There is no better balm for my weary heart than a book about books and Anne Bogel’s newest book ‘I’d Rather Be Reading‘ is my balm. To have it written by Anne Bogel, the voice behind the podcast ‘What Should I Read Next?’, is simply icing on the cake.
I read the entire book in Anne’s voice even though I know she recorded an upcoming audiobook version as well. In my mind, Anne is that wise book friend who truly knows you. She recommends what has become most of what’s in my TBR pile now. I had to stop listening to her podcast for awhile because every episode had me adding more books.
Anne has written books before but this one was one I knew was meant for me. So when she asked for folks to join her launch team, I applied. I think I’ve been less anxious waiting to be asked out on a date then I was waiting to see if I made it in. Luckily for me, I got in!
Not surprisingly, I love Anne’s book more than I expected. It’s a funny thing to write a review about a book you love. You’d think the fact that you love it would make it easier because you could go on and on about your favorite quotes. But when you truly love a book – when it feels like the author wrote it for you – it’s hard to convey why anyone else should read it because you’re convinced it could only be for you. You don’t remember quotes, you remember how you felt. You remember laughing at some parts and nodding in recognition at others. It’s like trying to recall exactly what people said in a deep conversation you had the night before. You know you went, you had a great time, you felt deep things, but you couldn’t write it down to save your life.
But when you truly love a book – when it feels like the author wrote it for you – it’s hard to convey why anyone else should read it because you’re convinced it could only be for you.
So I’m finding it hard to say “I loved this chapter the most”. I want to list all the chapters. Should I list each chapter title with the associated emotions? That doesn’t seem very helpful. Should I tell you that Anne truly knows readers and when she wrote about literary sins, I realized I had committed most of them? When she talked about being “book bossy”, I hung my head in shame. When she talked about ways to organize your bookshelves I found myself highly opinionated on this one, as if someone wanted me to switch from being a coffee lover to tea.
You don’t need to be a library-card-carrying bibliophile to love this book (though it helps). You just need to think of yourself as a reader. Whether you just love cozy mysteries or are a hardcore success and business book reader, you will find something in this book to love.
The good news? It comes out on Tuesday, September 4th! If you preorder now (here’s a handy non-affiliate link to Amazon.com) you will get these pre-order bonuses:
Preorder one copy of I’d Rather Be Reading (before September 4)
from your preferred retailer and receive these digital bonuses:
- FREE digital download of the audio version read by Anne
- Access to Anne’s new class “7 Ways to Get More Out
of Your Reading Life”, live on August 2 - Beautiful digital artwork from the book
Preorder two or more copies and receive:
- All of the above digital bonuses
- Signed book plate
- I’d Rather Be Reading bookmark
- Postcard print from the book
- Bookish stickers from the Modern Mrs Darcy shop
I am fine with committing the sin of being book bossy for this book! It also makes a great gift for your book-loving friends.
