Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading

July 25, 2005
Corrigan, the book reviewer for NPR's Fresh Air
and mystery columnist for the Washington Post,
makes her own book debut with an often longwinded and tedious account of how books have shaped her life. It's clear from every page that Corrigan is obsessed with reading books. Her compulsion is a bit far reaching, however: she offers books as the reason why she delayed getting married and why she adopted her daughter in China. She intersperses lengthy descriptions and analysis of her favorite books, like Jane Eyre, Lucky Jim
and Karen
(Marie Killilea's memoir of her daughter) with stories from her own life. At times, the book reads like a feminist diatribe against the injustices female authors (and graduate students) have endured and the stereotypical portrayal of female characters. In its favor, the book allows readers to reexperience some perennial favorites, such as Pride and Prejudice
and The Maltese Falcon.
Corrigan does speak to the ability of books to provide escape and solace, and for the creation of characters we can relate to, but these few gems are buried deep in text so thick and analytical that the reader is often left gasping for air. Agent, Stuart Krichevsky.

October 1, 2005
A longtime book reviewer for National Public Radio's "Fresh Air", Corrigan (English, Georgetown Univ.) knows whereof she speaks. Far more than a readers' advisory or a collection of reviews, this collection explores how books affect us, how they change us, and how they make us. Five witty and insightful essays -among them "Catholic Martyr Stories" and "What John Ruskin and Sam Spade Taught Me About Working for a Living" -attest to how books, from the classics to the hard-boiled detective novel, have influenced this reader personally. Corrigan's natural voice and direct delivery combine wonderfully with her far-reaching analyses to make a compulsively readable work about reading and its integral place in our lives. Warmly recommended for public and most academic libraries, for collections on Catholic literature, and for all "books on books" collections. -Terren Ilana Wein, Univ. of Chicago

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2005
Corrigan's passion for books has led her to become an English professor, a book reviewer for NPR's " Fresh Air," and the author of the" Washington Post"(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)