A Voice from the Attic: Essays on the Art of Reading by Robertson Davies
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Context & Why I read this book
Reading more does not equal reading better, but this year I challenge myself to read 52 books in order to become a better reader. Some of the books I selected for this are on the process of reading itself. This is also the case for "A Voice from the Attic". I did not know exactly what this book would entail, but the subtitle "Essays on the Art of Reading" was catchy enough for me to include it.
What is the book about as a whole?
This book is multiple things
1. a plea for the "clerisy" to return and form a union once again.
2. a collection of book reviews and recommendations, sorted into categories like self-help, history, drama, humor, and even pornography
3. an attempt to answer several questions like what reading is, why you should read, what a good book is, how to categorize books etc.
4. An interesting and worthwhile collection of related essays on the art of reading
The book's structure
The book is divided in 8 chapters:
I. A Call to the Clerisy
II. Enjoying and Enduring
III. Ovid Is Not Their Master
IV. From the Well of the Past
V. Making the Best of Second Best
VI. The Hue and Cry after a Good Laugh
VII. In Pursuit of Pyrography
VIII. Spelunking on Parnassus
One lesson
Davies sums up all self-help books with the Latin phrase "Vol enter ducti, nolenterm trahit" meaning "success will come to those who want it most, and will avoid those who, for whatever reason, stand in their own way."
Reading Recommendation / Who should read this?
For me and my current attempt to become a better reader, this was an interesting little detour. However, even if it is a very good book in itself, I don't think this is a book for "everyone"; instead it is only intended for the clerisy (people, who "read for pleasure, but not for idleness; who read for pastime but not to kill time; who love books, but do not live by books"). Since my ratings also reflect general reading recommendations, I rate this niche-focused book here only a 6 out of 10 (⭑⭑⭑) — if you count yourself to the celerity (which if you are reading this on Goodreads you quite likely do), it could well be a 7 or even 8 for you.
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