get a copy of my own and GLAD TO HAVE DONE SO, because this book will be read and reread by me, laughed and cried over forever; it is that witty and amazing and wonderfully funny, noting that Doyle is Irish, although American-born--(his Dad was a writer ) (why is it that the Irish have such a love affair with words and expressing them with such skill)? I have read a lot of Brian Doyle, this last fall and winter and I think everyone would be much better off by reading anything Brian Doyle has written.
Why? Because this is a writer who is unabashedly in love with the world, the good and the bad, and takes
I had been checking out & reading everything my local library has of Brian Doyle, essays, novels, however this particular title was not one they stocked (the shame) so I had to get a copy of my own and GLAD TO HAVE DONE SO, because this book will be read and reread by me, laughed and cried over forever; it is that witty and amazing and wonderfully funny, noting that Doyle is Irish, although American-born--(his Dad was a writer ) (why is it that the Irish have such a love affair with words and expressing them with such skill)? I have read a lot of Brian Doyle, this last fall and winter and I think everyone would be much better off by reading anything Brian Doyle has written.
Why? Because this is a writer who is unabashedly in love with the world, the good and the bad, and takes
May 11, 2016
These are mostly essays he wrote that appeared in the Oregonian. If I'd read this before reading Mink River, I wouldn't have read Mink River (which I loved). Disturbing number of typos, which I wrote to the publisher about. He responded and said it was the author's responsibility to submit clean copy.
December 4, 2016
Laughing all the way. Wonderful! I never like Doyle less, always more.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews