Howards End is on the Landing-Susan Hill

Book Title: Howards End is on the Landing
Author: Susan Hill
Version: Nook Book
ISBN: 9781847652638
Published: August 8, 2010
Publisher: Profile
Genre: Memoir

Note: I know that I said I was going to review "Night Film" after my vacation but I have been thinking about this book for too long and I just have to get this review out of the way before I do "Night Film." 

SYNOPSIS: This book was supposed to be about a woman named Susan Hill who is a writer and reviewer and who after a search for a particular book in her home realized how many books she had that she had forgotten. She then decided to take a year and just read the books that she had in her home that she hadn't read yet or books that she owned that she forgot she had. She was going to buy no new books, she was instead going to enjoy the ones she already had.

This book was really about a woman who simply wanted to name drop and put down people with eReaders. There was very little talk about the books she read and more talk about where books were put in her house and the authors and famous journalists she met. There was some talk about books she has read, and some talk about books she studied in school. Mostly though she would talk about how she would never get an ereader because that was what real readers did and which famous people she knew or corresponded with. 

REVIEW: I try very hard to be as kind as possible while still being truthful in my reviews. But I feel as if I was being put down through out the whole book because I was reading on my nook. She made me feel inadequate because I hadn't read the complete collection of the famous writer Snotty McHighonhishorse. 

I didn't like this book, I didn't enjoy being talked down to through literature. Books are supposed to be enjoyed however they can be, in any form that people choose to enjoy them. Now I am a huge fan of every sort of book, I think that I have established that, but not all people are. A lot of people only like reading romance novels, or their bookshelves are filled with nothing but James Patterson, have Nooks filled with every classic ever written. Does that mean that the person who loves 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and all books like it is less of a reader than the person who's favorite book is 'War & Peace?' I think not. Am I any less well read because I read some of my books on a nook rather than the physical book? I don't think so. 

In fact I am able to read more because I have a nook, ebooks are more affordable and because this is New York and my space is limited I can own more books because ebooks take up no space. Because ebooks are more affordable and more accessible more people seem to be reading these days. So why would Ms. Hill spend a good chunk of her time putting down ereaders and those that use them? I feel as if that is totally counter intuitive for people to read. More people are getting back into reading because they have become more accessible to books again due to ebooks and ereaders.   

The writing was sub par, the story wasn't really what it was supposed to be and Susan Hill just all around rubbed me the wrong way. I was highly disappointed in the book as a whole and I was so angry the whole time that the question has to be asked 'why did I finish reading it?' I have no answer, I kept hoping that there would be some talk about books, or the utter joy she had while rereading a favorite passage but it just wasn't there. For someone who claims to love books the way she did I felt that she spent most of her time talking about how well educated and awesome she is. I want to say that there are a few parts about her excitement about libraries and how reading has always been a big part of her life. Books were talked about to a degree, I am not being fair saying that there was no book talk, however I feel that this was supposed to be a book all about books. An entire year spent reading and rereading amazing books. Her love for each new book or rediscovered book was what was missing. That was what I was expecting and the fact that, that wasn't what I was given was what disappointed me.  

I hate to put down a fellow reviewer and book lover but I felt like she just didn't care. I apologize to Susan Hill if my review seems harsh but I felt the whole time that I was being made fun of and put down for not having a degree in English literature and enjoying ebooks. I read books because they make me feel good, they make me laugh or cry, I get excited or fully absorbed in a new subject but no matter how I feel after I've read a book I always, always feel accomplished. I'm excited about reading and learning new things. But after I finished this book, I felt judged and angry and frustrated. This is not a good book to read. It's something that you can skip easily. It really was a disappointment but I have to say that I do not recommend this book at all. And I really hate not being able to recommend a book. However this is just a book that I have to say a big no to because it just doesn't love it's readers back, and I feel that, that is what good books do.