Books about books: 4 early September nonfiction releases about books and reading

I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life

by Anne Bogel

Our books shape us, define us, enchant us, and even sometimes infuriate us. Our books are a part of who we are as people, and we can't imagine life without them. I'd Rather Be Reading leads readers to remember the book that first hooked them, the place where they first fell in love with reading, and all of the moments afterward that helped make them the reader they are today.

On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books

by Karen Swallow Prior

I endorsed this, saying: "It is not enough to read widely, Karen Swallow Prior says in her thought-provoking new collection. We must also read well—and thankfully Karen takes her reader by the hand and patiently reveals how a close (and enjoyable!) reading of literary works ranging from Jane Austen to George Saunders can pull us toward the good life. This illuminating literary overview prompts us to examine more deeply the books we know and love, and to reexamine our own hearts and minds through the lens of great books."

Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany

by Jane Mount

My Ideal Bookshelf has become a bookish favorite with readers. Illustrator Jane Mount is back with An Illustrated Miscellany, full of bookworm delights like the world's most beautiful bookstores, literary facts, fictional meals, and more of her famous curated stacks of books.

Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life

by Sarah Clarkson

Are you a "book girl"? Sarah Clarkson defines this as the feeling of your heart delighting to a riveting story, your soul hungering for truth and goodness, and secretly thrilling at Belle’s library in Beauty and the Beast. Raised in the company of the lively Anne of Green Gables, the brave Pevensie children of Narnia, and the wise Austen heroines, Clarkson discovered reading early on as a gift. She’s convinced that books can shape a reader to be a lifelong learner, form a sense of identity, and create and act with courage. Books present the world in all its wonder, creating readers who read and live well.