As book reviewer for NPR’s "Fresh Air" and contributor to many publications, Maureen Corrigan literally reads for a living. For as long as she can remember, books have been at the center of her life, a never-failing source of astonishment, hard truths, new horizons, and welcome companionship. Now Corrigan has added a volume of her own to the shelf of classics, by reading her life of reading with all the attention to complexity, wit, and intelligence that any good book–or life–deserves. Part memoir, part coming-of-age story, and part reflection on favorite and influential books, Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading views the world through an open book. From her unpretentious girlhood in the working-class neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens, to her bemused years in an Ivy League Ph.D. program, from the whirl of falling in love and marrying (a fellow bookworm, of course), to the ordeal of adopting a baby overseas, Corrigan has always had a book at her side. Moving from page to life and back again, Corrigan writes ultimately of fashioning a complicated, sometimes contradictory self out of her class background, her classroom teaching, and her own classics of literature; a list of favorite books is also included. In Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading, Maureen Corrigan invites us to accompany her on the journey of a lifetime.

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Corrigan is an Edgar Award winning book critic / reviewer who, along with being a book reviewer on NPR's "Fresh Air" segment, also teaches literature at Georgetown University. This short memoir chronicles different pivotal moments in her life -- childhood; college experiences; trying to heal from the death of her beloved father; infertility struggles & becoming an adoptive mother -- and how her reading life tied into those moments. For readers who have an interest in infertility or adoption stories, Corrigan does go over reading recommendations just on this topic that she enjoyed. 

 

Regarding her sharing how she got the NPR job, I thought it was pretty funny that she was initially turned down for the position because NPR told her she seemed too academic. TOO academic. For NPR. LOL. 

 

 

From what I've seen with online reviews, the general consensus for this memoir seems to be mixed. I can't speak for others, obviously, but being a book blogger / vlogger myself, I really enjoyed Corrigan's stories for the most part. I'd say the one thing I struggled with were the sections where some of the books she discussed seemed pretty obscure to me (though she kept referencing them as bestsellers). Also, her favorites in genres are closer to my least favorite. Can't blame that on the author though! She's writing about her experiences and preferences, not mine. The section that aggravated me the most was when she was discussing the Catholic memoir duology Karen and With Love, From Karen by Marie Killilea. While mildly interesting at first, Corrigan goes on to talk about this set of books for 30+ pages! I have to admit, it's a little difficult to maintain interest for that many pages about books I've never heard of and, by Corrigan's description of them, didn't sound like my kind of read. Aside from that, there was a lot in this memoir that I did enjoy. I especially loved what she had to say in the Introduction essay, where she talks about what makes reading and books so special and what leads some of us to have such an obsession for the written word. 

 

Distraction, sure. but essential nourishment for the mind and soul as well. Books are always necessary cargo. So many of us reach for them, irrationally, even in potentially dangerous situations that threaten to wreck our ability to concentrate... Such is the power of words, of writing, of books. Words can summon up a skyline from the dark; they can bring back the people you loved and will always yearn for. They can inspire you with possibilities you otherwise would never have imagined; they can fill your head with misleading fantasies. They can give you back your seemingly seamless past and place it right along your chaotic present. 

 

"But that only happens in books," my mother, pretty much immune to the power of the written word, would say.

 

Exactly. That's why I can't stop reading them. 

 

Corrigan also provides a pages-long list of reading recommendations, helpfully sorted by genre. I would recommend taking a look through those titles because it seemed like some of those listed in the back of the book were not ones she mentioned within the actual memoir. Might be worth a look-over to see if anything stirs your curiosity.

 

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Note To Readers: It's not uncommon for reading memoirs / "books about books" type titles to inevitably included spoilers for other books. Some are not too bad on this front but Corrigan got especially spoiler-heavy with her story. So, consider this a spoiler alert for the following titles -- Corrigan gives away either the endings or major plot twists / reveals of: The Maltese Falcon and the short story "The Gutting Of Couffignal" both by Dashiell Hammett, Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre and Villette (both) by Charlotte Bronte, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers, and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

 

 

 

How the Great Gatsby Came to be and Why It Endures
By Maureen Corrigan
ISBN: 9780316230070
Publisher: Little Brown and Compan 
Publication Date: 9/9/2014
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars

 

A special thank you to Little Brown & Company and NetGalley for a complimentary reading copy in exchange for an honest review. (also purchased the audiobook).

 

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, by Maureen Corrigan offers extraordinary insights and commentary, into the real meaning behind this timeless classic; the characters, the time, viewpoints and perspectives, symbolisms, comparisons, and interesting tidbits of this talented author, Scott Fitzgerald; inspiring readers to re-read, to experience the life of the good and the bad of this exciting era and the “American Dream”.

 

As a huge fan of The Great Gatsby, having read it many times, during my younger years, and within the last few years, the movie, performances, reading the book again twice, and listened to the audiobook. Have also read Z, Zelda Fitzgerald and many other books surrounding this intriguing couple.

 

Wow, So We Read On was outstanding! A thought provoking and compelling view with a fresh look and perspective into the symbolism between the life of Scott Fitzgerald and Gatsby character. I listened to the audiobook, read by the author; so right on, as her vast knowledge is reflective throughout the pages.

 

I was so engrossed, as I am a big research nut and loved Corrigan's passion and extensive insights (what a super idea going back to the high school as everyone has a different take). The entire time I was listening to this captivating book, I was thinking “Wow, Corrigan could duplicate this book with all the classics out there!” It would be incredible, as I for one would buy anything she writes.

 

So We Read On is a book you will want to buy (as ideal for reference, gifts, and would make a great book club choice, or for lectures, groups, etc.), as I found myself trying to make notes while listening to the audio, so need to go back and buy the e-book in order to make notes, as there is so much to take in.

 

I cannot possibly hit on all my notes as you have to read the book; however, some of the main items I found fascinating. Please forgive my errors, as I was trying to recall some of this from the audiobook, versus print.

 

The Great Gatsby is similar to Scott’s end of relationship with Zelda. Symbolic of The Price of the American Dream. The Great Gatsby is not a character driven or plot driven novel; it is a voice driven novel. Gatsby is the ultimate enigma and center of the novel.

How a junior high or high school student views The Great Gatsby, versus a mature adult (totally different), as why you need to re-read many times as you age, as the meaning is profound.

Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy; the sensationalism, stalker like behavior, and his all or nothing demands. Future – The constant green light. Daisy is a green light and a voice full of money.

 

Have heard many discussions regarding the significance of the past to dreams of the future. The struggle of humans to achieve goals by both transcending and re-creating the past. Yet humans prove themselves unable to move beyond the past: in the metaphoric language--the current draws them backward as they row forward toward the green light.

 

The isolation of Gatsby’s life, as he is always alone, similar to Fitzgerald’s life (many similarities, depending on what was going on in his personal life with Zelda and timing). Burial, etc.

 

The meaning behind the rainbow of shirts, the cars, the parties, the glitz, glamour, money – Does Daisy think Gatsby is becoming like Tom? What happened to the poor humble boy – is he gone?

 

The Great Depression (lights out), parties and black Tues 1929; good times cannot roll on indefinitely. The Great Gatsby projects allusion. A funny novel, comedy like novel.

 

Scott asks Zelda to draw sketches of Gatsby in order to see him more clearly (would it not be great to find these drawings)?

 

J Gatsby a character a 17 yr. old boy would invent-young and reckless; Older readers gravitate for a more measured and mournful voice.Her students do not like Nick, they think he is passive and do not like the scene at the end – acts not talks. Nick is wishy washy; and kids are unimpressed.

 

The Great Gatsby is really the only successful book Fitzgerald wrote, and unfortunately was not appreciated until after his death. Represents rich careless people – detached poetic style. Page for page is elaborately patterned. The complexity of the novel so overlooked. Brilliantly written.

 

The American Dream is irresistible, heartbreaking and buoyant. Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion took place in the middle of the novel (which is important). Billboard and green light (symbols); patterns and narrative structure; always reaching and striving and still unable to find happiness. A hard boiled story. The novel is wildly over designed.

Drawing on the author’s own experience as a reader, lecturer, and critic; a powerful read you will not want to miss. I was blown away! Corrigan is witty and brutally honest and yes, you definitely will want to re-experience Gatsby in new more favorable light. Read both - Highly recommend!

Oh, this one was a hard one to rank. It was a three when I first picked it up, a two when I first put it down, a four when I picked it up again years later, and a three when I put it back down a second time. I was determined to knock off a lot of low-hanging almost-finished fruit from my TBR pile this weekend, and I finally read the last thirty pages. So, hey, let's average this out to a three? Ish?

This is one of those books that tragically reinforces my extreme reluctance to get rid of books. My mom gave me this for Christmas lo those many moons ago, knowing it was a good fit for me just because of the blurb quote about how at some point, during any gathering of people, no matter how much the author loves those people, she realizes she would rather be reading. My mother, perspicacious woman that she is, recognized her wee darling in that sentence.

And, yes, that is sort of what this book is about. But only sort of. It's also got a huge whack of general audience literary criticism of female action-adventure novels, detective novels, and Catholic secular saint novels. Which turns out to be fascinating to me, once I got over expecting to read about how one balances the desire to be with people with the desire to read. I was sorely disappointed when I first put the book down, midway through the first literary criticism section, but I came back to it a few years later, and it was exactly what I wanted to read.

What was the difference between Read #1 and Read #2? The internet, I think. I have learned far more - absorbed far more - about feminism and women in fiction and women who write and so much of the stuff that my literature degree attempted to beat in my head, so I was far, far more appreciative of the discussion of women and books and women in books and women writing books in this book after a few years knocking around the internet than I was after three years of Serious Literature Classes. (Okay, part of that is probably because I spent much of the time I should have been studying Serious Literature going to Rocky Horror, writing papers on Rocky Horror and the Exorcist, and discovering the wild and woolly world of internet media fandom. Slog through Anna Karenina or the Sith Academy, hmmm, that's a toughie. ) What seemed a bit dry and a bit pointless on first read was far more engaging the second time around.

And then, hm, I kind of got bored during the Catholic secular saint portion of the competition (a bit of a letdown after the female action-adventure novel section and the detective novel section, both of which I had vested interests in), and I put it down for another year or so. Picked it up again, found Corrigan's writing style just as charming as I did the second time around, and was delighted by the reading list at the back of the book.

Recommended, at least for those interested in easy reading lit crit. The bits about a life lived with books feel a bit like a framing device, albeit a lovely one.

This is the longest 184-page book I've ever read. I think it took me more than a month to finish, because the writing was just... not captivating is the best way to put it, I guess.I'd been waiting to get my hands on it for ages, so it was a huge disappointment not to enjoy it, but I just didn't think it was very well written. There was no discernible red thread, and it seemed very random which books Maureen Corrigan chose to write about. I really couldn't figure out what she was trying to say to her readers.The reasons I did end up finishing it after all was part stubbornness and part research. If I ever should end up writing a book (as highly unlikely as that sounds), it would be something in this genre. Always good to know which pitfalls to stay away from.

I didn't really care for this book and scanned through most of it. I did find a couple of things worth quoting, though. "It's not that I don't like people. It's just that when I'm in the company of others--even my nearest and dearest--there always comes a moment when I'd rather be reading a book." "We read literature for a lot of reasons, but two of the most compelling ones are to get out of ourselves and our own life stories and--equally important--to find ourselves by understanding our own life stories more clearly in the context of others."