Classics for Pleasure($19.99Value)

Description

Organized thematically, a collection of essays introduces nearly ninety of the world's most entertaining and informative books, covering masterpieces of fantasy and science fiction, horror and adventure, epics, history, philosophy, essays, and children's literature, by authors ranging from Sappho and Petronius to Frederick Douglass, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Georgette Heyer. The book critic for the Washington Post offers a wealth of personal takes on works of fiction, poetry, drama, and other nonfiction prose that have come to be regarded as classics and thus, he fears, are generally thought of as "difficult, esoteric, and a little boring." It is Dirda's conviction that "great books speak to us of our own very real feelings and failings, of our all-too-human daydreams and confusions," and to broadcast that sentiment widely, he supplies energetic, even exciting, 3-page essays on approximately 90 authors. He arranges his selections into nontraditional categories, from "Playful Imagination" ("the realm of every sort of laughter—wit, irony, repartee, satire, gallows humor, imaginative exuberance, the fanciful and the surreal") to "Heroes of Their Time" ("the heroes range from a slayer of monsters to striking coal miners, from Persia's greatest champion to the dirt-poor of Depression-era America"). Provides true inspiration to shut off HBO and start reading. Hooper, Brad Classics for pleasure? To some readers this may seem an oxymoron. Aren't classics supposed to be difficult, esoteric, and probably a little boring? . . . I sympathize with this common view, even if it is largely wrong. Classics are classics not because they are educational, but because people have found them worth reading, generation after generation, century after century. More than anything else, great books speak to us of our own all-too-real feelings, confusions and daydreams This is not, your father's?or your mother's--list of classics. In these delightful essays, Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Dirda introduces nearly ninety of the world's most entertaining books. Writing with affection as well as authority, Dirda covers masterpieces of fantasy and science fiction, horror and adventure, as well as of biography and history, poetry and children's literature. Organized thematically, these are the works that have shaped our imaginations and inspired our dreams and adventures. Here are Sappho's yearnings and the Arthurian romances, the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the ghost stories of M. R. James, the classic fairy tales and the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer. Dirda approaches each of his chosen titles as a passionate reader rather than as a critic or scholar. He points us to new authors, less familiar classics, and genre titles often excluded from the canon. Whether writing about Petronius or S. J. Perelman, H. P. Lovecraft or the Icelandic sagas, Michael Dirda makes literature come alive. Full of surprises and wit, Classics for Pleasure is a perfect companion for any reading group or lover of books. ADVANCE PRAISE FOR CLASSICS FOR PLEASURE "It is hard to think of another writer who loves books so passionately, who has such broad tastes and impeccably high standards?and who writes about literature with such intelligence, generosity, and enthusiasm. Michael Dirda is a cultural treasure." ?Francine Prose "Michael Dirda's honest and careful perceptions have been crafted for people who read. He has the wonderful ability to make us feel as intelligent as he is."?Guy Davenport "This book is full of short, sharp loving Shocks of Appreciation, cunningly arranged in sequences we would have never dreamed up--I doubt George Meredith, C P Cavafy, Georgette Heyer and Anna Akhmatova have ever been juxtaposed before--but which add up to a vision far greater than the sum of its parts.."--John Clute "Michael Dirda is the best-read person in America. But he doesn t rub it in."--Michael Kinsley, Time columnist and former editor of Slate MICHAEL DIRDA received the Pulitzer Prize for his literary criticism in the Washington Post Book World. He is the author of the memoir An Open Book, as well as several collections of essays, most recently Bound to Please (a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award) and Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life. He lives in Washington, D.C. MICHAEL DIRDA received the Pulitzer Prize for his literary criticism in the Washington Post Book World. He is the author of the memoir An Open Book, as well as several collections of essays, most recently Bound to Please (a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award) and Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life. He lives in Washington, D.C.