Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading is a rather fascinating memoir. An avid reader as a child, and now a professor and literary critic, Maureen Corrigan describes her life here as it intersects with books: her early memories of her father's love of reading, her experiences in graduate school, how various books (and genres) shaped her thoughts and ideas, and so on. She intersperses the autobiographical with review and analysis of a wide range of literature, and then finishes with a spot-on description of Irish Catholic New York culture, and a list of recommended books broken down by category.

This isn't for everyone (no book is, really, although some come closer than others). But for other somewhat obsessive readers--those who can't get on a plane without a book, those who can't pass a bookstore without stopping in and buying something, those who have books piled up in every room of the house--this is for you. Enjoy. Get some new recommendations. Take a new look at an old favorite. Hang a sign on the door: "Leave me alone, I'm reading."

BOOK: Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading

AUTHOR: Maureen Corrigan

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2007

IMAGE: book cover, Vintage