Review: The Innocent Reader: Reflections on Reading and Writing by Debra Adelaide

The Innocent Reader by Debra Adelaide

Released: 24th September 2019

Published by: Pan Macmillan

Genre: Non Fiction, Memoir

Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pages: 257

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Books are impractical companions and housemates: they are heavy when you are travelling, and in the home take up a lot of space, are hard to keep clean, and harbour insects. It is not a matter of the physical book, it is the deep emotional connection that stretches back to my early years. Living without them is unimaginable. 

These collected essays share a joyous and plaintive glimpse into the reading and writing life of novelist, editor and teacher of creative writing Debra Adelaide.

Every book I have read becomes part of me, and discarding any is like tearing out a page from my own life. 

With immediate wit and intimacy, Adelaide explores what shapes us as readers, how books inform, console and broaden our senses of self, and the constant conversation of authors and readers with the rest of their libraries. Drawing from her experiences in the publishing industry, the academic world, her own life and the literary and critical communities, she paints a vibrant portrait of a life lived in and by books, perfect for any student, bibliophile, editor, or simply: reader.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

There is something comforting about coming back to reading essays from fellow bookworms about just what makes reading such a major part of their lives. A few years ago I had the pleasure of eagerly flipping the pages of The Simple Act of Reading, edited by Debra Adelaide, which so eloquently described the joy and wonder which these words on a page can inspire. In The Innocent Reader we have a glimpse into Adelaide's own reading and writing habits, alongside how books had shaped her life from her early years, to raising a family and becoming an academic. 

I don't know how you cope. People would say this constantly over the months that followed. What with the other children, your work...There was no mystery. I told people I coped because I had to, as any other parent would do the circumstances. I coped because there was no question of not coping, there was quite simply no alternative...But there was another reason I could cope, which was one I could never articulate, seeing as it sounded so simple-minded at times, even callous. I coped because I read. My diary of that first year or so of the treatment is also a diary of my reading, haphazard and arbitrary, literary and highbrow.

It may seem easy to dismiss taking the time to pick up a book and escape for a little while into another world as something frivolous when we could always be doing something else - or if you are reading, for it to be at least something 'literary' or 'highbrow'. But what I love about Adelaide's voice which comes through so clearly here is that literary 'snobbery' doesn't need to have a place at the table in our everyday lives. After all, where is there room for that kind of ego when you are facing some of the biggest challenges of your life? The chapters detailing reading both for her son and herself at his bedside at Sydney Children's Hospital after he was diagnosed with cancer made clear just what a difference these simple moments with a book can make.

Everyone has a story in them. Everyone has a novel in them, or so it is frequently said. And humans tell stories...so it makes sense that people everywhere, from cocktail parties to wedding receptions and the signing queues in bookshops, lean forward confidentially and offer you a story, if only you are prepared to write it. 

While it was so interesting to read about the author's personal life in this book, The Innocent Reader also offers some really useful insights into the writing process and how to go about reviewing too. Now being a 'literary critic' is a whole other world from this land of book blogging, but the process of filtering your thoughts on a written work through both a subjective and objective lens is similar. It's definitely made me reflect on how I look at the books I read, and what that special something is that draws me to a particular author or writing style. With a balanced and measured approach of someone who is well within the literary scene, Adelaide offers her own advice and reflections in a way which all readers should be able to take something away from. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

As one of my favourite quotes from this book states, "There can never be too many books, or too many writers. Or too many readers, or too much reading." When it comes down to it, I couldn't have said it better myself.