Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Morningstar: Growing Up With Books
    Morningstar: Growing Up With Books
    Morningstar: Growing Up With Books
    Audiobook3 hours

    Morningstar: Growing Up With Books

    Written by Ann Hood

    Narrated by Donna Postel

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In her admired works of fiction, including the recent The Book that Matters Most, Ann Hood explores the transformative power of literature. Now, with warmth and honesty, Hood reveals the personal story behind these works of fiction.

    Growing up in a mill town in Rhode Island, in a household that didn't foster the love of literature, Hood nonetheless learned to channel her imagination and curiosity by devouring The Bell Jar, Marjorie Morningstar, The Harrad Experiment, and other works. These titles introduced her to topics that could not be discussed at home: desire, fear, sexuality, and madness. Later, Johnny Got His Gun and The Grapes of Wrath influenced her political thinking as the Vietnam War became news; Dr. Zhivago and Les Miserables stoked her ambition to travel the world. With characteristic insight and charm, Hood showcases the ways in which books gave her life and can transform-even save-our own.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateAug 1, 2017
    ISBN9781681687315
    Morningstar: Growing Up With Books
    Author

    Ann Hood

    Ann Hood was born in Rhode Island. She graduated with a degree in American Literature and worked as a flight attendant for TWA for 8 years. Whilst working as a flight attendant, Ann got a Master's degree from New York University. She lived in NYC until 1993 when she re-met and married someone she knew in high school. Ann had a son, Sam, who is now 13. Her daughter Grace died in 2002 when she was 5; as a result, she adopted a baby from China last year, Annabelle, who is now 2.

    More audiobooks from Ann Hood

    Related to Morningstar

    Related audiobooks

    Literary Criticism For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Related categories

    Reviews for Morningstar

    4/5

    50 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I think I liked Kitchen Yarns better. This lacked something I can’t put my finger on.
    • 4/5
      "I believe that magically the book we are supposed to read somehow appears in out hands at just the right time" (126).Ann Hood grew up in a small town in Rhode Island, the children of Italian immigrants, who always dreamed of traveling beyond and becoming a writer. In this book of ten essays or Lessons she learned from books, Hood explores the many ways that reading is not an escape from life, but a way to live.I generally love getting a glimpse of a reader's relationship with books, but I had a tough time with this one. I admit, some of the fault may lie with me as a reader. First, I didn't realize they were essays until I was partway through. I'd been reading it as a connected narrative and was growing impatient with repeated thoughts and not being able to follow what was happening chronologically. Next, Hood grew up during the 1960s and read a lot of books that I have not. Usually even when an author's personality or experience is markedly different from mine, I can connect with shared favorite books. I've only read one of the books that Hood mentions as seminal in her life, and I didn't like it - the others, I've heard of but have no interest in. There were moments where I could glimpse a fellow book and language lover, such as when she talks of reading the right book in just the right moment or having family members that didn't understand how she could be reading instead of playing outside. But most of the time I was bewildered by her precocious reading and wondering if she's really as elitist as she sounds when she almost apologizes for loving a book that she's since grown to realize isn't as well-written as she once thought. If you're a reader and love books about books, though, don't let my ambivalence discourage you. It's a short book worth spending the time to read, and you may discover it connects with you better than it did me.
    • 3/5
      I find this type of book interesting, but this writer seems too self-absorbed. Growing up in the same time period, I expected to relate to her stories of growing up with books, but didn't. I've read other books of this sort and took away suggestions for future reading, but didn't. Surprisingly after making much of her immigrant roots and small town upbringing, the fact that both her and her brother attended college when many didn't is just a casual mention.
    • 5/5
      Highly recommended for anyone who loves books. Thank you, Ann Hood, for stirring up so many long-forgotten memories of growing up reading.
    • 4/5
      This is a lovely book about books. Written so very well, each page is a joy. Ann Hood takes the reader on a wonderful journey of books that changed her life. Weaving the title of the book with the story of how and why the particular book led the author on a marvelous path, I read the book in one sitting, relating to many of which I had read.Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      Hood's memoir through books is organized around "lessons" she learned from various books she read in her childhood or young adulthood. A pleasant, entertaining, sometimes insightful little read. If you enjoy books about books and reading, not a bad addition to that genre.
    • 5/5
      Ann Hood is not only an author, but also an extreme lover of books. This slim novel, 186 pages, begins with her very first exposure to books and reading and the impact certain tomes had on her academics and relationships. The author does a fine job describing the emotional impact certain passages on her well-being and life choices. Her descriptions will encourage other to read the books mentioned.I was randomly chosen through a Goodreads Giveaway to receive this book free from the publisher. Although encouraged, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
    • 4/5
      Another book about books, the second I have read in a short space of time. Nothing too different, an authors experience with her love of books and the books that changed her life, seeming to fall into her hands at just the right time. What resonated with me though was that her reading experiences, the books themselves, and even the time period when she read them , as well as her reactions when she read them, almost perfectly matched my own. One in particular was almost a perfect match and it is her reading of the novel, Johnny got his gun, a book that she read when she was fifteen and the book that first opened her eyes to social consciousness, and a book that haunts her to this day. Read this at exactly the same she, and it had the same effect on me, also one of two books that haunts me. Her reading was never directed, nor censored and nor was mine, something of which I am extremely grateful to my parents and teachers. Of course other novels are mentioned, all of which I have read, only one that I didn't. Her Italian family, their love of food, their love of family. This book brought back so many memories, and although a relatively short read, I loved every moment.ARC from publisher.Publishes August 1st by W. W. Norton.