Books for Living: Some Thoughts on Reading, Reflecting, and Embracing Life

Many books I would never have read. Thank you Will!

From the beautiful human, Will Schwalbe, who brought us THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB, comes his newest embrace to books, BOOKS FOR LIVING. This book is a gorgeous compilation about books that have greatly moved him at various points in his life, followed by a poignant story about where and when he read them, and what he gleaned from the book at that moment that helped him in one way or another, and continues to, to this day. What Schwalbe does, so carefully and so well, is to show us how books, from our past as well as new, can guide us, whether we realize it or not. He also helps us see how books can open a whole new world, right from the chair where we are reading them. They take us on journeys, connect us with others, help heal our hearts, keep someone’s memory alive, seek understanding, perhaps find forgiveness in our hearts, and know hope.Regardless of how many books recommended or referenced in the book that speak to you, and trust me, there will be plenty, get ready to hit the nearest bookstore hard. You will no doubt come away with an abundance of messages and memories of your own, from the books that you have read, in your childhood and just last month.I love that Schwalbe points out that reading is “a respite from the relentlessness of technology.” Other than when I am reading on my Kindle, I am unplugged. I concentrate on reading. No phone, no laptop, no TV, and no music. I am all in on that book. He goes on to say much more on this subject and how it allows him to rejuvenate in a way. While reading is a solo expedition, it allows you to gain knowledge, which then gives you something to talk about with friends, your book club, or colleagues. To have lively discussions. “Good books often answer questions you didn’t even know you wanted to ask.”I found it validating that the author talks about fiction with such high regard when he stated “[f]iction doesn’t exist to change us for the better, but I believe it almost always does. Fiction opens us up.”One of my favorite gifts that Schwalbe points out comes from the book WONDER. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will leave it to you to read on your own. Suffice it to say, it is beautiful.Another really lovely message that Schwalbe shows us is one that seems so simple, but he shows us how powerful it truly is – to ask others ‘what are you reading?’ He shares an example of a grandmother and her grandson who don’t seem to connect much anymore. But when the grandmother asks her grandson what he is reading and then starts to read the same book, well, now they have something that they can talk about. Engage with each other on the same level. What a breakthrough. Imagine if we could all do this with people whom we have a hard time connecting with. Imagine world leaders talking about the latest Harry Potter book.There is one book, mentioned throughout, that I am eager to read, THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING by Lim Yutang, which Schwalbe sums up that it “is about the need to slow down and enjoy life. And, it is about the importance of books and reading.” He goes on to use the wisdom from this book and the author’s philosophy by adding: “And reading all different kinds of books is not simply reading all different kinds of books; it’s a way of becoming more fully human and more humane.”Mr. Schwalbe, you have captured everything that I love about reading. You have opened up my mind to even more ideas and books that I would never have known. If I were to get a tattoo or even a bumper sticker, neither of which is in the cards for me, it would be the last two lines of your book.

While not as carefully written or structured as The End of Your Life Bool Club, this book is more accessible and valuable to a general reader. The author provides a significant roadmap of what reading has meant and how to evaluate what it can mean in one’s life. I loved it, and will give it to several friends for Christmas.

Very much enjoyed the read but not as much as "The End Of Your Life Book Club".Found there were too many references to the down side of technology and started to wonder if I had missed something and that this book was actually meant to be be an expose on the disadvantages of same.Having said that I share the author's enthusiasm for books and so it was useful to get ideas for new books.I look forward to my next trip to the library as a result and for that I thank-you,Mr Schwalbe.

Will Schwalbe compellingly champions reading not as an edifying duty, but a means to a more fulfilling life, akin not to eating soggy broccoli but mouth watering chocolate -- whether milk, dark, or bitter-sweet.Let's sample one of Schwalbe's delectables: Taking time to lie in bed, propped up with pillows is at turns relaxing, restorative, and contemplative, according to The Importance of Living, by the advocate of ancient Chinese thinking, Lin Yutang, who was preaching as much against his own restless ambitiousness as to what became his massive readership after the book's publication in 1937. A suitable parallel activity while lying in bed, aside from my own personal favorite, staring at the ceiling, or listening to music? Perhaps read The Importance of Living, or Will Schwalbe's own Books for Living.Then there's the book that instilled in Schwalbe the importance of searching for something meaningful -- not through the instant gratification of the internet, but by going out in the world with no guarantee of finding what one seeks, of assuming an uncertain path with "fortitude, patience, persistence, and commitment. In a word: character," the embodiment of which Schwalbe finds in a children's classic, Stuart Little. Three cheers for summoning the optimism and courage to embark on a quest without knowing quite where you are going, what you will find, or whether you will ever find it.Reading can not only inspire or reinforce values, observes Schwalbe, but in a refreshing take on the Odyssey, "When we denigrate mediocrity (Odysseus was a terrible navigator), "we discourage ourselves and others from trying new things...It would be great to be a great painter, but it's also great to paint." Besides, Odyseus' rotten navigational abilites enable him to realize other talents, such as (eventually) bravely and cunningly vanquishing his enemies. Schwalbe's Asian style take on this flawed Greek hero makes the Odyssey worth rereading if you haven't read it, and picking up for sure if you never have.Schwalbe recommends many more books, including Song of Solomon, perhaps the most intriguing because he mainly extolls its virtues with barely an explanation except that it powerfully, originally portrays the themes of escape and freedom, perhaps an instructive contrast to the unfettered quest embarked on by Stuart Little.Above all, Schwalbe makes a plea to bring reading back, from an exclusively solitary endeavour, to a means of connecting us to humanity, not only through experiencing the lives or ideas of books, but by bonding us directly to contemporaries, even strangers, with whom we may think we have nothing in common, by asking that mysterious, forgotten question: "What are you reading?"