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Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books
“It’s not that I don’t like people,” writes Maureen Corrigan in her introduction to Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading. “It’s just that there always comes a moment when I’m in the company of others—even my nearest and dearest—when I’d rather be reading a book.” In this delightful memoir, Corrigan reveals which books and authors have shaped her own life—from classic works of Engli...more
MP3 Book, 0 pages
Published
September 8th 2009
by Recorded Books, LLC
(first published September 6th 2005)
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As a true book lover, I was drawn to this book by the title.
However, I found the book a little disjointed and less about the joy of reading books in general, less about the transportive effect of books, and more a literary analysis of various books thrown in amongst various autobiographical bits of the author's life.
Also, I have a bit of a "pebble in my shoe" issue after reading this book. I very much dislike it when authors throw in certain "facts" to support an argument but don't provide you...more
However, I found the book a little disjointed and less about the joy of reading books in general, less about the transportive effect of books, and more a literary analysis of various books thrown in amongst various autobiographical bits of the author's life.
Also, I have a bit of a "pebble in my shoe" issue after reading this book. I very much dislike it when authors throw in certain "facts" to support an argument but don't provide you...more
So let's start off with a couple of things. First off, I love NPR. I love Fresh Air. I love NPR. Maureen Corrigan being the book reviewer for NPR= extreme jealously/worship. Second off, I adore books about books. I could read books about books all day forever and ever. Ok now that we have that established...forward march!
I really did enjoy this memoir, I loved how she incorporated books into nearly everything and I was laughing out loud more than a few times just out of sheer disbelief. I have h...more
I really did enjoy this memoir, I loved how she incorporated books into nearly everything and I was laughing out loud more than a few times just out of sheer disbelief. I have h...more
I love this book.
I love this book even though it has complicated my life by adding dozens and dozens of books to the list of books I will never have time to read, dammit.
** Maureen Corrigan is related to Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
** She once lived a part-time approximation of Harriet Vane in Gaudy Night.
** Her literary loves include mysteries with hard-boiled detectives ("the ultimate independent contractors").
** As a child, she read many Catholic "martyr stories" that taught a "pedagogical t...more
I love this book even though it has complicated my life by adding dozens and dozens of books to the list of books I will never have time to read, dammit.
** Maureen Corrigan is related to Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
** She once lived a part-time approximation of Harriet Vane in Gaudy Night.
** Her literary loves include mysteries with hard-boiled detectives ("the ultimate independent contractors").
** As a child, she read many Catholic "martyr stories" that taught a "pedagogical t...more
Corrigan is the book critic for NPR's Fresh Air. Even if you don't recognize the name, you've probably heard her voice before. I like her reviews--I frequently read books based on her recommendations--and I was excited to read about what it's like to be a professional book reviewer. Clearly it's a busy life: Corrigan is also a teacher at Georgetown (as she herself admits, books just don't usually pay the bills), and reviews for numerous other publications. This book is a (not-entirely successful...more
This is Corrigan's auto-biography in books--what she has read and how they influenced and reflected her life. Corrigan reads a different set of material than I do--books a PhD in literature would read. Authors and books I've never heard of. Classics. Nevertheless, in the bibliography, it was interesting for me to also find some books I have enjoyed, particularly mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed Chapter Three called "They're Writing Songs of Love, but Not for Me;" Gaudy Night and Other Alternative...more
This book is what happens when a book reviewer turns her critical eye to her own existence. Any avid reader should appreciate the importance of books in one's own life and how they shape those who read. Corrigan says, apologetically, that we read to find authenticity, a scrap of something that will improve our understanding of ourselves. Perhaps. She says that reading a book can be a dangerous thing sometimes. True.
Peppered with examples from books she has read, this is a kind of memoir that ev...more
Peppered with examples from books she has read, this is a kind of memoir that ev...more
NPR fans may know Corrigan from her book commentaries. This is a nicely rambling and chatty series of essays looking at how the books one reads and the events of one's life become intertwined. This was a joy to read -- first, because I think it's easy for fiction readers to relate to the issues Corrigan explores, and second, I've happened to have read nearly every book Corrigan addresses. This is somewhat rare, even among the rabid reader set. Usually, when authors talk about their favorite or m...more
Maureen Corrigan -- professor, literary critic and reviewer for NPR talks about her love of books and how particular genres shaped her life.
A cross between lit crit and memoir, Corrigan makes some interesting arguments -- her idea of a Female Extreme Adventure as being something more internal and consisting of years, rather than a multi-month trek in the wilderness favored by rustic men, is compelling.
She weaves stories from her own life into the books she turns to for comfort and guidance, and...more
A cross between lit crit and memoir, Corrigan makes some interesting arguments -- her idea of a Female Extreme Adventure as being something more internal and consisting of years, rather than a multi-month trek in the wilderness favored by rustic men, is compelling.
She weaves stories from her own life into the books she turns to for comfort and guidance, and...more
Dec 07, 2012
Margo Brooks
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobooks,
memoir
Part literary theory, part memoir, this was an interesting book, but over analytical for me. My problem with the book is that Corrigan and I have little in common in our taste in books. In fact she described precisely my feelings about her book when she described her own feelings about reading Chinese adoption memoirs. The experience described was all wrong for my own relationship to books. Additionally, I got lost in the discussions of the first and second generation feminist movements. I wish...more
This book is a book about books. Well kind of... The author seems to have had difficulty in deciding whether she wanted to write a book on literary theory or to write about how certain books have had an impact on her life. Corrigan raises some interesting points on the female versus male extreme adventure reads and delves into the importance of detective fiction and the role of Catholic books in both literature and on her life, but frankly, I found the latter two subjects to be quite dull. Corri...more
Maureen Corrigan has spent her life doing what she loves: reading and interpreting fiction as a college professor, author, and newspaper/radio critic. Her semi-autobiography uses a lifetime's reading to explore not only her own life and those of her parents, but also the role of women in Western culture, popular vs. canonical literature, and what it means to be an American. She is most effective when describing her admiration for hard-boiled detective fiction and when drawing parallels between t...more
I wish that this book had been as sassy as it’s title seemed to promise, however, I did find this book to have some great enlightening moments of clarity and brilliance, which occur mostly when the author deftly describes something about books, reading, and literature. These insights, which ultimately ring very true and have stuck, even though the book is over, are what make this book a worthwhile read.
example: "I think, consciously or not, what we readers do each time we open a book is to set o...more
example: "I think, consciously or not, what we readers do each time we open a book is to set o...more
This book reads more like an essay for a literary journal, for the most part. Though she does talk about her favorite genres, and about her family and personal life, it lacks something. I don't know what.
The one thing that I LOVED, however, was the introduction. All twenty pages of it.
I may just tear out this intro and read it again and again.
There are many points in the introduction that made me stop, re-read, and soak up what she is able to put into words, such as:
1. "I learned, firsthand, ab...more
The one thing that I LOVED, however, was the introduction. All twenty pages of it.
I may just tear out this intro and read it again and again.
There are many points in the introduction that made me stop, re-read, and soak up what she is able to put into words, such as:
1. "I learned, firsthand, ab...more
Nov 25, 2010
Linda
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
about-books
It was reassuring when I was living alone to have all those familiar presences in the room with me; it was also a little scary. Maybe I was turning into an eccentric whose apartment had become a macrocosmic metaphor for her own fevered mind. I know a fair number of people - some friends or acquaintance, some relatives - who would have wrinkled their noses at those cramped apartments smelling of paper. These people - let's call them the Bounderbys - see books only as commodities. (A refresher: Mr...more
This book could be interesting for someone who wants to get a feel for what it would be like to be a 'reader' for a living. This author reviews books for a living. And although it might sound like the best job in the world, I realized that I want to read what I want to read not what someone else wants me to read. I was not able to finish the book because I think dissecting a book takes some of the fun out of the sheer enjoyment of reading. I have read some of the books that this author mentions...more
I liked Maureen Corrigan's explanation of women's extreme-adventure stories. She put into words what I have thought about how women are often portrayed in literature. They are not allowed to be leaders in the public sphere and the hardships and selflessness are just to be expected. Nothing irritates me more that hearing a man say he doesn't read women authors because what they write about is unimportant.
Corrigan's take on the detective novel and what it brings to readers is interesting too. This...more
Corrigan's take on the detective novel and what it brings to readers is interesting too. This...more
The author, a book review for NPR and the Village Voice, discusses her lifelong love of books and how voracious reading has shaped her thought and life, from her Catholic school days to marriage and her adoption of a daughter from China. Corrigan reads through her Catholic, feminist prism, and though I don’t always agree with her analysis – the ending of Pride and Prejudice as subjugation of Elizabeth’s fiery spirit, for example – she’s always entertaining, erudite, and easy to read. It’s an unu...more
I love reading books this like, about people's personal relationship with the books they've read over the years, that have shaped them and have had a profound influence on them. How much I like this kind of book largely depends on the novels that are discussed, and that's why this particular book doesn't stand out from the pack for me. Corrigan spends a lot of time on feminism and feminist books and that just doesn't interest me very much. The same goes for the last chapter on books influenced b...more
I was really excited to read this book, but I couldn't get through all of it. I liked the introduction, but then the meat of the book reminded me (in a bad way) of my brief stint at an English major. I didn't like being tricked into reading literary criticism!
2 likes · like · see review
Oct 13, 2009
Gwen
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Gwen by:
Brigitte Weeks Washington Post 10/2/05
Shelves:
non-fiction
From Brigitte Weeks' review in The Washington Post 10/2/05:
[Maureen Corrigan:]'s enthusiasm for the novels of Susan Isaacs reflects her winning openness to popular fiction. She calls Isaacs "Jane Austen with a schmear" and judges her "one of our great underappreciated contemporary writers." I am delighted to imagine all the listeners of "Fresh Air" enjoying Isaacs's Shining Through, one of Corrigan's favorites, starring a legal secretary from Queens who finds herself in Nazi Germany as an agent...more
[Maureen Corrigan:]'s enthusiasm for the novels of Susan Isaacs reflects her winning openness to popular fiction. She calls Isaacs "Jane Austen with a schmear" and judges her "one of our great underappreciated contemporary writers." I am delighted to imagine all the listeners of "Fresh Air" enjoying Isaacs's Shining Through, one of Corrigan's favorites, starring a legal secretary from Queens who finds herself in Nazi Germany as an agent...more
For more reviews please visit: http://www.canneryrowreads.com
I was very excited to pick a copy of Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading by Maureen Corrigan of NPR up but I have to say I was a little disappointed. I've read a few memoirs of people's reading history in the past and this book isn't at all what I was expecting. I found the book to be rambling discourse on books she found important in the world of books, instead of her own life as I thought it would be.
I just couldn't get into the rhythm of he...more
I was very excited to pick a copy of Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading by Maureen Corrigan of NPR up but I have to say I was a little disappointed. I've read a few memoirs of people's reading history in the past and this book isn't at all what I was expecting. I found the book to be rambling discourse on books she found important in the world of books, instead of her own life as I thought it would be.
I just couldn't get into the rhythm of he...more
I didn't enjoy this as much as the other book I'd read about reading (that I can't find for the life of me).
As someone who wasn't very familiar with the genres discussed in this book, I didn't get a ton out of it. This was a book that was decent, but I didn't enjoy through no real fault of the book itself. It was a book more about the author than books sometimes, and our life stories have very little in common. The genres she discusses - detective fiction and Catholic morality tales aren't reall...more
As someone who wasn't very familiar with the genres discussed in this book, I didn't get a ton out of it. This was a book that was decent, but I didn't enjoy through no real fault of the book itself. It was a book more about the author than books sometimes, and our life stories have very little in common. The genres she discusses - detective fiction and Catholic morality tales aren't reall...more
In this terrific book, Maureen Corrigan traces her life as a voracious bookworm. In addition, Corrigan deftly analyzes a series of her favorite books that have made the greatest impression on her over her lifetime. Throughout the text, Corrigan also explores the idea of the female adventure story while integrating her own personal adventure of adopting a baby from China.
Corrigan’s book is tightly written and thoroughly researched. Her ability to weave together such varied strands of this comple...more
Corrigan’s book is tightly written and thoroughly researched. Her ability to weave together such varied strands of this comple...more
I ran into one of my co-workers while I was reading this, and she suggested that I just make a copy of the cover and turn it into a dust jacket to transfer from book to book. The title really is probably the best part of the book.
My favorite section of the book was her discussion of detective fiction, which I also read a lot. I don't have the Catholic background that the author does, so the in-depth discussion of Catholic martyr books she goes into was mostly lost on me. I think she went a littl...more
My favorite section of the book was her discussion of detective fiction, which I also read a lot. I don't have the Catholic background that the author does, so the in-depth discussion of Catholic martyr books she goes into was mostly lost on me. I think she went a littl...more
I wanted to like this book even more than I did. And I'm still wrestling with why I feel uneasy rating it higher. Corrigan is an excellent writer, and her style is conversational, and for the most part very enjoyable. But there seems to be a battle going on between the academic Corrigan (a university literature professor) and the popular "Fresh Air" book reviewer Corrigan (a smart, clear-headed, and knowledgeable friend). So, we get close readings of English lit classics, appreciations of hard-b...more
exciting title, tedious book. ugh. author works out her issues with catholic upbringing and lack-of-strong-female-role-models-in-books-by-males. she has two quotes that work against her-- "...reading good books doesn't necessarily make one a good person-- or a smarter, funnier, or more cultivated person." and "great books untouchables ... have always struck me as purring a bit too loudly over the beauty of their own sentence structure. the tone of a lot of academic literary theory repels me..."...more
It's very cool to see some accessible-to-all lit crit that looks at the bigger picture and connects one reader's favorite books to her own life. It's also really nice to see someone analyze books not usually taken seriously (detective novels, Catholic young-adult serial novels) - it's a very fresh take. Interesting book, and one I'll keep for the extensive bibliography in the back - I definitely want to read many of the books Corrigan mentioned. The only downside: while I was reading this, no on...more
A wonderful personal memoir by one who really loves books, and has made them her life's work. Maureen has a talent for describing her most loved and influential books; and the way in which they have shaped her life. Reading her memoir I was inspired to look again at some books that she gives special attention to. I was delighted to find that she writes reviews for a well known paper in New York, and that some of these reviews can be accessed online. One of the books that she recommends is "Gaudy...more
It really is amazing how arrogant critics and English professors can become, and for no good reason. This one begins with an arrogantly clever quotation from a contractor about how the author didn't learn anything about leaking foundations in her English classes. The entire book is a condescending collection of literary references attempting to prove she has, in fact, learned something important. Sadly, she fails. Not because we can't learn important things from a lifetime of reading, but becaus...more
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“It's not that I don't like people. It's just that when I'm in the company of others - even my nearest and dearest - there always comes a moment when I'd rather be reading a book.”
—
1,091 people liked it
“It’s not like I don’t like people, it’s just that there always comes a moment when I’m in the company of others - even my nearest and dearest - when I’d rather be reading a book.”
—
8 people liked it
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i love books about books too. have you read any others you could recommend?
Aug 05, 2008 11:24am