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How to Talk about Books You Haven't Read
Pierre Bayard
Translated by Jeffrey Mehlman
#UB9422
Hardcover, 185 pages; 2007
$19.95
 Members' Price: $16.96
In How to Talk about Books You Haven't Read, French psychoanalyst and professor of literature Pierre Bayard presents a provocative and witty critique of reading. Faced with the futility of reading every published book of significance, Bayard argues that different methods of "non-reading"—including skimming, perusing others'assessments, and sampling selected passages—can be more effective in terms of cultural literacy than indepth reading. Drawing upon the work of an eclectic group of authors such as Montaigne, Graham Greene, and Umberto Eco, Bayard offers an unconventional perspective on the way we read and discuss books, contending that "being cultivated is a matter not of having read any book in particular, but of being able to find your bearings within books as a system."Critics disagree as to whether Bayard's tome is a serious philosophical offering or a tongue-incheek satire. Regardless, it encourages spirited discussion and thoughtful reflection…whether you read it from cover to cover or not.
(AG)
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