The Reading Life

 The Reading Life by C.S. Lewis

An audio book with less than stellar narration. I should have read a hard copy, and I seem to be saying that a lot lately. With audio books, so very much depends on the reader that I'm beginning to wonder if they're worth it. I've given up on a lot of them because the reader's tone, the attitude they gave the characters, or something in their approach to the story made me dislike the experience. The fault is mine much of the time because I'm guilty of not taking the time to listen to the samples offered, an oversight I will correct before I buy anymore of them. But certainly no more Lewis on audio. I need his books - his brilliance - on my shelf.

The Reading Life is a collection of Lewis's thoughts about reading gathered from his other books, essays, and letters. Some are brief quotes but there are longer passages, a few offering insights on Tolkien's Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books. Lewis and Tolkien are probably my two favourite writers so for me this book was pure pleasure. I appreciate how he can cut through to the heart of an idea in straightforward language, leaving me feeling I've learned something profound and usable in daily life. 

If you've read Lewis extensively, you won't find anything new here, but I have not and so found this collection interesting and worthwhile. I'll leave you with a couple of quotes:

“The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing.”

"...in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself”