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More copies of this ISBN:How to Talk about Books You Haven't Readby Pierre Bayard
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The runaway French bestseller hailed by the New York Times as “a survivors guide to life in the chattering classes.” If civilized people are expected to have read all important works of literature, and thousands more books are published every year, what are we supposed to do in those awkward social situations in which were forced to talk about books we havent read? In this delightfully witty, provocative book, a huge hit in France that has drawn attention from critics around the world, literature professor and psychoanalyst Pierre Bayard argues that its actually more important to know a books role in our collective library than its details. Using examples from such writers as Graham Greene, Oscar Wilde, Montaigne, and Umberto Eco, and even the movie Groundhog Day, he describes the many varieties of “non-reading” and the horribly sticky social situations that might confront us, and then offers his advice on what to do. Practical, funny, and thought-provoking, How to Talk About Books You Havent Read is in the end a love letter to books, offering a whole new perspective on how we read and absorb them. Its the book that readers everywhere will be talking aboutand despite themselves, readingthis holiday season. Review:"Bayard (Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?), a professor of French literature at the University of Paris openly (if not entirely convincingly), confesses to having neither the time nor the inclination to do much reading. Yet he is all too aware that in his profession, one is often expected to have read the literature one is teaching or talking about with colleagues. In this extended essay, a bestseller in France, Bayard argues that the act of reading is less important than knowing the social and intellectual context of a book. He is so convinced of this that he claims there is great enjoyment — and even enlightenment — in discussing a book one has not read with someone equally unfamiliar with it. Despite appearances, Bayard's volume is not a self-help book or a bluffer's guide to great literature, but instead serves to warn people not to try to impress others with how much they have read. The truth is, most of the time they're fibbing and there are many gradations between total reading and complete nonreading, he declares, including hearing about a book, skimming it and forgetting its contents. A little too much impenetrable psychoanalytic jargon sometimes threatens to overwhelm Bayard's argument, but Bayard's at least partly tongue-in-cheek argument about not reading is well worth reading." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:Praise for How to Talk About Books You Havent Read: "I probably shouldn't bring any of this up, but Mr. Bayard holds that one of the best reasons for reading a book is that it allows you to talk about yourself. How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read is an amusing disquisition on what is required to establish cultural literacy in a comfortable way. Lightly laced with irony, the book nonetheless raises such serious questions as: What are our true motives for reading? Is there an objective way to read a book? What do we retain from the books we've read?"--Joseph Epstein, Wall Street Journal “Witty and charming and often fun.”Sam Anderson, New York Magazine "I read and adored Pierre Bayards book. It's funny, smart, and so truea wonderful combination of slick French philosophizing and tongue-in-cheek wit, and an honest appraisal of what it means, or doesn't mean, to read."--Clare Messud, author of The Emperors Children “It may well be that too many books are published, but by good fortune, not all must be read…A survivors guide to life in the chattering classes…evidently much in need.”New York Times "In this work of inspired nonsense — which nevertheless evokes our very real sense of insecurity about the gaps in our cultural knowledge — reading is not only superfluous, it is meaningless. Our need to appear well-read is all."--Sarah Gold, Chicago Tribune“In this hilarious and elaborate spoof, Bayard proves once again that being almost ridiculously erudite and screamingly funny are by no means mutually exclusive." Booklist “Brilliant…A witty and useful piece of literary sociology, designed to bring lasting peace of mind to the scrupulous souls who grow anxious whenever the book-talk around them becomes too specific.”London Review of Books “With rare humor, Bayard liberally rethinks the social use [of literature] and the position of the reader…Read or skim How to Talk About Books You Havent Read. Or simply listen to what people say about it so that you can talk about it with ease. In either case, you may not be able to forget it.”Les Inrockuptibles Synopsis:In this provocative, witty book, literature professor and psychoanalyst Bayard argues that non-reading can be just as useful an act as reading. He states that the truly cultivated person is not the one who has read a book, but the one who understands the books place in culture. About the AuthorPierre Bayard is a professor of French literature at the University of Paris VIII and a psychoanalyst. He is the author of Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?and of many other books. Jeffrey Mehlman is a professor of French at Boston University and the author of a number of books, including Emigré New York. He has translated works by Derrida, Lacan, Blanchot, and other authors. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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