About

A great piece of literature does not try to coerce you to believe it or to agree with it. A great piece of literature simply is. (Madeleine L’Engle, A Circle of Quiet, page 201)

The strongest, most authentic motive for deep reading … is the search for a difficult pleasure. (Harold Bloom, How to Read and Why, page 29)

I am originally from Chicago, but I have lived or studied in Utah, Seattle, Bolivia, Jerusalem, and Melbourne, Australia. I’m a stay-at-home mom with a infant. I like to read fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, both long-lasting classics and newly published works. I also like to dabble in photography and I love to write. My highest priorities are my family and my religion. Here is my webpage for more about me.

This blog is a collection of my thoughts about books and reading, and reviews of books I’ve read. I try to read things that teach me something or get me thinking, including fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. I’m excited to introduce my son to good literature!

I don’t like to “rate” books or name favorites because I cannot assign values to books: most books are both good and bad. As Madeleine L’Engle said, a great work of literature shouldn’t have to convince me that it is good. If I don’t like a book in the first 50 pages or so, I probably won’t finish it. I am not in a hurry to finish my books, and I’m often reading a few at a time. I believe books are to be enjoyed!

I’d love to hear your thoughts about reading, books, and what you enjoy. Please join the conversation! If you have reviewed a book I’ve discussed, feel free to link to your review in the comments. I’d love to visit your blog.

If you are an author or publisher, please note that I am not at this time interested in review copies of books, nor am I interested in author interviews.

If you’d like to buy the books I’ve discussed, visit my Amazon Store. You can also search for other Amazon books you may like. I also encourage you to visit your local library: it’s so much better when you can read a book for free!

Anything posted before May 1, 2008 was previously posted on my personal websites or shared elsewhere.

Enjoy!

Rebecca Reid
rebecca [at] rebeccareid [dot] com

2 Responses to “About”

AK
Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 10:50 am

Rebecca,
I was just wondering if you had read the Anne of Green Gables series? I know it’s kind of random, but I have been listening to them at work through NetLibrary Audiobooks and I wondered if you had read them and what your thoughts are one them…
Rebecca Reid
Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 11:55 am

AK, loved them when I was a kid! Seriously, one of my favorites. I reread them the year before my son was born and I thought Anne to be entirely too dramatic. My favorite as an adult was Rilla of Ingleside. I think it is a great story of a bildungroman, and it is essentially the only contemporary stories of a young girl in Canada during WWI. Very well done!

I'd love to hear your thoughts; please feel free to share them with me! However, please note that as the blog owner, I have the right to remove any comment that is off topic, defamatory, obscene, or abusive, or that uses language that is not family friendly. If you'd like further clarification, please read the comments policy.