Every Day I Read is a warmly contemplative and philosophical collection of short essays by Hwang Bo-Reum about readers, reading, literature, and engaging with the written word. Written in Korean and released in 2021, this English Language translation from Bloomsbury is 240 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.
This is such an appealing and inviting book. How (and importantly *why*) we read, how to recognize and battle reading slumps, book clubs, building a reading habit, TBR piles; in total 53 ways to engage with and maybe improve an active reading lifestyle.
The author is widely read and experienced and incredibly egalitarian in her reading choices. She slips between Greek philosophy to Russian literature and modern nonfiction effortlessly. She makes a lot of salient points about engaging with others in our reading, finding, and enjoying books from authors new-to-us, as well as guilt-free joy in abandoning books that just aren't working for us (perhaps the right book at the wrong time).
The translation work by Shanna Tan is seamless, and it doesn't read as if it were translated (except that the pacing and vibe are definitely not western in style or feel).
This is one that readers will want to engage with, with a pen and paper to hand to jot down notes and titles for exploration.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 3 hours 49 minutes and is beautifully read by Rosa Escoda. She has a light, well modulated voice and uses RP (BBC voice) for this read. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.
Four stars. A worthwhile read. It would be an excellent choice for home or public library acquisition, or for buddy/bookclub discussion.
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