So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading is a humorous memoir about reading. Sara Nelson, editor, mother, wife, and friend decides to spend a year reading a different novel every week. She admits, in a favorite quote of mine, that she was not always a reader:
I wasn't, in short, the kind of egghead graduate student who showed up at the publishing programs I've taught at over the years, kids who claimed their love of reading dated back to toddlerhood, when a book fell from the shelves onto their tiny heads and they wiped off the blood and opened the book and voilà, their lives were changed forever. (3)
[...] Furthermore, I would add a subhead telling title of the book or books read that week, because so many books are mentioned that sometimes it is hard to tell which ones she is actually reading, since often ones she read in the past are as fully described at the one she is currently reading. At the back of the book is an incomplete listing of books she read over the year, but I would expand this to include all the books read, keeping the brief description already there. [...]
[...] to, from trying to choose an appropriate book for travels, to borrowing one from a friend and feeling obliged to return it but being uncertain as to how soon this must be done. A number of the books raise serious issues, such as death and racial interactions, but everything is approached lightly to maintain the mood of the book. As a person in touch with the publishing world, Nelson also offers a unique perspective on reading. She understands the editorial process of book selection, is able to talk about the production of book hype, how first time authors can break into the business, and how books are marketed. [...]
[...] The running header is centered below the top of the page, and has the book title recto and the author name verso in italics. Folios are centered at the bottom of the page up from the bottom. The typeface is a crisp, serif typeface, similar in appearance to Garamond and Palatino Linotype, though slightly more stylized. It is approximately 12pt with a 16pt leading. Chapters begin on a new page, with the text block beginning 3 below the top of the page. [...]
[...] I would also change the typeface of the title to something slightly less fancy and more fun, such as Tempus, but maintain the block lettering of the sub- title. For the back cover, again, I would remove the truck. The design is over-laden with reviews, which makes the book seem desperate to sell itself. I would cut down to three or four key blurbs and enlarge the typeface of the book description. Finally, the title of the book is a good choice, but I prefer shorter book titles, since they are easier to remember and [...]
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