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    My Reading Life
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    My Reading Life
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    My Reading Life
    Audiobook7 hours

    My Reading Life

    Published by Penguin Random House Audio

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Bestselling author Pat Conroy acknowledges the books that have shaped him and celebrates the profound effect reading has had on his life.

    Pat Conroy, the beloved American storyteller, is a voracious reader. Starting as a childhood passion that bloomed into a life-long companion, reading has been Conroy's portal to the world, both to the farthest corners of the globe and to the deepest chambers of the human soul. His interests range widely, from Milton to Tolkien, Philip Roth to Thucydides, encompassing poetry, history, philosophy, and any mesmerizing tale of his native South. He has for years kept notebooks in which he records words and expressions, over time creating a vast reservoir of playful turns of phrase, dazzling flashes of description, and snippets of delightful sound, all just for his love of language. But for Conroy reading is not simply a pleasure to be enjoyed in off-hours or a source of inspiration for his own writing. It would hardly be an exaggeration to claim that reading has saved his life, and if not his life then surely his sanity.

    In My Reading Life, Conroy revisits a life of reading through an array of wonderful and often surprising anecdotes: sharing the pleasures of the local library's vast cache with his mother when he was a boy, recounting his decades-long relationship with the English teacher who pointed him onto the path of letters, and describing a profoundly influential period he spent  in Paris, as well as reflecting on other pivotal people, places, and experiences. His story is a moving and personal one, girded by wisdom and an undeniable honesty. Anyone who not only enjoys the pleasures of reading but also believes in the power of books to shape a life will find here the greatest defense of that credo.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateNov 2, 2010
    ISBN9780307749215
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for My Reading Life

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    • 3/5
      Over the years I've read a few of Pat Conroy's book. I didn't really fall in love with him until I listened to My Losing Season. That book practically brought me to my knees. I don't know what it was about the book, but I had such grief when I was done. Since I LOVE to read, I thought I would enjoy this book. I found I enjoyed parts of it and other parts I wanted to skip forward on the CDs.

      The first thing I didn't enjoy was Mr. Conroy reading the book. He has a lazy way with words which made it, at times, hard to understand him. As the book progressed I kept thinking how this was titled My Reading Life yet he talked so much about his writing and seemed to lose track of what he was talking about and would go off on a subject.

      What I did enjoy was learning how reading and other people shaped his writing life. I laughed out loud and cried when he talked about his high school literature teacher. It saddened me that I would never meet him. I enjoyed the way his Mother consumed books and the need for knowledge. I marveled at the life Mr Conroy has lived and wonder how someone can fit that much into one life.

      Do I wish I had listened to this book, not sure, especially since it came after a 13 books series I've been listening to for the past 4 months. No matter what I thought of this book, Mr. Conroy will always have a special place in my heart and I have learned a great deal from him for my writing. Several authors may have affected his life and his way of writing, Mr. Conroy has affected mine.
    • 4/5
      I didn't get far in this book before it was obvious I was in the hands of a gifted writer. I knew that about Conroy, but it has been a while since I read one of his books and I"d forgotten how good he is. It is fascinating to find out about how important books and reading have been to him and his family. Highly recommend.
    • 2/5
      This unusual book really is about reading books and a bit about writing them as well. Some of the chapters are entitled: Gone With the Wind (how his mother introduced him to this book as a young kid); The Teacher (about his high school English teacher who guided him through reading); Charles Dickens and Daufuskie Island (the last place he worked as a teacher for some illiterate black islanders off the coast of South Carolina for a year and their version of A Christmas Carol); The Old New York Book Shop (a used bookstore in Atlanta that he discovered in the 1970s and began his book collection with them); On Being a Military Brat; A Southerner in Paris (writing his novel in Paris); A Love Letter to Thomas Wolfe (his obsession with the author); The Count (his obsession with War and Peace); My Teacher, James Dickey (taking a class under the author), and the essay Why I write.His high school English teacher, Gene Norris, was like a father-figure to him. He also helped to guide him on his reading journies. The two would take weekend trips together to go antiquing or to meet the Poet Laureate of South Carolina, which in today's light would be deemed highly inappropriate. Nonetheless, the trips and the extra attention Norris paid to Conroy and to other kids over the years helped to save them. He sounds like he was an extraordinary man, though perhaps, an odd one.In the essay The Old New York Book Shop, he talks about the used bookstore that he walked past for the longest time in Atlanta on his way to the office he rented to write his novel out of. Until one day he stumbled into it and began buying up books like a fiend. His bookshelf at home pretty much only held textbooks from college. Soon he was getting more bookshelves. He became friends with the owner Cliff Graubart a transplanted New Yorker. He was in there all the time and knew the collection as well as Cliff and helped him to better arrange it since Cliff knew little about literature but a lot about the business end of rare books which he also sold. The bookstore would become a place for other writers to hang out and have launch parties for their books. It was THE place to be in the literary world of the area. Sadly, it closed twenty years ago.I had trouble reading this book because Conroy's giant ego and what is known as "purple prose" got in the way. Basically, he just wrote so puffed up and went on and on and you wondered if he was ever going to get to a point in your lifetime. But a couple of them were good such as the two I just mentioned and I personally liked the one on Gone With the Wind because I enjoyed that book as a child. Overall, I cannot fully recommend reading this book. Parts were good to read, but at least half of it wasn't worth it. Quotes Books contained powerful amulets that could lead to paths of certain wisdom. Novels taught her everything she needed to know about the mysteries and uncertainties of being human. She was sure that if she could find the right book, it would reveal what was necessary for her to become a woman of substance and parts.-Pat Conroy (My Reading Life p 5)In the vast repository of language, the poets never shout at you when you pass them by. Thiers is a seductive, meditative art. They hand you a file to cut your way out from any prison of misrule. -Pat Conroy (My Reading Life p 140)In Paris, it is a spiritual duty to grow fat -Pat Conroy (My Reading Life p 223)
    • 4/5
      Now here is a book about reading that does what it oughta. Conroy has erased that disappointed feeling I had after reading Howard's End is on the Landing. Conroy "grew up a word-haunted boy". He tells us how his mother instilled a love of reading and learning in him by bringing home books from the library to educate herself; how, even though he attended 11 different schools in 12 years, he managed to connect with some special teachers who made lasting impressions on his reading life (and more). He explains what certain books and authors have meant to him personally and as a writer. Finally, he left me with an urge to read something new with the turn of nearly every page.November 2011
    • 5/5
      Another gem from the gem meister. As the title suggests, this volume focuses on Conroy’s writing and his philosophy of writing....his own and others’ writing. The chapters of homage to Wolfe and Dickey are worth the price of admission. No one puts a string of words together as a sentence quite like Pat Conroy. Sometimes it works; often it doesn’t. And he would be the first to admit that with that impish grin on his face. The world misses him.
    • 5/5
      Another gem from the gem meister. As the title suggests, this volume focuses on Conroy’s writing and his philosophy of writing....his own and others’ writing. The chapters of homage to Wolfe and Dickey are worth the price of admission. No one puts a string of words together as a sentence quite like Pat Conroy. Sometimes it works; often it doesn’t. And he would be the first to admit that with that impish grin on his face. The world misses him.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite genres - memoir, loosely joined - by one of my favorite authors. Huge, extravagant, delicious page after page. It makes me want to read more, write more, think more: be more.
    • 5/5
      Conroy is an excellent writer who was obviously influenced by other great writers. In this autobiography of sorts, he revisits his path to fame and does so in the fascinating craft of a true wordsmith. He talks of his own novels but more so of those works which inspired him to reach for levels above. It is an excellent read, especially for those who have a passing acquaintance with great literature. He gives the reader a glimpse of what makes Conroy tick.
    • 4/5
      The author of the Great Santini writes about his upbringing and what literature and people influenced him. I found it to be a facsninating read. I do agree with some critics that he focuses a bit much about his relationship with his father.
    • 4/5
      I love Pat Conway, always have. I just wish he would write more books. But in the meantime,
      Listening to the books that meant something to him definitely filled the void. He also is the reader
      which adds to the charm of this audio book. He actually makes you want to read or re-read War
      and Peace!
    • 4/5
      I listened to this as an audio book, read by the author. IMO it made the experience that much more rich. This is a memoir, narrated through the lens of the author's favorite prose and poetry. The first chapter deals with the author and his relationship with his mother, summed up through his analysis of Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. Other chapters go on to reveal other books, both classic and contemporary; other relationships with family, mentors, and friends; and insights into his writing life. Sprinkled through the book are anecdotes of brief but meaningful encounters. One hilarious encounter is the befriending of a Japanese man in a French restaurant. At the end of the audio book, there is an author interview with the producer of the audio version. Conroy compared the audio book to the great story telling tradition from the south. He pointed out the acting ability required of a reader to be able to authentically conveyed in a well produced audio book. There are still a few of Conroy's books that I have not read, so now I can look forward to Conroy to do what he claims are the greatest four words in the language: "Tell me a story."I highly recommend this title.
    • 5/5
      A must for every book lover and Pat Conroy reader. He will have you making a list of books you missed reading along the way.
    • 4/5
      I thought this would be an interesting little read and I was not disappointed. I was lucky enough to secure a bound manuscript copy from the publisher.Using a variety of books he has read, over his lifetime, Conroy lets us explore his life with him. We meet his very abusive father whom he learns to love; his mother, who feels second class because of her lack of education and therefore reads everything she can get her hands on, including his reading lists, who yearns for an education and imparts this very love of knowledge to him as they read many of the books together; his poetess sister; his teacher who mentored him, the antithesis of his father, a surrogate parent who was the inspiration of his dream to write; his close friend who owns a marvelous bookstore that he explores often and where he begins to become a collector; an eccentric teacher with an odd “medicinal” need for a bit of liquor who really doesn’t belong in a library mentoring kids or in a classroom, her personality is so opposite one that encourages learning through the wonderful doors that books can open; many famous authors, among them Alice Walker who is rude to him because she doesn't like Southern white men and Thomas Wolfe, whom he credits for his writing career plus so many others that have walked with him through his life via his literary universe. We are travelers with him down the road as he searches for his real purpose.Conroy was a lonely young boy, moving from place to place, year after year, as an army brat. I tagged along through his memories as he grew up as a proper Southerner, without the customary prejudices inherent in those times, in fact, he seemed almost colorblind. Since the world was not, he suffered for his openness and all embracing spirit even being fired from a teaching job because he showed an appreciation and affection for students that were non-white. Because of his father’s military service, he moved around a lot and did not have strong roots to any one place; I learned that he was often alone and, at times, sad to the point of depression with thoughts of suicide. His marriage is a failure. From his background, he learned to expect and need order and organization. He became a creature of strong habits.His anecdotes are honest and straightforward. Most of them will delight you. They are often humorous even when they are descriptions of dangerous escapades. It is an open and objective appraisal of the events and the people that populated his life. Like Conroy, I wondered what kind of man he would have been if his background had been different. Many of his stories use themes of his past. His sojourn in Paris is a high spot in his life. From witnessing an explosion and fire there, seeing the victim burning and attempting to save him, he finally sees a shape and purpose to his life. He discovers that his passion is just that…he is “a man on fire”. He needs to express himself. First he tried to be a poet but was unsuccessful and his career ultimately took off when he became a writer of prose, of novels and now this lovely, little tale of how he grew up through the pages of various books and the friendships of some marvelous, although somewhat unusual, outside of the box, people.Although it was a bit slow and repetitive at times and the sequence of events seemed oddly out of order making it difficult to follow the time line accurately, unless I used one of his reference points, like the Bay of Pigs, etc., ultimately, I was able to follow along happily. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to any of his fans. He has a gift for putting the words on paper and breathing life into them.
    • 2/5
      I picked this up in the new book section because I enjoy reading books about reading, and also I enjoy memoirs, so this seemed like a nice fit of the two. While I finished it, it didn't rock my world, and I'm not going to run out and get some Pat Conroy books to read.
    • 3/5
      Memoirish book of reminiscences about books and literary people Conroy has known, in Conrad’s standard style, which is to say charmingly florid. I should probably just reread The Prince of Tides instead.
    • 5/5
      Pat Conroy is truly a master chef of the written word and this is like a fine honeyed confection to be enjoyed while sipping something hot. At first it seems like Conroy is just giving us a glimpse of the divine nature of reading and getting lost in what you read. In all honesty, he made some books I had previously deemed dead squirrels appear alive and frisky. I yearned to go out immediately and start each book he coated with words consummated in elegance and style. The book itself would be marvelous if that is all he did, but he goes further. Conroy also pays homage to the many men and women and experiences that gave rise to his love affair with the written word. Let's just say if Pat Conroy were to get paid for obituaries he would be a billionaire. Do yourself a blessing and at least read the description of his high school teacher that inspired him to go the next mile.
    • 5/5
      I have read and enjoyed three of Pat Conroy’s books, and have another three still to read sitting on my shelves. He is a gifted storyteller, and I very much enjoyed this book focusing on his love of literature and reading and the various influences throughout his life that set him on a literary path. I had the audio version of the book, which is narrated by Conroy himself. He’s not the most polished reader, but to hear his own story from his own lips (soft Southern slur and all) was very effective and made the telling more intimate. At turns funny and sad, [My Reading Life] is both a memoir and a manifesto; a memoir of one man’s life journey through books, and a manifesto on the value of all things biblio – books, libraries, writers, bookshops, etc. While in the middle of listening to the book, I had the opportunity to purchase a gently used hardcover copy of it, which I snapped up to add to my permanent collection. This one gets five stars because how can I quibble over such a passionate articulation of the value of books and reading?
    • 4/5
      Despite his typically overly-dramatized and overly-romanticized style, Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life succeeds because of his sincerity and charm. He explores the history of his reading life from his abused childhood to his success as an author. The violence of his Marine Corps father (non-reader) and his autodidact mother (the reader), and their tumultuous relationship, has marked all of Conroy’s writing, and that heavy presence is felt throughout. During his developmental years he looked for father figures in teachers who were the antithesis of his father and found them, most notably in his high school English teacher. All of the characters who paraded through his life and inspired a new tangent of literary exploration are remembered from his crotchety, whiskey nipping high school librarian to literary lights such as James Dickey. The works he discusses will be familiar to many while others will remind you that you always meant to read that one. Although War and Peace did not change my life as Conroy believed it would, and I debate whether it really was the greatest novel ever written, the works that inspired him will likely inspire you too.
    • 4/5
      This is more about Conroy's writing life than his reading life, but it has the customary Conroy exuberance and some of it is good reading. I wish he had named more names in regard to his reading, but his object I suppose is to get us to read HIM rather than others. He has good chapters on Gone With the Wind, War and Peace, James Dickey, Thomas Wolfe, and how he (Conroy) goes about getting himself hyped up to a sufficient stage of exuberance to write the exultant stuff he writes. I have read eight of his nine books, many with much appreciation. I do think The Lords of Discipline is the book of his which most caught me up.
    • 4/5
      Reading 'My Reading Life' by Pat Conroy was like visiting an old friend after a long time. I relished being in his presence, enjoying every page and taking comfort in the author's wonderful use of language, his insight and artistry. I realized that my relationship as a reader with this particular author is a special one, that I feel touched by greatness when I hold one of his books in my hand. I was inspired to make my own list of must read books as I read his observations on some of the greatest books ever written: Anna Karenina, Look Homeward Angel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Middlemarch, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Time and the River, and Portrait of a Lady to name a few.
    • 5/5
      This is about My Reading Life and Pat Conroy's books in general.When I was fifteen years old, my father put the book The Prince of Tides in my hands and told me to read. An unusual choice, some might think, for a 15 year old female from the suburbs in Michigan, who listened to Nirvana and frequented Denny's. This was my life though, growing up. My parents started my reading education early, as young as ten when my mother gave me James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small, and never moderated or censored my reading choices; in fact they encouraged me to read whatever I could get my hands on, and suggested many of their favorites, like J.D. Salinger, John Irving, James Herriot, and Kurt Vonnegut. I read voraciously and tenaciously, hanging on every syllable of every sentence.The Prince of Tides was a changing point in my life however; while I always read constantly, and by constantly I mean actually not putting the book down, and read while brushing my teeth, making breakfast, walking from room to room, I really couldn't put this book down. I even convinced my mom the day after I started the book that I was sick, and had to stay home from school. I finished The Prince of Tides that very day, and thus began my lifelong love of the south and southern writers. The lives of the characters in this book could not have been further from my own, yet something in the writing, in the story spoke to me. The setting, the characters, were a million miles away from my own personal landscapes, and I wanted to be part of that world. I wanted the concrete and tall buildings around me to transform into tidal lowlands; I had a crush on Luke, wanted to be Tom's friend, wanted to save Savannah. And later Luke. I can still recite from memory the poem Savannah wrote about Luke, still remember the white porpoise, Caesar, Callonwolde. This book is so full of pain and beauty and love rolled into one. I cried throughout most of it.After that day, I read all of Pat Conroy's published works, and made sure to read every new one that came out after. Now, 20 years later, I am midway through Conroy's book My Reading Life, and am just as enthralled as I always am. It has reminded me just how in love with reading, with words, with books, with the south, with southern writers, Conroy in particular, I really am. He taught me that there is magic in a sentence, and that you can never use too many adjectives. He has shaped my northern world into one that dreams of the south, flawed or unflawed."Books are living things and their task lies in their vows of silence. You touch them as they quiver with a divine pleasure. You read them and they fall asleep to happy dreams for the next ten years. If you do them the favor of understanding them, of taking in their portions of grief and wisdom, then they settle down in contented residence in your heart." Pat Conroy - My Reading Lif
    • 5/5
      Conroy reflects on authors and others who have shaped him as a writer. His high school English teacher, him mother, Tolstoy, and Thomas Wolfe played a huge role in his development. The book is an example of great story telling and his discussion of important literature might motivate readers to consider a classic or two.
    • 5/5
      An inside look at the author's evolution and the books and authors and teachers that impacted his life.I have gleaned some wonderful information about some books I have missed as an adult. I will now plumb their depths for myself.
    • 4/5
      A delight. Certainly supports any argument that the way to learn what is most important about a person is through his relationship with books and those who create them. It is hard to imagine that this impact would have been the same had the texts been electronic rather than a valued physical item. In that sense, such books as this serve to remind us what will be lost should we ever lose sight of the importance of the book not only as a delivery device for ideas, but also as a material artifact.
    • 5/5
      What a marvelous read full of insights into what helped shaped Pat Conroy's work. Beautiful drawings by Wendell Minor.
    • 3/5
      I was disappointed in this even though I'm not a Conroy fan. It's much more about him than it is about books. He says that a book rep he knew when he first started writing said that he would never be a good writer but would have his moments. That I agree with, it's not all bad, there are some interesting stories.
    • 5/5
      Terrific book written by Pat Conway relating his life-long relationship to books and reading. Why read, is the question. Conway tells us why he does, and gives us an opportunity to linger on the thoughts we have of our own "reading life" if we have not done so before in quite this way.The clearest most compelling arguments for reading poetry regularly, if not daily, are jewels in the crown of this book. Makes me want to go back and re-read some of his books and read other books that I have missed over the years for the very first time. Draws me closer to reading classics that I have delayed reading for many years. Well worth your time and worth many times more than the twenty-five dollar purchase price.
    • 3/5
      This was a pretty enjoyable little trip down Pat Conroy's memory lane, to look at all of the literature, people and places that sparked him to be not only an author, but a deeply feeling man who reveled in great (and not so great) writing. The book is comprised of a collection of essays, some of which work better than others. But he sure did evoke a wild passion in certain novels, authors and friendships. I almost felt like running out to get War and Peace! This is recommended for those who just LOVE the act of reading, sharing about what you read, learning about what you read and growing (however one does that individually) from the process. Some essays will resonate more than others, but I'm pretty sure there will be some each reader will love.
    • 3/5
      OK, why did I give this book a three? Because I didn’t have 1/2 and 3/4 stars to use. I loved all his other books. I did like this book but I don't feel that it is one of his best. I couldn't give it 4 stars (really liked it) because a lot of it I had read before in his other books. One thing that I will admit, I kept comparing it to Stephen King's 'On Writing' which was at least 50% on reading. I came away from the book with a long list of books that I wanted to read.I enjoyed his stories about his mother and her love for reading but could not take any more stories about his father.My favorite chapters were: 1) The Lily 2) The Old New York Book Shop 3) A Southerner in Paris 4) The Count and 5) My Teacher James Dickey.What do I think would have made this book better? Shortening it and leaving his father out. To read more about his father is depressing. More stories about other people and less about what is good writing.
    • 3/5
      What I liked about this book: - it made me really want to read [34878::Gone with the Wind]. Or maybe get the audio version. Or at least watch the movie again. - The chapter about Paris, because interesting things are always bound to happen in Paris.- It made me really want to read [995::War and Peace]. Which is nothing new, but still.What I didn't like about this book:- Why say something in a few sentences when you can say it using ten thousand words instead? - His emotional and mental distress must have been catching, because it was making me more upset than I already was. - I quite admire [[hemingwayernest::Ernest Hemingway]] for the directness and simplicity of his language.- Pat Conroy on [[wolfethomas::Thomas Wolfe]]: "His art is completely overdone and yet I find it incomparably beautiful." - It put me off reading Thomas Wolfe, and sort of put me off reading more Pat Conroy too for that matter.