Books for Living by Will Schwalbe

“What are you reading? isn’t a simple question when asked with genuine curiosity; it’s really a way of asking, Who are you now and who are you becoming?”

Will Schwalbe, Books for Living

I.love.books. So this text was obviously a natural choice for me to pick up. It was actually a colleague of mine who brought it to my attention, and I was none-to-happy to oblige her.

Will Schwalbe writes about snippets of his life in relation to the books that he loves (or that speak to him). A few of the books mentioned, I have read; many of them I would like to read; and most of the last few sounded anything but interesting. But all-in-all, there was a little bit of everything in here for me.

While it may seem odd to read about books that one individual (an individual whom I don’t even know) finds important, it is actually insightful and enlightening, not only from a “book front” but also on a personal level.

I truly, greatly, believe that you cannot reach your potential, or grow to a maximum extreme, if you do not read – hence the reason there is a category on this blog (a blog about health and happiness) that has nothing to do with anything else but books. This book was also the first text that I chose to highlight within this category, because, what an interesting starting point when you are on the quest for resources. Reading self-help books again and again can certainly assist in your growth (trust me, I will have plenty posted through here – that genre is a favorite of mine), but diversifying yourself a little, rounds you out. It helps you grow in all directions. There are no right or wrong answers within a book or the decision to pick it up – just read what speaks to you – which is exactly what I was trying to say in the beginning of the third paragraph, on this review.

SO, even though, in the end, I only gave this 3.5 stars (on my book review site), if you are a connoisseur of books, then you need to read this. I walked away with some great appreciation for some of the things that Schwalbe said about the world today, and there is definitely something for everyone within this text.