Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books
Jan 2014 · Macmillan + ORM
3.7star
3 reviewsreport
Ebook
239
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
“A delectably sophisticated inquiry into why reading is a constant source of pleasure and provocation.” —Booklist
“Reading Why I Read delivers all the pleasure of discussing one’s favorite books with a marvelously articulate, intelligent, opinionated friend. It’s like joining the book club of your dreams.” —Francine Prose
“Wendy Lesser’s extraordinary alertness, intelligence, and curiosity have made her one of America’s most significant cultural critics,” writes Stephen Greenblatt. In Why I Read, Lesser draws on a lifetime of pleasure reading and decades of editing to describe a life lived in and through literature. As she examines work from such perspectives as “Character and Plot,” “Novelty,” “Grandeur and Intimacy,” and “Authority,” the reader will discover a definition of literature that is as broad as it is broad-minded. In addition to novels and stories, Lesser explores plays, poems, and essays, along with mysteries, science fiction, and memoirs. Her passion for reading is infectious—and it resonates on every page. Iconoclastic, conversational, and full of insight, Why I Read will delight avid readers as well as neophytes in search of sheer literary fun.
“Everywhere in Why I Read lie ribbons of literary wisdom. . . . Lesser argues for the Great Books in words that might be engraved in granite.” —William Giraldi, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“She offers insights into George Orwell and Henning Mankell, Emily Dickinson and Roberto Bolaño, J.R. Ackerley and Shakespeare, Henry James and Isaac Asimov—to name but a few. . . . The effect is rather as if Lesser were writing to a friend about the most fabulous literary party of all time, where she’d been in conversation not with authors but with their works.” —Claire Messud, Bookforum
“Reading Why I Read delivers all the pleasure of discussing one’s favorite books with a marvelously articulate, intelligent, opinionated friend. It’s like joining the book club of your dreams.” —Francine Prose
“Wendy Lesser’s extraordinary alertness, intelligence, and curiosity have made her one of America’s most significant cultural critics,” writes Stephen Greenblatt. In Why I Read, Lesser draws on a lifetime of pleasure reading and decades of editing to describe a life lived in and through literature. As she examines work from such perspectives as “Character and Plot,” “Novelty,” “Grandeur and Intimacy,” and “Authority,” the reader will discover a definition of literature that is as broad as it is broad-minded. In addition to novels and stories, Lesser explores plays, poems, and essays, along with mysteries, science fiction, and memoirs. Her passion for reading is infectious—and it resonates on every page. Iconoclastic, conversational, and full of insight, Why I Read will delight avid readers as well as neophytes in search of sheer literary fun.
“Everywhere in Why I Read lie ribbons of literary wisdom. . . . Lesser argues for the Great Books in words that might be engraved in granite.” —William Giraldi, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“She offers insights into George Orwell and Henning Mankell, Emily Dickinson and Roberto Bolaño, J.R. Ackerley and Shakespeare, Henry James and Isaac Asimov—to name but a few. . . . The effect is rather as if Lesser were writing to a friend about the most fabulous literary party of all time, where she’d been in conversation not with authors but with their works.” —Claire Messud, Bookforum
Ratings and reviews
3.7
3 reviews
About the author
Wendy Lesser is the founder and editor of The Threepenny Review, which Adam Zagajewski has called "one of the most original literary magazines not only in the U.S. but also on the entire planet." She is the author of eight previous books of nonfiction and one novel. Her recent books include the prizewinning Music for Silenced Voices: Shostakovich and His Fifteen String Quartets. She has written for The New York Times Book Review, the London Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, and other publications. She divides her time between Berkeley, California, and New York City.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
