Anne Bogel

For so many people, reading isn't just a hobby or a way to pass the time--it's a lifestyle. Our books shape us, define us, enchant us, and even sometimes infuriate us. Our books are a part of who we are as people, and we can't imagine life without them. I'd Rather Be Reading is the perfect literary companion for everyone who feels that way. In this collection of charming and relatable reflections on the reading life, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads readers to remember the book that first hooked them, the place where they first fell in love with reading, and all of the moments afterward that helped make them the reader they are today. Known as a reading tastemaker through her popular podcast What Should I Read Next?, Bogel invites book lovers into a community of like-minded people to discover new ways to approach literature, learn fascinating new things about books and publishing, and reflect on the role reading plays in their lives. The perfect gift for the bibliophile in everyone's life, I'd Rather Be Reading will command an honored place on the overstuffed bookshelves of any book lover.

The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life

I'd Rather Be Reading

Hannah DCamp

Sonia Grgas

Perfect for fellow bibliophiles who like to read about reading. Plenty to identify with. Read it slowly.

Melissa Palmer

A re-read that I whipped through while sitting in my home library. A must read for book lovers.

Krystyna 

This book would make a super cute coffee table book. It was a perfect pick me up to get me out of a reading slump. It's very cute and relatable if you're a book lover.

Stef

A “great” book means different things to different people.

I didn't expect anything when read this book and turned be a good book. I can say that I much related with all thing Anne wrote in this tiny memoir. From finding great books to read, to choose next read book that hard to choose among pile of tbr, and growing up to be reader until this day. A good book that related much to bookworm.

Lucia Correa

A book by one of my favorite blogger & podcaster. Anne Bogel (aka Modern Mrs. Darcy). Her podcast, "What Should I Read Next" is a fun listen. Each week she talks to a reader. They come from all walks of life and ages - with one thing in common they love to read. Most are currently avid readers and some are looking to increase their reading or change what they read. They talk books (always a great topic). What Anne asks them - 3 questions - What 3 books they love, 1 book they don't, and what they are reading lately. Anne gives them at least 4 books that they may enjoy. It doesn't matter to me that 95% or more of the books they discuss I probably haven't read or probably won't read. I still enjoy listening every week.

This is a very small book of essays-all about different aspects of books and reading. Essays range from what it was like when they lived next door to a library, to when she felt she became an adult reader and the books that influenced her in her twenties, to different kinds of book people (aka library reader vs. bookstore reader or combination) and other essays related to books and reading. One of my favorite chapters is on re-reading favorite books. I'm a huge re-reader. Lately, many of my re-reads are the audiobook version. Its like reading a new book especially when you've got an excellent narrator. 

Check out this book. Note: I took a star off because it is much shorter than I thought it would be.

High Fidelity

This short read is about all of us, readers.
Casual, obsessed, book hoarding, having overdue at library readers.
Author talks about all the joys of reading and how it really affects us. She talks about staying late, not finishing books, going to the library and about all details when it comes to book covers, bookshelves and one very interesting thing you may not pay too much attention and that is acknowledgements.
Overall it is warm lovely read that reminds us why we read in the first place.

Latitude Tamarind

this was an incredibly boring coffee table book

Celeste Richardson

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. 

I’d Rather Be Reading is a light, sweet little ode to books and the joys they contain. Though the cover is lovely and the title immediately resonated with me, I might never have known it existed if not for the author’s podcast. For those who are unaware, Anne Bogel runs a popular blog by the name of Modern Mrs. Darcy, as well as my very favorite podcast appropriately named What Should I Read Next? On this podcast, she interviews book lovers from all walks of life and readerly tastes. After giving us a chance to get to know these readers a bit she asks them to tell her three books they love, one book they don’t, and what they’ve been reading lately. Upon receiving answers to these questions, Anne gives each person a list of three books they might love in hopes they will choose to read at least one of these next. 

 “I can tell you why I inhale books like oyxgen: I am grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand—and my favorite books allow me to experience more on the page than I ever could in my actual life.” 

I am in awe of how much and how widely Anne has read. I try to be well rounded in my reading, but she puts me to shame. Whether you love contemporary fiction or classics, middle grade or intellectual nonfiction, mysteries or science fiction, she has a wealth of recommendations for you. My TBR (to be read) stack has grown exponentially since I started listening, and that feels like the opposite of a problem to me. 

 “A good book, when we return to it, will always have something new to say. It's not the same book, and we're not the same reader.” 

This little book is not Anne’s first published work, but it demanded my attention. (I also bought a second copy to send to a friend before I even read it, if that tells you anything about my excitement level.) The cover is a watercolor painting of her own home library. How amazing is that?! I also received my new favorite bookmark with my copy of the book, also featuring this lovely library print and the words “I’d Rather be Reading.” So, that was a fabulous bonus.

 “When we share our favorite titles, we can't help but share ourselves as well. Shakespeare said the eyes are the windows to the soul, but we readers know one's bookshelves reveal just as much.”  

Now, onto the actual writing. This little book is a collection of essays on the reading life, and I felt like my mind was being read and projected onto every page I read. Anne talks about bookstores and libraries and the trepidation involved in sharing your favorites with strangers. She writes about growing as a reader, and doing everything she could to foster that same love within her children. She shares the pleasures of stumbling upon a book twin, the dangers of pushing a book too hard when recommending it to friends, and the deep satisfaction found in reorganizing your bookshelves. In other words, she wrote about all the facets of book love, and it was sweetly relatable.

 “We can’t know what a book will mean to us until we read it. And so we take a leap and choose.” 

The only downside to this book for me was that it sometimes felt like it was only skimming the surface of its potential. She could have dug a little deeper into a few of these essays, but they were overall quaint and lovely and very engaging. I might have been bothered more if I wasn’t already so familiar with Anne’s voice, which was clear in her writing style. I absolutely enjoyed every page, and I highly recommend this to any bibliophile what yearns to have that love understood and shared in a way they can revisit as often as they choose.

Sarah Ryan

Love a good book-about-books. It’s like having a chat with a fellow book lover and you always come away with more recommendations for your ‘want to read’ list.

Robin M Cabana

I read this book in a few hours. I love Anne’s blog, and I was captivated by her essays about books. They nicely sum up so many of the reasons why I love reading!

Amy Grieve

I needed something quick and easy to fill some time up so I picked up this small mini essay collection (?) all about loving books and being a reader. I'm not sure if mini essays are the right way to describe this book but it just feels right. 

A lot of different topics are covered in this book and as I was reading along I found myself agreeing with a lot of the observations made, however I feel like most of the things being said were very obvious or surface level observations about reading and being a bookish person. 

Overall, it filled some time in my calendar and didn't make me think too hard which is what I wanted in the first place. I think I would have been more endeared with this book if I was familiar with Anne Bogel and her blog.

Grace O'Callaghan

What a delightful read this was. Certainly no new ideas about reading, but still a lovely and quick listen.

This is a wonderful little book of lists and essays all about the reading life. About the never ending TBR pile, the value of libraries and bookshops. About having to recommend books and the ways we choose our next read.

This book will have you saying ‘I do that too!’ and smiling to yourself whenever the author brings up books you enjoy.

Again, overall, nothing new or exciting about the hobby of reading, but it was certainly relatable and made me think about my reading habits.

Emily

I'm grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand...

This is one of the most relatable and thought-provoking books I've ever read. I honestly don't think I can describe it in words. You have to be a certain person to relate to the book, but I honestly feel like anyone interested in reading (or starting to read again) would get something out of it. 

Whenever I'm in a slump I'm definitely going to find myself skimming these pages for the magic words that will pull me out of it. When I read this book, it makes me want to devour stories of all shapes and sizes-- give me classics, nonfiction, fantasy, middle-grade, ANYTHING. 

The first time I read this happens to be during a quarantine-- something future me should be interested to note-- so I cannot visit the library anytime soon, which makes me sad. However, I have time to conquer my personal library, and, of course, check out some titles on Libby. :)

Marisa Shibata

now onto reading every single book mentioned in this one 💅🏻

Mariana Afonso

A great book about books, and about being a reader. It depicts perfectly what we think as avid readers, how we breathe words, how we run towards books, how we find solace in the stories we read.

It’s a 3 star book for me only because it didn’t bring any change to me, but it’s a good solid book, that will ensure you have a good time while reading it. It fulfills its purpose: to make readers find relatable descriptions of what they feel, and relinquish in the joy and magic of reading while absorbing the author’s words.

Lisa Miller

A delightful book from an avid reader for other avid readers. Many of these have been written before and will be written after and every time they suck me in. Small both in size and page number this can be read in a single sitting. It's very pretty and would make a great Christmas gift for someone you know likes to read but you aren't exactly sure what kind of books. I have been on the waiting list for this book at my library for a few months before I got it because I heard it was good but only since reading the book found out she has a blog and podcast - I could have been listening all this time!!

iia w

Kaitlyn Krna

This was such a charming collection of essays on the reading life and the struggles of being a voracious reader. Leaving the library with a full tote bag and and an arm full of books, having a To-Read list that is thousands long and knowing you'll never read all of the books on it, discovering that the book "everyone" loves does not entertain you, as well as many other experiences are discussed.

I really enjoyed reading Bogel's essays on the experiences of the reading life and came away with a few ideas to adopt for myself. I was inspired after finishing this to go back to my bookshelves and reorganize them as well as go back to my local library and allow myself to wander through the shelves with no time pressure, feeling the wonder I used to feel when I was younger and let myself explore the library rather than treating it as a quick errand I needed to run.

JacQueline Roe

Excellent collection of fun bookish insights on the reading life. Exactly what I was looking for, just wish it was longer. What a pleasure & I loved the audiobook read by Anne herself. Recommending to all my bookworm friends.

Alyssa Jacunski

As a reader, this was so fun. I found myself grinning from ear-to-ear and relating so hard to much of this book. While there are chapters, it felt more like a group of essays relating to reading and Bogel's experience as a reader. 

I'm a big fan of books that are talking about books and that's what this was. It brought me so much joy. Plus, it's always comforting to know I'm not the only one who feels the way I do about books. 

This is a short book that is the perfect break between heavier reads or if you need a recovery book after something heavy. If you're a book lover, I suggest picking it up!

A very obvious five stars that reminded me why I fell in love with reading and books in the first place.

Ana Couto

One of my favorite books I’ve read this year. If you’re a bookworm, do not skip this one! Anne Bogel puts the daily thoughts and habits of the reader’s life into words, and I can honestly say I’ve never felt quite as understood as I did when reading this short but wonderful book. A must-read for sure!

 Bruna Acioly Leão

I enjoy Anne's blog and podcast so much, and her voice is super soothing, so there was no question whether or not I was going to listen to this on audiobook.

It was really fun and at times super relatable to listen to Anne recount hers and other book lovers' experiences with books and the love of books.

I also like the little tips and tricks, such as how it is always best to DNF than to insist with a book you don't like; or how tracking your reading can help you remember the books you've read and loved in the past (oh, how I wish I had tracked the books I read as a child and teenager).

In the end, however, I found that the essays sort of blurred together and none was particularly memorable or innovative. Nonetheless, I love Anne and the What Should I Read Next podcast, and her voice is great, so I would still recommend this to anyone who loves books and reading, as well as I would recommend both the aforementioned podcast and her blog Modern Mrs. Darcy.

Roos Kuijper 

After finishing Kingdom of Ash I wanted/needed to read something totally different and then I found this... and it was lovely! 

I read this book as an ebook but I will buy myself a copy so I can sticky notes to my favourite parts, to parts of it that I recognise myself in it. This book is full of passion! I love how she describes all different kind of books, classics and new ones, all different genres. Even for young readers there are titles who you will know! 

I already want to start to re-reading this book!

Dakota Gigout

This book would be better listed in memoir or musings. While it is a cozy read, it did not give me fun anecdotes from other readers so much as express the author's view/struggles with reading over different parts of her life.