Synopsis

Big Reader; essays

Susan Olding

"If these essays were glass bells and you struck them one by one with your favourite pen, they would ring with the purest, clearest notes, each chapter in its singularity contributing to the gorgeous orchestral music that this book is. Olding has found exactly the right balance between the details of her life and the wide reach of research and obsession..." Lorna Crozier, Canadian poet

Susan Olding "turns to the library to read her own life". Her literary essays reference books she has read, their effect on her at the time she read them and their continuing influence. The titles of the essays reference the location or circumstance germane to reading each book. Books read become her lifelong companions and teachers.

In this episode Susan chats with Ingrid Rose about her essay, Beach Reading which cycles around her recurring encounters with Doris Lessing's famous book, The Golden Notebook.

Big Reader was released in May, 2021 and may be ordered from the publisher, Freehand Books, your favourite bookstore, or online from Chapters Indigo or Amazon.

Susan Olding's previous book Pathologies: A Life in Essays, was selected by 49th Shelf and Amazon.ca as one of 100 Canadian books to read in a lifetime.