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Books and You
Sein ganzes Leben lang hat W. Somerset Maugham nicht nur geschrieben, sondern auch"nach Lust und Laune gelesen".'Books and You'ist seine kleine persönliche Literaturgeschichte - eine Trouvaille, die zum ersten Mal auf deutsch erscheint und in der Maugham charmant und kurzweilig Auskunft gibt über die Bücher, die jeder gelesen haben soll - nicht aus Pflicht, sondern aus purer Lust.
107 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1940
7 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
W. Somerset Maugham
2,118 books6,068 followersWilliam Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He spoke French even before he spoke a word of English, a fact to which some critics attribute the purity of his style.
His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clichés' that one's wonder is finally aroused at the writer's ability to assemble so many and at his unfailing inability to put anything in an individual way.
During World War I, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service . He travelled all over the world, and made many visits to America. After World War II, Maugham made his home in south of France and continued to move between England and Nice till his death in 1965.
At the time of Maugham's birth, French law was such that all foreign boys born in France became liable for conscription. Thus, Maugham was born within the Embassy, legally recognized as UK territory.
His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clichés' that one's wonder is finally aroused at the writer's ability to assemble so many and at his unfailing inability to put anything in an individual way.
During World War I, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service . He travelled all over the world, and made many visits to America. After World War II, Maugham made his home in south of France and continued to move between England and Nice till his death in 1965.
At the time of Maugham's birth, French law was such that all foreign boys born in France became liable for conscription. Thus, Maugham was born within the Embassy, legally recognized as UK territory.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 12, 2025
Nachtrag
Natürlich immer ein schönes Geschenk für Bücherfreunde.
Natürlich immer ein schönes Geschenk für Bücherfreunde.
February 15, 2024
Grandes verdades ditas por Maugham aqui:
- A leitura deve ser um prazer
- Pular as partes chatas dos livros (até os clássicos consagrados) é ok e ninguém morre por isso
- A França é o país da prosa
- A releitura com frequência diminui nossa estima por certos autores. Alguns poucos escapam: um Tolstói, um Flaubert. Portanto a palavra gênio deve ser usada com parcimônia.
- A leitura deve ser um prazer
- Pular as partes chatas dos livros (até os clássicos consagrados) é ok e ninguém morre por isso
- A França é o país da prosa
- A releitura com frequência diminui nossa estima por certos autores. Alguns poucos escapam: um Tolstói, um Flaubert. Portanto a palavra gênio deve ser usada com parcimônia.
May 10, 2019
ENGLISH: Maugham's recommendations to his readers, about which classic books should be read. In this book, Maugham proposes 49 books for reading, 31 of which are in the English language (20 from the UK and 11 from the USA) and the other 18 belong to other languages: 13 French, three Russian, one Spanish and one German. English chauvinism is thus clear, allowing at most undoubted French influences and ignoring almost everything else.
Of the 49 books proposed by Maugham, I have read 21 (43%). Of these, I've given 5 stars to just five: Don Quixote, the only Spanish book included; the two best tragedies by Shakespeare, Hamlet and Macbeth; and the two Russian masterpieces, "War and Peace" and "The Brothers Karamazov." I've given 4 stars to four more books: "Barchester Towers" by Trollope; the stories of Edgar Allan Poe; "Parents and children" by Turgenev; and "The Three Musketeers". I have given 2 or 3 stars to the other 12 books I have read.
It is obvious, therefore, that my tastes are rather different from Maugham's, except in Russian literature. My list, if I were to make it, would be rather different. I must add that, of the 28 books in Maugham's list that I haven't read, there are many I don't intend to read. Perhaps the only ones are "The learning years of Wilhelm Meister" by Goethe, "The Princess of Cleves" by Madame de La Fayette and "Father Goriot" by Balzac.
The funny thing is that many famous books are missing and don't appear in the list. Greek and Latin classics, for example; "The Divine Comedy"; "Les misérables" by Victor Hugo; and many more. Maugham says in the introduction that he has not included those books that he found too dull when he read them. Should we assume that this applies to the ones I've just mentioned? I don't know, but I must say that "The Divine Comedy" is the only book I have read four times in a row in a single year since I became an adult. If it were dull, I wouldn't have done it. But perhaps what is exciting for me is dull for Maugham. There's no accounting for taste.
ESPAÑOL: Recomendaciones de Maugham a sus lectores sobre qué libros clásicos les conviene leer. En este librito, Maugham propone la lectura de 49 libros, de los que 31 están en lengua inglesa (20 de UK y 11 de USA) y los otros 18 pertenecen al resto de las literaturas: 13 franceses, tres rusos, un español y un alemán. Se nota, por lo tanto, el chauvinismo inglés, que admite como mucho la influencia francesa (indudable) e ignora casi todo lo demás.
De los 49 libros propuestos por Maugham, yo he leído 21 (el 43%). De ellos, sólo a cinco les he dado 5 estrellas: El Quijote, único español representado; las dos mejores tragedias de Shakespeare, Hamlet y Macbeth; y las dos obras maestras rusas, "Guerra y Paz" y "Los hermanos Karamázov". Con 4 estrellas tengo cuatro libros más: "Barchester Towers" de Trollope; los cuentos de Edgar Allan Poe; "Padres e hijos" de Turguéniev; y "Los tres Mosqueteros". A los otros 12 libros que he leído les he dado 2 o 3 estrellas.
Es evidente, por tanto, que mis gustos no coinciden demasiado con los de Maugham, salvo en la literatura rusa. Mi lista, si la hiciera, habría sido bastante diferente. Debo añadir que, de los 28 libros de la lista de Maugham que no he leído, hay muchos que no me apetece nada leer. Quizá los únicos sean "Los años de aprendizaje de Wilhelm Meister" de Goethe, "La princesa de Cléves" de Madame de La Fayette y "Le Père Goriot" de Balzac.
Lo curioso es que faltan muchos libros famosísimos, que no aparecen en la lista. Los clásicos griegos y latinos, por ejemplo; "La Divina Comedia"; "Les misérables" de Victor Hugo; y muchos más. Maugham dice en la introducción que no ha incluido aquellos libros que le resultaron pesados de leer. ¿Debemos suponer que esto se aplica a los que acabo de mencionar? No lo sé, pero debo hacer constar que "La Divina Comedia" es el único libro que he leído cuatro veces seguidas en un solo año desde que llegué a adulto. Si fuese aburrido, no habría podido hacerlo. Pero quizá lo que es apasionante para mí, resulte aburrido para Maugham. Sobre gustos no hay nada escrito.
Of the 49 books proposed by Maugham, I have read 21 (43%). Of these, I've given 5 stars to just five: Don Quixote, the only Spanish book included; the two best tragedies by Shakespeare, Hamlet and Macbeth; and the two Russian masterpieces, "War and Peace" and "The Brothers Karamazov." I've given 4 stars to four more books: "Barchester Towers" by Trollope; the stories of Edgar Allan Poe; "Parents and children" by Turgenev; and "The Three Musketeers". I have given 2 or 3 stars to the other 12 books I have read.
It is obvious, therefore, that my tastes are rather different from Maugham's, except in Russian literature. My list, if I were to make it, would be rather different. I must add that, of the 28 books in Maugham's list that I haven't read, there are many I don't intend to read. Perhaps the only ones are "The learning years of Wilhelm Meister" by Goethe, "The Princess of Cleves" by Madame de La Fayette and "Father Goriot" by Balzac.
The funny thing is that many famous books are missing and don't appear in the list. Greek and Latin classics, for example; "The Divine Comedy"; "Les misérables" by Victor Hugo; and many more. Maugham says in the introduction that he has not included those books that he found too dull when he read them. Should we assume that this applies to the ones I've just mentioned? I don't know, but I must say that "The Divine Comedy" is the only book I have read four times in a row in a single year since I became an adult. If it were dull, I wouldn't have done it. But perhaps what is exciting for me is dull for Maugham. There's no accounting for taste.
ESPAÑOL: Recomendaciones de Maugham a sus lectores sobre qué libros clásicos les conviene leer. En este librito, Maugham propone la lectura de 49 libros, de los que 31 están en lengua inglesa (20 de UK y 11 de USA) y los otros 18 pertenecen al resto de las literaturas: 13 franceses, tres rusos, un español y un alemán. Se nota, por lo tanto, el chauvinismo inglés, que admite como mucho la influencia francesa (indudable) e ignora casi todo lo demás.
De los 49 libros propuestos por Maugham, yo he leído 21 (el 43%). De ellos, sólo a cinco les he dado 5 estrellas: El Quijote, único español representado; las dos mejores tragedias de Shakespeare, Hamlet y Macbeth; y las dos obras maestras rusas, "Guerra y Paz" y "Los hermanos Karamázov". Con 4 estrellas tengo cuatro libros más: "Barchester Towers" de Trollope; los cuentos de Edgar Allan Poe; "Padres e hijos" de Turguéniev; y "Los tres Mosqueteros". A los otros 12 libros que he leído les he dado 2 o 3 estrellas.
Es evidente, por tanto, que mis gustos no coinciden demasiado con los de Maugham, salvo en la literatura rusa. Mi lista, si la hiciera, habría sido bastante diferente. Debo añadir que, de los 28 libros de la lista de Maugham que no he leído, hay muchos que no me apetece nada leer. Quizá los únicos sean "Los años de aprendizaje de Wilhelm Meister" de Goethe, "La princesa de Cléves" de Madame de La Fayette y "Le Père Goriot" de Balzac.
Lo curioso es que faltan muchos libros famosísimos, que no aparecen en la lista. Los clásicos griegos y latinos, por ejemplo; "La Divina Comedia"; "Les misérables" de Victor Hugo; y muchos más. Maugham dice en la introducción que no ha incluido aquellos libros que le resultaron pesados de leer. ¿Debemos suponer que esto se aplica a los que acabo de mencionar? No lo sé, pero debo hacer constar que "La Divina Comedia" es el único libro que he leído cuatro veces seguidas en un solo año desde que llegué a adulto. Si fuese aburrido, no habría podido hacerlo. Pero quizá lo que es apasionante para mí, resulte aburrido para Maugham. Sobre gustos no hay nada escrito.
September 24, 2016
Well that was fun. I didn’t expect to read this in one sitting, adding a dozen books to my list in the process. His approach was just so compelling:
“But literature is an art. It is not philosophy, it is not science, it is not social economy, it is not politics; it is an art. And art is for delight.”
And it appears I often agree with Maugham. He says David Copperfield was Dickens best novel, Jane Austen is perfect, and Wuthering Heights isn’t like other fiction, but gives you “a shattering experience in your own life.”
He tottered between recommending Anna Karenina or War and Peace, but decided the latter because “this immense amount of material is consummately handled, with the minute attention to detail of a Dutch picture when the occasion demands, and then, when a different treatment is needed, with the breathless sweep of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.” He did admit it has too many battle scenes.
He explains how, as Emily Brontё does in Wuthering Heights, Dostoevsky creates passionate and tormented characters that are spiritual and otherworldly, and in so doing shows us the depths of the human soul.
As for Americans, he found Hawthorne hard to believe and said Henry James had “a triviality of soul.” His preference was for Melville, Whitman and Poe.
This wasn’t pushy or pretentious. Just solid suggestions backed up with specific examples and insights from someone who knows what he is talking about.
“But literature is an art. It is not philosophy, it is not science, it is not social economy, it is not politics; it is an art. And art is for delight.”
And it appears I often agree with Maugham. He says David Copperfield was Dickens best novel, Jane Austen is perfect, and Wuthering Heights isn’t like other fiction, but gives you “a shattering experience in your own life.”
He tottered between recommending Anna Karenina or War and Peace, but decided the latter because “this immense amount of material is consummately handled, with the minute attention to detail of a Dutch picture when the occasion demands, and then, when a different treatment is needed, with the breathless sweep of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.” He did admit it has too many battle scenes.
He explains how, as Emily Brontё does in Wuthering Heights, Dostoevsky creates passionate and tormented characters that are spiritual and otherworldly, and in so doing shows us the depths of the human soul.
As for Americans, he found Hawthorne hard to believe and said Henry James had “a triviality of soul.” His preference was for Melville, Whitman and Poe.
This wasn’t pushy or pretentious. Just solid suggestions backed up with specific examples and insights from someone who knows what he is talking about.
November 26, 2025
„Books and You“ ist ein angenehm geschriebenes, überschaubares Buch, in dem W. Somerset Maugham seine Sicht auf wichtige Werke der Weltliteratur teilt. Die Sprache ist klar, zugänglich und oft unterhaltsam, sodass das Lesen nicht wie ein akademischer Pflichtstoff wirkt. Besonders gelungen ist, dass Maugham persönliche Erfahrungen einfließen lässt und klassische Autoren damit etwas greifbarer macht.
Allerdings merkt man dem Buch deutlich sein Alter an: Viele Empfehlungen spiegeln den literarischen Kanon der 1940er-Jahre wider und wirken heute teilweise einseitig oder unvollständig. Wer eine breitere oder modernere Perspektive auf Literatur erwartet, könnte daher enttäuscht sein. Zudem bleibt Maugham manchmal recht knapp, sodass seine Hinweise eher als Einstieg denn als umfassende Orientierung dienen.
Insgesamt ist Books and You ein solides, charmantes Werk für Leserinnen und Leser, die sich einen leichtgewichtigen Überblick über klassische Literatur wünschen. Für tiefere Analysen oder zeitgemäße Vielfalt reicht es jedoch nicht ganz aus.
Allerdings merkt man dem Buch deutlich sein Alter an: Viele Empfehlungen spiegeln den literarischen Kanon der 1940er-Jahre wider und wirken heute teilweise einseitig oder unvollständig. Wer eine breitere oder modernere Perspektive auf Literatur erwartet, könnte daher enttäuscht sein. Zudem bleibt Maugham manchmal recht knapp, sodass seine Hinweise eher als Einstieg denn als umfassende Orientierung dienen.
Insgesamt ist Books and You ein solides, charmantes Werk für Leserinnen und Leser, die sich einen leichtgewichtigen Überblick über klassische Literatur wünschen. Für tiefere Analysen oder zeitgemäße Vielfalt reicht es jedoch nicht ganz aus.
November 9, 2024
One of the pleasures of good used bookstores is finding copies of interesting “vintage” books like this one. In the 1930’s Maugham had a profitable adjunct to his literary reputation by recommending literature to those desirous of such enlightenment and self improvement. It was a win-win proposition that is hardly imaginable today. This volume of articles published in the Saturday Evening Post was one result. Maugham’s theme, selecting enduring masterpieces of literature for pleasure and fulfillment, is excellent. Unfortunately his judgement is too flawed and at times too biased for his recommendations to be taken as an unerring guide. He savages Emily Dickinson and evidently did not care much for Hawthorne, Thoreau, and Emerson. I found it astounding that he chose The Eustace Diamonds as the best of Anthony Trollope and Mansfield Park as the best of Jane Austin. But on the plus side the book is a goad for me to read some of those paperback copies of classic novels that have sat forlornly on my shelves unread and to seek out others in which Maugham has piqued my interest.
February 18, 2023
This was enjoyable! In it, I found a kind of Goodreads pal whose tastes agree with mine 100%, but who has a few books to recommend that I haven't already read.
For example, I vastly prefer Turgenev to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. So, apparently, does Maugham. The reason is that Turgenev is more like himself: fascinated by characters, morally accepting rather than moralizing. On Karenina:
"To bring about the tragic ending on which he had set his mind, Tolstoy had to make his heroine stupid, tiresome, exacting and unreasonable; and though, heaven knows, I would never deny that there are plenty of women who are all these, I do not find it possible greatly to sympathize with the troubles their folly has brought upon them."
Exactly! I found her so annoying, and it was hard to suffer through 800 pages of this character.
It was also a revelation to me to read this: "There is nothing in fiction that remotely resembles the novels of Dostoevsky except the Wuthering Heights of our own Emily Brontë and Melville's Moby Dick, and The Brothers Karamazov is the most tremendous of all Dostoevsky's works." There's a Sturm und Drang feel to all of these, isn't there?
I also agreed with his assessment of various writers' style and feel for character vs. plot. On Henry James: "people do not go away, they depart; they do not go home, but repair to their domiciles; and they do not go to bed, they retire". At some point, he describes the American style contemporary to the writing of Books and You as "hairy-chested", and I guffawed.
There are some head-scratching moments, such as when he instructs you to skip parts of books but then says he himself cannot really do it. Neither can I. Instead, I suffer through the interminable boredom and bitch about it here later.
For example, I vastly prefer Turgenev to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. So, apparently, does Maugham. The reason is that Turgenev is more like himself: fascinated by characters, morally accepting rather than moralizing. On Karenina:
"To bring about the tragic ending on which he had set his mind, Tolstoy had to make his heroine stupid, tiresome, exacting and unreasonable; and though, heaven knows, I would never deny that there are plenty of women who are all these, I do not find it possible greatly to sympathize with the troubles their folly has brought upon them."
Exactly! I found her so annoying, and it was hard to suffer through 800 pages of this character.
It was also a revelation to me to read this: "There is nothing in fiction that remotely resembles the novels of Dostoevsky except the Wuthering Heights of our own Emily Brontë and Melville's Moby Dick, and The Brothers Karamazov is the most tremendous of all Dostoevsky's works." There's a Sturm und Drang feel to all of these, isn't there?
I also agreed with his assessment of various writers' style and feel for character vs. plot. On Henry James: "people do not go away, they depart; they do not go home, but repair to their domiciles; and they do not go to bed, they retire". At some point, he describes the American style contemporary to the writing of Books and You as "hairy-chested", and I guffawed.
There are some head-scratching moments, such as when he instructs you to skip parts of books but then says he himself cannot really do it. Neither can I. Instead, I suffer through the interminable boredom and bitch about it here later.
August 11, 2025
A really enjoyable short read. It's 3 newspaper articles collected together.
The quote below says it all really.
There are some books which he recommends which I've already read, some which I don't feel inclined to read and some which I've added to my ever increasing list of books which I'd like to read.
It's fascinating to me to read about the books which an author such as Somerset Maugham enjoys and would recommend to others because of course reading for pleasure is a very singular and subjective pastime.
For that reason I do tend to stay away from bestseller lists which is why the quote below resonates. I will of course read some bestsellers but on some occasions I've been disappointed and struggled to see what all the fuss is about. To me great literature should stand the test of time, be enjoyable and uplifting in some way.
If something like Goodreads had been around in Somerset Maugham's time then I guess this short book would have been a summary of his Read list and reviews.
"My own plan is never to let myself be persuaded to read a best seller for two or three years after publication; it is astonishing then how many books that have been received with acclamation I find I can without loss leave unread.
I must remind you here of something that I have already insisted upon, namely that I am very strongly of opinion that you should read for enjoyment. To my mind it is very ill-advised to look upon reading as a task; reading is a pleasure, one of the greatest that life affords, and if these books of which I am now going to speak to you do not move, interest or amuse you, there is no possible reason for you to read them." W. Somerset Maugham
The quote below says it all really.
There are some books which he recommends which I've already read, some which I don't feel inclined to read and some which I've added to my ever increasing list of books which I'd like to read.
It's fascinating to me to read about the books which an author such as Somerset Maugham enjoys and would recommend to others because of course reading for pleasure is a very singular and subjective pastime.
For that reason I do tend to stay away from bestseller lists which is why the quote below resonates. I will of course read some bestsellers but on some occasions I've been disappointed and struggled to see what all the fuss is about. To me great literature should stand the test of time, be enjoyable and uplifting in some way.
If something like Goodreads had been around in Somerset Maugham's time then I guess this short book would have been a summary of his Read list and reviews.
"My own plan is never to let myself be persuaded to read a best seller for two or three years after publication; it is astonishing then how many books that have been received with acclamation I find I can without loss leave unread.
I must remind you here of something that I have already insisted upon, namely that I am very strongly of opinion that you should read for enjoyment. To my mind it is very ill-advised to look upon reading as a task; reading is a pleasure, one of the greatest that life affords, and if these books of which I am now going to speak to you do not move, interest or amuse you, there is no possible reason for you to read them." W. Somerset Maugham
July 14, 2019
Ich fand das Buch klasse!
Ich habe schon länger nach einer Zusammenfassung großer literarischer Werke gesucht, dieses Buch ist mir einfach in die Hand gefallen. Es war wirklich toll zu lesen. Die Sätze sind so präzise formuliert, die Wörte genaustens bedacht. Es war leicht zu verstehen und enthielt unfassbar viele nützliche Informationen.
Wirklich...wer eine Anleitung zu den 'großen Werken' sucht, genau das richtige!
Ich habe schon länger nach einer Zusammenfassung großer literarischer Werke gesucht, dieses Buch ist mir einfach in die Hand gefallen. Es war wirklich toll zu lesen. Die Sätze sind so präzise formuliert, die Wörte genaustens bedacht. Es war leicht zu verstehen und enthielt unfassbar viele nützliche Informationen.
Wirklich...wer eine Anleitung zu den 'großen Werken' sucht, genau das richtige!
August 31, 2017
Über Bücher, die man gelesen haben sollte in England, Europa, Amerika. Die üblichen Verdächtigen. Wobei er leider nicht so viel von Trollope hält. Dafür Hazlitt aufnimmt. Und Goethe, Wilhelm Meister. Bei den Amerikanern ist er nicht so sicher, wer davon alles genial ist. Jedenfalls nicht Emily Dickinson, an der er wenig Gefallen findet.
April 8, 2020
A very personal guide to the best books written up to and including the nineteenth century. Eurocentric, but understandably so given this was written around 1940. Very honestly written and helpful, as well as an interesting insight to literary views of the time.
September 27, 2022
Wer ein paar Klassiker-Tipps braucht ist mit dieser kleinen aber feinen Lektüre gut dabei. Maughams Empfehlungen haben Wortwitz, sind ehrlich und teilweise amüsant. Zudem liefert er auch einige Informationen über Autoren und bewertet manche Werke ohne ein Blatt vor den Mund zu nehmen.
November 4, 2018
The Canon and William.
October 10, 2020
Such a delight!
November 23, 2020
Ein kleiner, erfrischend unverkrampfter Leseratgeber für Klassiker.
January 21, 2022
It's fate that has made this book become my procession. - I must remember that.
November 6, 2022
实诚地娓娓道来，平易近人又不缺乏主见。同喜欢马克吐温的历险记系列&哈克贝利费恩。他觉得世人对艾米丽的赞誉过于浮夸，但美国没再诞生更可读的诗人。
August 18, 2023
Love it! I will read it again soon.
September 21, 2013
In this little volume, originally a trio of articles for the Saturday Evening Post, Maugham holds forth on English, European, and American books that one "should" read. It's full of Maugham wit, and great quotes:
My own plan is never to let myself be persuaded to read a best seller for two or three years after publication; it is astonishing then how many books that have been received with acclamation I find I can without loss leave unread. (Why I've never read The DaVinci Code, The Kite Runner, or the Twilight series.
...if I were snowbound on a Western prairie, with a deaf mute as my only companion, I must admit that I should be dismayed to find that Thoreau's Walden was the only book in the log cabin.
And this, which I see quoted on the internet all the time:
To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.
Some of the books he recommends I have read and loved; some I read and hated. Some I plan to read; some I have never heard of.
My own plan is never to let myself be persuaded to read a best seller for two or three years after publication; it is astonishing then how many books that have been received with acclamation I find I can without loss leave unread. (Why I've never read The DaVinci Code, The Kite Runner, or the Twilight series.
...if I were snowbound on a Western prairie, with a deaf mute as my only companion, I must admit that I should be dismayed to find that Thoreau's Walden was the only book in the log cabin.
And this, which I see quoted on the internet all the time:
To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.
Some of the books he recommends I have read and loved; some I read and hated. Some I plan to read; some I have never heard of.
October 12, 2012
Very nicely written, and I liked and agreed with many of the things he said. He repeatedly talks about the importance and value of skimming books, which I (maybe foolishly, maybe not) had a bit of a problem with. I also wish it was a bit longer, he devotes about 2-3 pages per book, and by the end I felt a bit unfulfilled. But I enjoyed it on the whole.
October 27, 2010
A neat book that is helpful for those who want to read everything in the world but aren't sure how to go about it.
September 29, 2021
very good books and honest comments shared from Author.
October 8, 2021
very good insight for reading and some recommendations of good books, authors.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews