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One for the Books

Joe Queenan

3.58 · Rating details · 1,169 ratings · 285 reviews

One of America’s leading humorists and author of the bestseller Closing Time examines his own obsession with books

Joe Queenan became a voracious reader as a means of escape from a joyless childhood in a Philadelphia housing project. In the years since then he has dedicated himself to an assortment of idiosyncratic reading challenges: spending a year reading only short book

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Hardcover, 256 pages

Published October 25th 2012 by Viking

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3.58 ·

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· 1,169 ratings · 285 reviews

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Sep 30, 2012 Melki rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-about-books, humorous-essays, best-of-2012, nonfiction-favorites

"I once read Tortilla Flats from cover to cover during a Jerry Garcia solo on 'Truckin'' at Philadelphia's Spectrum; by the time he'd wrapped things up, I could have read 'As I Lay Dying.'"

"I have never squandered an opportunity to read."

Oh, boy - did I ever LOVE this book!!! How could anyone NOT swoon over such an exuberant and irreverent love letter to books and reading?

I can't think of any better way to review this one other than to just make a list of the reasons why this book instantly made ...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Diane rated it liked it

Shelves: bookishness, essays, humorous, nonfiction, obnoxious-narrator, columns

3.5 stars

"When I was young and penniless, I read books in the hope of lifting myself out of the abyss, subscribing to the credo that knowledge is power."

I enjoyed this collection of essays about books, despite the fact that the author is an arrogant, curmudgeonly ass. He is cynical and grouchy and dismissive of certain types of books and readers and libraries and book clubs. And boy, does he hate e-readers -- he mentions it several times.

However, I am also a book snob and I agreed with some but ...more

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Apr 17, 2014 Scott Rhee rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, literary-criticism, humor

Joe Queenan and I apparently share an obsessive passion. No, it's not whining incessantly about politics (although I suppose that works, too). We are both bibliophiles.

To be a true bibliophile, one must possess certain personal quirks. First, one must OWN books. Getting books from the library and borrowing books from friends is okay, but actually owning books---regardless of whether one actually has room in the home (which is why I have books in boxes in the basement, sitting in piles on the flo Joe Queenan and I apparently share an obsessive passion. No, it's not whining incessantly about politics (although I suppose that works, too). We are both bibliophiles.

To be a true bibliophile, one must possess certain personal quirks. First, one must OWN books. Getting books from the library and borrowing books from friends is okay, but actually owning books---regardless of whether one actually has room in the home (which is why I have books in boxes in the basement, sitting in piles on the floor in the bedroom, piled by my favorite chair in the living room, and just about anywhere else that they shouldn't be---coffee table, dining room table, kitchen table, kid's room)---is far preferable.

Second, is the actual love of books as tangible objects. The smell of wood pulp and ink, the feel of a thick hardcover binding, the ruffle of pages as you flip through it: these are simple pleasures one will never receive from a Kindle or Nook or iPad. Which is why I refuse to own one of them. Even if someone gets one for me as a present, I will most likely never use it. So, please, save your money...

Third, and probably the one quirk that makes true bibliophiles look like lunatics, is the need to have a book with you at all times. I have taken books with me to baseball games, doctor visits, and job interviews. Any place I know that I may be waiting for more than five minutes (hey, that's 10-12 pages right there…), I have to have something to read, and the crap that most waiting rooms call reading material (People magazine---seriously?) is stuff I wouldn't wrap a fish with.

So, it was comforting to read that Queenan and I (and millions of other people) share these quirks, and more. I don't feel so alone.

Queenan and I may differ in some views---Queenan is, not to put to fine a point on it, a literary snob asshole who hates science fiction and most genre fiction in general (except mysteries, which strikes me as weirdly hypocritical, but whatever…) over "literary" fiction and nonfiction. Now, I will read just about anything, and I try not to have too many prejudices in regards to genre fiction, although I have still, to this day, only read two novels that were blatantly categorized as "romance" novels, and I thought they both kinda sucked, so I don't have any desire to rush to the next romance novel anytime soon, but, unlike Queenan, I am willing to give it a try. He won't even LOOK at a copy of Frank Herbert's "Dune". Seriously, Queenan, WTF???

I'll forgive him that because Queenan clearly has a love of reading that he has nourished since his childhood. I can relate. He humorously tells tales of strange encounters, serendipitous occurrences, and wondrous finds in bookstores all across the country: again, things that would NEVER happen on a Kindle. He also admits things that only true bibliophiles would ever admit: for example, that we have, on occasion, called in sick from work in order to read a book. We also would much rather read than, at times, do the following: spend time with family, go to a movie, go to the beach, do housework, watch TV, have sex, eat, sleep. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating about those last three things, but not much. ...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Michael rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2012, bibliomemoir, books-about-books, arc, memoir

Joe Queenan is a humourist, critic and author from Philadelphia who become an avid reader as a means of escape from a young age. One for the Books is a memoir where Queenan tries to come to terms with his eccentric reading style. Joe Queenan is not your typical reader, and One for the Books is not your typical book about books.

Joe Queenan is a very odd and particular reader, he knows what he likes and this book is not really humorous but more self-deprecating. I thought I was a bitter and jaded Joe Queenan is a humourist, critic and author from Philadelphia who become an avid reader as a means of escape from a young age. One for the Books is a memoir where Queenan tries to come to terms with his eccentric reading style. Joe Queenan is not your typical reader, and One for the Books is not your typical book about books.

Joe Queenan is a very odd and particular reader, he knows what he likes and this book is not really humorous but more self-deprecating. I thought I was a bitter and jaded person but Queenan puts me to shame, throughout the book it feels like he will never be satisfied and will always be a cranky reader. Even some of his opinions towards books and book collecting seem outlandish and weird for a reader like me but it works for him and you can’t really argue with that.

I was looking forward to reading about someone who is a grump with a passion for book and while this was explored in this book, I think he took it too far sometimes. I know it is his personal opinions but the way he talked about hating people giving him books or even recommending books to him was just a little too far; he is old and set in his ways but I tend to think a little kindness towards others, especially when giving you a gift isn’t too much to ask for.

Joe Queenan is like that weird relative that everyone has; not sure what he is thinking, always set in his ways and you don’t want to get him drunk. This book is really interesting and I enjoyed his approach to this book. While his opinions differ from my own in some aspects, he really does love reading and this doesn’t always come through in the book but you know it is there.

One for the Books is really different to any other book related memoir I’ve read and that is what makes it so interesting. If you don’t want to read about a grumpy old man’s opinions towards reading then you don’t want to read this book. If you want something different then give it ago. I’m happy to have read this book; it makes me feel almost normal when it comes to my opinions on reading and books.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/... ...more

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Apr 22, 2017 Ken rated it really liked it

Shelves: essays, finished-in-2017

Books about books. To the bibliophile, they are like candy. Ice cream. Pepperoni pizza. Hot fudge sundaes. Cold beer on a hot summer day. Yes, please, in other words. Who can resist all of those italicized titles of books the author/fellow addict has enjoyed, after all? Rhetorical question, lads and lasses. No one in this room we know.

Reading it, you, like me, will be underlining book titles for future reference, for a rainy day when you can type them into your "To-Read" shelf on Goodreads, in o ...more

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Nov 23, 2018 Jill Mackin rated it liked it

Shelves: books, humor, non-fiction

I enjoyed One for the Books because it let me reflect on my lifelong obsession with reading. Queenan is sort of a literary snob and we have but a handful of authors in common. And his angst about Middlemarch is a bit over the top.

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Mar 28, 2013 Robin rated it liked it

Shelves: books-about-books, nonfiction

I am ready to believe that Queenan wrote this book to prove that he could name however many titles and authors that he name-drops in here in under 250 pages. I suspect he was counting. He covers quite the spectrum, almost always at the level of the barest mention--sometimes scathing, sometimes ecstatic. Yes, he can write witty sentences, and I always award healthy points for that, I don't much appreciate the way he writes a similar sentence over and over again in a paragraph, each time substitut I am ready to believe that Queenan wrote this book to prove that he could name however many titles and authors that he name-drops in here in under 250 pages. I suspect he was counting. He covers quite the spectrum, almost always at the level of the barest mention--sometimes scathing, sometimes ecstatic. Yes, he can write witty sentences, and I always award healthy points for that, I don't much appreciate the way he writes a similar sentence over and over again in a paragraph, each time substituting in the name of a different book or author. That gets tiresome.

When I reached the end and saw the disclaimer, "portions of this book appeared in different form in The New York Times, yadayadayada" I immediately recognized the sentiment that I experienced upon finishing Bill Bryson's I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away. It's an unsatisfying sense that you've just experienced something a bit awkwardly-cobbled-together, like watching too many episodes of a good television show back to back and realizing that there's a reason those episodes are meant to be consumed with an intervening week between each one.

Queenan, while funny, is also quite cranky. For someone who loves books and reading so much, he can be awfully nasty about other avid readers whose reading lists he deems insufficiently wide-ranging. He is as unapologetic about his opinions as he is eager to share them--almost as though he has held himself back for decades from discussing books with people in person (because it almost always goes poorly for him) and now has to let it all out, like he can't help it. The result is that the reader has to be a bit patient with him when he goes off themes like "I was reading Nordic crime fiction before everyone else" and "let me tell you how much I know about Henry de Motherlant" -- I'm paraphrasing, of course, but not by much. But then he wins me over by making all his friends fill out a detailed survey about their reading habits and digging into the psychology of their answers (can I do this? I want to!!) and says things like "People said I was insane to buy books in England and then carry them all the way back to the United States, especially if they are orange. But people like that are peasants." He speaks my mind!

I did pick up a few book ideas in here--though not as many as one might expect, given the number of books mentioned--and very much enjoyed and sympathized with his anecdotal evidence for why reading physical books and reading books on an ereader is just not the same experience. Books, as Queenan demonstrates, are not just for reading -- they are also a big cultural blanket in which you wrap all the rooms of your house. Books hold specific memories depending on where or at whose suggestion they were acquired. Books can have enigmatic notes written in the margins with different handwriting revealing your age, maturity, or mood. Books can travel from your own shelves to those of trusted friends and become shared relics of shared reading experiences. Books can be thrown across the room when the situation requires it. Books are meant to take up permanent space--this is in no way a failing of the medium. I agree with this:
"Electronic books are ideal for people who value [only] the information contained in them, or who have vision problems, or who like to read on the subway, or who do not want other people to see how they are amusing themselves, or who have storage and clutter issues, but they are useless for people who are engaged in an intense, lifelong love affair with books. Books that we can touch; books that we can smell; books that we can depend on." ...more

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Nov 08, 2013 Carol rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

Darn, darn and darn again...someone recommended this to me and I can't remember who but thank you anyway.

If you're a book lover and most of us on GR are, you should be able to find something useful and even amusing in this laying in all out on paper, confession of sorts, or Joe Queenan, book addict. Consider that this guy is reading over 30 books at a time, not just browsing, actually reading. He reads at least 2 hours a day, 4 is you add in time for newspapers, work material and magazines. He r ...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Kate rated it really liked it

I’m happy I read this book. Just one reason is finding permission on p.189 to not like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I haven’t read, and earlier in the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, which I have read. Queenan is an astonishing writer - absolutely hilarious. Never mind that he's arrogant, condescending, insulting, and he overgeneralizes.Those who love cynicism will probably love this book too. And maybe those who don't. The thinner skinned will want to stick with End of Your Life Book Club ...more

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Feb 01, 2015 Kris rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-write-publish

Sometimes mildly interesting, sometimes quite funny, but generally too snooty for me. Queenan is frankly a snob.

He's so self-absorbed, so sarcastically satisfied with his own self-sanctioned reading habits, his snobbery leaks out into other realms. The second half of the book was barely about books or reading at all, but more like a biography, with Queenan going off on random tangents that I frankly don't care about. I sped-read the last 150+ pages.

I suppose it is a quick read, and it was nice t ...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Bridget rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2013-reads

I received this book as a Christmas gift. I'm pretty sure I've heard of Joe Queenan, though I'm not sure where/when/how. This book is a set of essays he wrote - some appearing previously in other publications - where he discusses his love for books, and what they have meant in his life.

I am not sure if I liked or hated this book. Queenan seems like a person who is very busy making sure that you know he came from a difficult, poor childhood in Philadelphia, but that he has risen far above it by b I received this book as a Christmas gift. I'm pretty sure I've heard of Joe Queenan, though I'm not sure where/when/how. This book is a set of essays he wrote - some appearing previously in other publications - where he discusses his love for books, and what they have meant in his life.

I am not sure if I liked or hated this book. Queenan seems like a person who is very busy making sure that you know he came from a difficult, poor childhood in Philadelphia, but that he has risen far above it by becoming literary. My problem is that he seems like someone who I would consider a literary snob. Anyone who knows me knows that I am incredibly judgemental, and tend to think that many people are annoying or even stupid. However, I also realize that I am incredibly judgemental, and that my opinions are not necessarily based on any provable evidence. I wish everyone would read "good" books and enjoy them. I wish reading and writing were as important to society overall as science and math are. In reality, I am glad when people just read. I am glad there are public libraries and people who patronize them. I am glad that there are still brick-and-mortar bookstores so that I can purchase a book in person. And I'm even glad there are e-readers, because when you walk back and forth to work every single day, carrying your lunch, your water bottle, sometimes an extra pair of shoes and who knows what else, it's nice not to have to carry a heavy book as well, or worry that it will be ruined by the other crap.

Joe Queenan is not like me in any of those ways. As a matter of fact, he spends a lot of the book telling the reader how much he is a purist, an intellectual. He is like me in that he reads A LOT, wishes everyone did, and loves the worlds that books provide.

There are parts of this book that made me laugh out loud, and parts that made me want to go to his house and punch him in the face. I can say that the best thing about it was that it made me consciously think about myself, reading, and how I see it in the universe at large.

So - maybe you should read it. Who knows? ...more

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Sep 28, 2012 Nicki Markus rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-non-fiction

I was actually looking forward to this book, thinking it sounded like a fun and interesting read. Unfortunately, the author got in the way.

Before I continue, a little something about me. In my teens, I was a book snob. I thought classics were the only things worth reading and I sniffed at the thought of e-books. These days I have lost that snobbish side and I read a huge range of different books and own an e-reader, dividing my time 50/450 between print and electronic.

From the first chapter, the ...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Manfred rated it liked it

At about page 83 I realized I was starting to get weary of Joe's adventures in reading. I enjoy his writing in the pelletized newspaper column format, and his sense of whimsical humor and de rigeur Irish sense of self-deprecation is ever-present. He is never sidesplittingly or wickedly funny, more a member of the same tribe as Dave Barry or Erma Bombeck. If your tastes run in that direction then you will enjoy this book. To me, it was like reading the same 5 pages over and over. Or overhearing t ...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Meghan rated it liked it

Shelves: memoir

This guy is a crank. A book-reading crank, with several suspect opinions, including the complete dismissal of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. But wait! His opinions are often outlandish, but he's hilariously clever in a Bill Bryson-esque way. His jabs at libraries and librarianship are awesome, as when he is asked to give a talk at the public library because he is a local author:

"Library events scare me, as they provide refuge for local historians, fabulists, tellers of tall tal

...more

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Nov 23, 2012 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it

Book critic and contributor to many different magazines and newspapers, this is a book that is all about reading, his love for books, his experiences in libraries and bookshops. In the first chapter he actually sounded just like me and I am sure many others, reading whenever and wherever he could. He is a self avowed book snob and manages to criticize many others, which was written sarcastically, not meanly.
Actually managed to make me feel guilty for reading on my kindle but since I still read a ...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Lee Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: borrowed-not-bought

Joe Queenan was a writer for two of my favorite, long defunct, magazines: Spy and Movieline. In this book, he discusses his lifelong love of reading and of books as physical objects. Many, if not all, of these essays were originally published as magazine pieces, so there is some repetition of themes--his Francophilia and the angst he suffers from never having read Middlemarch--but even still, this is one of those books that when you read it, you find yourself saying "YES" loudly in your head. I ...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Dannielle Insalaco rated it did not like it

Shelves: not-finished

I hated this book. I gave it several chances. I looked up French phrases, tallied words I didn't know (35 when I gave up at 77% complete) . I found him pompous and rude!

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Jan 18, 2015 Shane rated it liked it

Joe Queenan, a sixty-one year old (he constantly reminds us of his age,) is a consummate and opinionated reader who reads 250 books a year, owns 1300 plus books, has never finished Ulysses or Middlemarch but intends to, and will never get to Catch 22, gives us his unabashed view on the life of a reader.

The book is full of observations and comments on the art of reading – good to know that it too has been elevated to an art, so people like me who also read diligently do not feel that we are wasti ...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Maxine rated it it was amazing

Joe Queenan is a writer by trade but a reader by inclination. He will read anywhere: on buses, trains, at concerts, at work, even, in his own words "while waiting for people to emerge from comas, while waiting for the Iceman to Cometh". Or Godot, whoever comes first - no matter, if there's a place, there's a book to be read there.

According to him, readers are people whose reality, for whatever reason, is lacking. In his case, he grew up poor in a Philadelphia housing project with a violent and a Joe Queenan is a writer by trade but a reader by inclination. He will read anywhere: on buses, trains, at concerts, at work, even, in his own words "while waiting for people to emerge from comas, while waiting for the Iceman to Cometh". Or Godot, whoever comes first - no matter, if there's a place, there's a book to be read there.

According to him, readers are people whose reality, for whatever reason, is lacking. In his case, he grew up poor in a Philadelphia housing project with a violent and alcoholic father. Not only did books provide an escape but they allowed him to feel superior to his dad. Interestingly, his dad, despite being a ninth grade drop-out, was also a compulsive reader, something Queenan doesn't explore until near the end of the book.

Beside Queenan's life-long love affair with books is a whole host of things he hates. He hates "Cats', the play not the animals (although he might hate the furry little beasts as well) which, of course, leads to a hatred for Andrew Lloyd Webber; he also hates Ayn Rand and the band, Rush, McMansions, alcoholics, and the New York Yankees. Then there are the book-related things. With a few exceptions, he hates small independent bookstores which are run mainly by smug prigs with bad taste and short memories. He also hates book clubs and mediocre books about popular diseases - according to him, these books should be avoided like, well, said popular diseases. Oddly, he has a fondness for really bad books by people like Pamela Anderson and OJ Simpson which, according to him, are great fun to read. He is also a self-professed Luddite who wouldn't allow a Kindle anywhere near his person and he believes there is a special place in Hell for professional book critics.

At times, he comes off as a bit of a book-snob even though he doesn't seem to like them very much either. As I was reading, I kept getting an urge to hide my copy of Lord of the Rings and shout belligerently, "yeah, well I finished Middlemarch...twice...and I liked it...a lot, so there, cochon!" He also reads Beaudelaire en Francais, the big showoff! However, in all fairness, I like to think my taste in literature is eclectic but I suspect a better adjective would be 'poor' or perhaps, 'no' so maybe this isn't a fair criticism and, anyway, I don't want to go to hell.

You might think after reading this that I hated the book but I didn't - I loved every snide, snarky, humorous word of it. I have never laughed so hard reading a book about books or blushed so hard to recognize some of my own book-related foibles. Too often readers are seen as nerds, people who can't handle reality or drugs. In One for the Books, Mr Queenan makes us look cool. Take that, jocks and hipsters! ...more

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Aug 07, 2013 Liz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biography-and-memoir, books-about-books

Apparently, Joe Queenan is a well-known humorist/satirist, but I had never heard of him when I checked out One for the Books from the library. (Books about books are one of my favorite genres.) Apparently, he is also a pretty critical and snarky writer, qualities that don’t usually appeal to me, but I loved this book. (And yes, I have put four or five of Queenan’s other books on my to-read list!) He has very definite ideas about books and reading, such as: “Anyone who could mouth the words, ‘You Apparently, Joe Queenan is a well-known humorist/satirist, but I had never heard of him when I checked out One for the Books from the library. (Books about books are one of my favorite genres.) Apparently, he is also a pretty critical and snarky writer, qualities that don’t usually appeal to me, but I loved this book. (And yes, I have put four or five of Queenan’s other books on my to-read list!) He has very definite ideas about books and reading, such as: “Anyone who could mouth the words, ‘You said exactly what I was thinking!’ to writers…is a nitwit… I never feel this way. I feel that writers say things I would never have thought of saying, and in a way I would have never thought of saying them.”!

My favorite story in this book was about Queenan’s refusal to read on in David Benioff’s book City of Thieves after the first few pages revealed that the protagonist, having survived the Siege of Leningrad, emigrated to the United States and became a New York Yankees fan! He says, “I found this revelation crushing. The idea that someone who had lived through the awe-inspiring siege of Leningrad would then voluntarily join the evil empire in the Bronx struck me as morally repellent. So I set the book aside and donated it to my library. Maybe some Yankees fan would enjoy it. I sure wouldn’t.”

Readers are a quirky lot. Some of my best friends read books I wouldn’t dream of reading. People I love urge me to read books that I try and hate. Other friends are mystified by my book choices. Joe Queenan is a person who writes in books, unlike me. But like me, he likes real books rather than e-readers. Like him, I make up “book projects” for myself all the time. (Read all the books on a certain bookshelf at home or at the library that I have never read before. Read every ninth book on my to-read list in the fiction section. Read a biography and a book of short stories every month, in addition to other reading.) And maybe most important of all, Joe Queenan has already accepted what I am just beginning to understand: that my life is now more than – maybe even much more than – half over, and even though I’m a fast and constant reader, there are only so many books that I will be able to get through in the remaining years. There is no longer time to waste with bad books, or even mediocre ones. Limited time notwithstanding, this is one of the few books I have read recently that I would read again.
...more

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Jan 15, 2018 Shaun rated it really liked it

Shelves: gentlemens-book-club

Nice to know there are, in fact, folks out there who have this same maniacal obsession to read books. I don’t mean the ebooks on Kindle or the like, I mean the “real deal.” Joe Queenan captures so well this obsession to read and own books and writes about every aspect of such reading enjoyment and ownership. Very funny book with an acerbic, oft self-deprecating wit.

“One for the Books” should be read by anyone who suffers from this odd, maniacal compulsion because it fully encompasses the joy, co Nice to know there are, in fact, folks out there who have this same maniacal obsession to read books. I don’t mean the ebooks on Kindle or the like, I mean the “real deal.” Joe Queenan captures so well this obsession to read and own books and writes about every aspect of such reading enjoyment and ownership. Very funny book with an acerbic, oft self-deprecating wit.

“One for the Books” should be read by anyone who suffers from this odd, maniacal compulsion because it fully encompasses the joy, compulsion and/or "sickness" that reading brings about in the mind of one reader as well as every single facet of reading from ordering books on-line (not recommended by Queenan for many reasons) to the joy of "discovering" the books you buy and own while going in to book stores during the "meandering journey of life" to being in a "book club" with irksome windbags (like me) compelled to read books late in life when the "clock of our lives" is winding down and time is short to reading difficult classics (like George Eliot's "Middlemarch" to the author; "Remembrance of Time Past" to me) versus occasionally reading pure drivel or "mind candy" to the "joys of holding a real live honest to God hardbound book" to reading from a wimpy e-reader. Yep; pretty comprehensive and pretty cool, too!

The author, Joe Queenan, has read somewhere between 5,000 to 6,000 books as of 2010. He is a humorous but serious satirist (oxymoron there!) who writes exceptionally well and has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. Look him up on YouTube. His interview with Letterman was great -- that particular episode was classic Letterman -- and the author, Joe Queenan, is exceptionally funny and his book -- "One for the Books" -- is excellent.

The only thing about this book and the author I did not like was that Queenan seemed to be a bit of a literary snob; not in the same vein as Clifford Odets, mind you. No, only because Queenan spoke with pride that he never read sci-fi books. Never. Go figure?! There is some pretty awesome sci-fi work out there worthy of admiration. “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “Fahrenheit 451” come to mind.

This book was a gift from a fellow member of “the Second Tuesday of the Month ‘Gentlemen’s’ Book Club.” Thank you, Bruce. I truly enjoyed this book. Hopefully, so will you. Four (4) stars only because of Queenan’s perceived literary snobbery. ...more

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Nov 17, 2014 Sutter Lee rated it liked it

I'd previously read Queenan's How to be Good and really enjoyed, so I was happy to find One for the Books on Friends of the Library shelf for $1 which would piss off Joe, since he thinks people should show support for authors by buying new books, which I cannot afford. Nor does he think people should get books from libraries. Well, too bad.
He doesn't give a damn about anyone agreeing with him on any level, which I admire. I felt validated by books we both enjoy, and amused or bewildered by those ...more

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Jul 22, 2017 Patty rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, book-clubs, books-about-books, books-and-publishing, books-and-reading, bookstores, non-fiction, essays, new-york, new-york-city

”The confraternity of serous readers is united by a conviction that literature is an endless series of expeditions, some planned, some unplanned, all elating. None of us are doing this just to show off. Books do not always take us where we want to go, but they always take us places someone would want to go. Avid book readers are people who are at some level dissatisfied with reality.”

Many years ago, I listened to a book by Queenan. I can’t remember which of his books, but I was left with a feeli ...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Eustacia Tan rated it it was amazing

Reading a book on someone's reading experience is always risky. You either feel like an ignorant person, or you'll disagree with their reading choices. At least One for the Books doesn't make you feel either of those emotions.

The author, Joe Queenan, is funny. He's realistic that not everyone sees the same book the same way, he's sometimes dismissful of what is considered classic books, and he acknowledges the overhype. So basically, he just gave me free reign to think "hmm... so he says this, b ...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Joanne Clarke Gunter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-reading-writing

I read books about books and reading because I always think I will find the author to be a kindred spirit, a book soul-mate, a person I could spend hours and hours talking to about books we have read and want to read, and the ones that will have to go unread or can't be re-read because our lives are just too short. I found all of that in this book and this author.

Joe Queenan is one well-read guy. He is also funny, irreverent, looks like a cop, but reads books written in French. And, like most re ...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Eve added it

'For a long time, I believed that I became addicted to starting books as a child, because books usually begin like a house on fire but then cool off around page seventy.'

This quote, taken from Joe Queenan's bibliocentric memoir, comes on page 61. And guess what? I couldn't make it to page 70. I enjoy his writing, but ONE FOR THE BOOKS reads like a laundry list of the 125 or so titles he reads every year. We hear about the fact that he starts them—often dozens at a time—and likes or dislikes them ...more

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Aug 31, 2017 Bryan rated it liked it

Shelves: books-i-read-in-2017, essays

I had a lot of fun with this book--Queenan's collection of articles previously published in venues such as GQ, New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. I certainly didn't expect to. Actually, I have an aversion to this kind of writing, or at least I did, or maybe I do, to everyone except Queenan. What kind of writing is it, you ask? Good question, though I don't know if I have an answer. Diversionary writing, I think. The kind of article you find on the last page of a magazine, a slice-of-lif ...more

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Aug 19, 2013 Dawn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I don't think I've ever read a book I've so enjoyed or found so funny where the author, sometimes using less than flattering terms (such as "doofus" or "dolt,") to describe book-lovers, authors, booksellers and even some sports lovers, insults me on more than one occasion (because of the books I might enjoy which he may term "bad", though he does agree we all read "bad" books and some bad books are good for us ...) and I don't mind.

Queenan talks about everything from his and others' addiction t ...more

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Feb 07, 2013 John rated it it was ok

Shelves: bio-and-memoir, library_books

Queenan pretty much lost me early on when he announced that he wouldn't consider audiobooks because he "doesn't do abridged" - HUH? Most books these days are complete text. He also dismisses ebooks as being for scifi dorks, routinely throwing in, "You can't do THAT with a Kindle!" Yawn .... Near the end he proudly quotes his daughter's opinion of library borrowers: "They (libraries) are everything bad about cemeteries without any of the redeeming qualities. When I read a book it is an investment ...more

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Jul 10, 2017 Jessica Robinson rated it really liked it

The guy is a real condescending dick about other readers but I'd be lying if I said he didn't win me over. I'm sorry he has such a vendetta against e-readers, libraries, genre fiction, and Middlemarch (four things I like very much), but most bibliophiles seem to have some sort of bizarre vendetta against some aspect of reading or readers. I won't share mine because like with most bibliophiles my vendetta makes me sound petty or crazy, which is not anything a lover of Middlemarch could possibly b ...more

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Literary Adventure : September Read #43 One for the Books by Joe Queenan	1	3	Oct 05, 2014 08:24PM

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About Joe Queenan

Joe Queenan

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Joe Queenan is a humorist, critic and author from Philadelphia who graduated from Saint Joseph's University. He has written for numerous publications, such as Spy Magazine, TV Guide, Movieline, The Guardian and the New York Times Book Review. He has written eight books, including Balsamic Dreams, a scathing critique of the Baby Boomers, Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon, a tour of low- ...more

Books by Joe Queenan

Red Lobster, White Trash, & the Blue Lagoon: Joe Queenan's America

Balsamic Dreams: A Short But Self-Important History of the Baby Boomer Generation

Confessions of a Cineplex Heckler: Celluloid Tirades and Escapades

Queenan Country: A Reluctant Anglophile's Pilgrimage to the Mother Country

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Quotes from One for the Books

“If you have read 6,000 books in your lifetime, or even 600, it's probably because at some level you find 'reality' a bit of a disappointment.” — 97 likes

“Electronic books are ideal for people who value the information contained in them, or who have vision problems, or who like to read on the subway, or who do not want other people to see how they are amusing themselves, or who have storage and clutter issues, but they are useless for people who are engaged in an intense, lifelong love affair with books. Books that we can touch; books that we can smell; books that we can depend on.” — 46 likes

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