How One Book Leads Me to Another

I keep copious lists of books I want to read, but as a mood reader, the books I end up reading are picked according to my current reading mood. Some of my favorite reads are those that mention other book titles, which I promptly track down to read next. These books often end up in conversation with each other in my mind, because as Virginia Woolf wrote in “A Room of One’s Own”: “For books continue each other in spite of our habit of judging them separately.” You are invited to follow me down my recent rabbit hole, starting with British author Alan Bennett.

Alan Bennett’s “The Uncommon Reader” is a delightful novel that asks what would happen if the Queen of England started reading for pleasure. It is short, only 128 pages, and can be enjoyed in one or two sittings. In the story, the Queen mentions Welsh historian and author Jan Morris, whose diaries I eagerly ordered from a secondhand bookstore. I have only dipped in briefly (diaries are perfect for this,) but plan to read Morris’ “In My Mind’s Eye: A Thought Diary” and “Thinking Again.” Morris has also written British histories and travel diaries. Jan Morris died in 2020 and before her death she wrote “Allegorizings,” a collection of letters, mini-essays and more to be published after her death, a last collection for her readers. I’m intrigued by the idea of reading an author’s last thoughts, and would like to add this book to my To Be Read list as well.

After reading Alan Bennett’s novel about the Queen, I craved more of his wit, and purchased “House Arrest: Pandemic Diaries” by Alan Bennett. This slim, 49-page volume is Bennett’s diary entries from February 2020-March 2021. These are my favorite type of diary entries, because Bennett frequently name-drops book titles and author’s names. His musings include mourning the closure of a favorite bookshop, owned by a woman who blacklisted titles she disagreed with and would not sell him “Moby Dick” (Bennett 25.) He mentions not only books he is enjoying, but those he doesn’t care for. He writes, “26 November: A new biography of Graham Greene: not read, like, I have to confess, most of his work” (Bennett 35.) Bennett mentions a favorite author of mine, Scottish bookstore owner Shaun Bythell, whose memoirs “Diaries of a Bookseller” and “Confessions of a Bookseller” I thoroughly enjoyed.

In his pandemic diaries, Bennett talks about why he writes, and in the process quotes author E.M. Forster, which makes me pull down my copy of “A Room with a View” by Forster. I’ve owned and borrowed multiple editions over the years–one I had to replace after dropping it in the snow while moving. I think this is one book that I love enough that it is worth owning multiple editions. At some point I could display them, a collection of one of my favorite reads, or give them away to friends in need of a good read. There is a movie version starring a young Helena Bonham-Carter and the delightful Maggie Smith.

Bennett mentions reading James Rebanks’ “English Pastoral” and “The Shepherd’s Life,” which he preferred. Like Bennett I found “English Pastoral” a bit of a slog, but the book that really interests me is “The Farmer’s Wife” by Helen Rebanks, James’ wife. Rebanks’ memoir focuses on the challenges of living as a farming family, keeping a home and raising children, and how she persists through tough days. I have this book on my Kindle and hope to read it soon.

I find the diary format so enjoyable that I was delighted to find Alan Bennett has additional diaries. I tracked down “Untold Stories” which contains diary entries from 1996-2004 and “Keeping On Keeping On” which includes 2005-2015. So far I have been disappointed that the entries focus more on British current events and politics than books. I may try some of Bennett’s plays in the future, such as “The History Boys” or “Lady in the Van.”

Katelyn Boyer is the Adult Services Librarian at the Fergus Falls Public Library