About the Book
Dirda's latest volume collects fifty of his witty and wide-ranging reflections on literary journalism, book collecting, and the writers he loves. Reaching from the classics to the post-moderns, his allusions dance from Samuel Johnson, Ralph Waldo Emerson and M. F. K. Fisher to Marilynne Robinson, Hunter S. Thompson, and David Foster Wallace. Dirda's topics are equally diverse: literary pets, the lost art of cursive writing, book inscriptions, the pleasures of science fiction conventions, author photographs, novelists in old age, Oberlin College, a year in Marseille, writer's block, and much more, not to overlook a few rants about Washington life and American culture. As admirers of his earlier books will expect, there are annotated lists galore of perfect book titles, great adventure novels, favorite words, essential books about books, and beloved children's classics, as well as a revealing peek at the titles Michael keeps on his own nightstand. Funny and erudite, occasionally poignant or angry, Browsings is a celebration of the reading life, a fan's notes, and the perfect gift for any booklover. "
Review :
A rambunctious personality wanders the aisles of rare-book stores; musing about language, aging and traffic; and catching up with fellow aficionados of the weird and the obscure. The innumerable forgotten books he catalogs are captivating.
A set of appealingly conversational meditations on the life of the mind. The author s personality is so vivid and immediate that a readerly rapport is established almost instantly. The hallmarks of the Dirdanian sensibility includes a wry, slightly avuncular tone that wears its erudition slightly, a pronounced interest in genre fiction, and a sturdy sort of common-sense approach to critical theory, all with a light dusting of loveable curmudgeon and a sprinkle of raffish boulevardier. Cheerfully eccentric, Dirda eschews the lofty pronouncement of Olympian judgment, preferring instead a hale and friendly exploration of shared enthusiasm."
A witty, informative and amusing book, filled with small treasures of insight that booklovers will retain as a roadmap to future reading adventures. A book that I know I will keep in my collection and enjoy for years to come.
It s awfully refreshing, in this Age of Noise, to know that there are still critics like Michael Dirda reading the pages of books old and new. These 52 essays showcase Dirda s remarkable range of fancy and his indomitable and unabashed joyfulness in the memory of his own reading life. For all their intelligence, these essays are not pedantic. Rather, they have a sort of plain-spoken elegance about them, one that relies more on a generosity of feeling than on an excess of intellect. Dirda shows that he s one of the most accessible critics still doing the good work."
Browsings is as much about living with books, about serendipitous discovery, as about the boundless pleasures of reading. Dirda''s comradely essays are unfailingly informative and amusing, punctuated with poignant asides on the aging artist and paeans to great literary scholars. His almost single-minded passion, the exhilaration of a life in literature, glows on every page. "
A brief, elegant reflection. For so many years Dirda has been such an insightful guide to literatures past and present.--Nick Owchar
A valentine to people who love reading and books. Dirda is gently self-deprecating about his writing and enthusiasms, but his humility is contradicted by his huge roster of literary acquaintances, vast knowledge of both popular and literary fiction, and omnivorous tastes as a reader.
Beyond bibliophilism, this is a work about how reading stories builds relationships between readers and writers and between readers and readers and how these relationships change and shape one s life. Dirda s exuberance is infectious, and the book is hard to put down. Clearly this author recognizes that the most important quality of a book is the pleasure it gives."
Charming.
If we were all to write about reading as Dirda does, if we taught children to write from joy rather than to form arguments, then the world would have many more serious readers and far better books.
In remembering and reflecting upon his own first excitements as a reader, Dirda is infectious.--Larry McMurtry
Michael Dirda is one of the great book reviewers of our age. It is not merely that his writing is so lucid and intelligent or that his taste is so inclusive but discerning. The key to his particular magic is that he is always alert to the complex pleasures that animate literature. His engaging essays are those of a restless, omnivorous reader and a true bookman.--Dana Gioia, poet and former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts
Michael Dirda, bookman extraordinaire, has elevated the indulgent pleasures of browsing to the quality of high art. A marvelous collection for serious book lovers, common readers and all of us who take a guilty delight in the gossip of literature.--Alberto Manguel, author of 'A History of Reading'
Pleasure, provocation, passion just some of the words that came to my mind and through my heart as Iperusedthis book. A reunion with the old forgotten favorite books and an introduction to some dazzling new ones, this is a book to go to bed with, to wake up to, and to browse through in between.--Azar Nafisi, #1 'New York Times' bestselling author of 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' and 'The Republic of Imagination'"
This joy-filled, reflective collection makes perfect bedside reading.Literate but never snobby, this collection of essays surely willentertain and enlighten book lovers of all stripes."
Imagine having a really unbelievably well-read friend, who likes the same stuff that you do but is able to articulate why he loves it so much better than you can. And while explaining it points you at a hundred books and authors you'd love but haven't heard of or have never got around to reading. And who makes you feel, by the end of his explanation, as if you've been inaugurated into a secret society of people who love what can be done with words. That's who Michael Dirda is, and that's what this book does. --Neil Gaiman"
Michael Dirda's witty essays on books and bookishness are as addictive as literary potato chips you simply cannot stop with just one. Not only do they whet your appetite for the many volumes he so engagingly recommends, they give you a craving for more of Dirda's own quirky personality. He is our own Montaigne and our Hazlitt. I want more! --Thomas Mann, author of 'The Oxford Guide to Library Research'"
Michael Dirda''s witty essays on books and bookishness are as addictive as literary potato chips you simply cannot stop with just one. Not only do they whet your appetite for the many volumes he so engagingly recommends, they give you a craving for more of Dirda''s own quirky personality. He is our own Montaigne and our Hazlitt. I want more! --Thomas Mann, author of 'The Oxford Guide to Library Research'"
Charming. "
Dirda has written a rollicking, erudite, and terrifically beguiling little book. Reading experiences don't get much more captivating than this; nor does literary criticism. --Maureen Corrigan"
