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The Joy of Reading: A Passionate Guide to 189 of the World's Best Authors and Their Works
"Charles Van Doren has laid a feast before all of us that is irresistible."—Mortimer J. Adler
This engaging love letter to reading follows the great authors and classics that transformed the from Aristotle and Herodotus in ancient Greece to Salinger and Heinlein in 20th century America. Like a professor whose enthusiasm enwraps his students, Van Doren explains what's wonderful in the books you've missed and awakens your desire to reopen the books you already know.
Divided chronologically by the periods in which these classics were written, each book is put in its historical context and brought to life by Van Doren's brilliant analysis. The Joy of Reading delves into a wide range of genres—fiction, poetry, drama, children's books, philosophy, history and science. This is the one book that brings together everything you need to know about the classics you missed and ignites your passion to read and reread the greatest books the world has ever known.
This book is the fruit of a lifelong love affair. Reading, I believe, is my favorite thing to do; books and I have been inseparable almost as long as I can remember … To this day, I become distressed if I am anywhere without a book, a magazine, a newspaper, any scrap of paper to read …. I like the smell of books, certainly the feel of them. Life without books would be, for me, a vacant horror."—Charles Van Doren
"Nothing recommends the joy of reading better than the communication of it by a person who has spent a lifetime enriched by the delights of reading. Charles Van Doren is that kind of reader. He has laid a feast before us that is irresistible."—Mortimer J. Adler, author of How to Read a Book
"Mr. Van Doren is that rarity, a truly well read man who reads not for professional purposes but for pleasure. His book spurs us on to explore more deeply and joyfully the infinitely varied terrain of good books."—Clifton Fadiman, author of The New Lifetime Reading The Classical Guide to World Literature
This engaging love letter to reading follows the great authors and classics that transformed the from Aristotle and Herodotus in ancient Greece to Salinger and Heinlein in 20th century America. Like a professor whose enthusiasm enwraps his students, Van Doren explains what's wonderful in the books you've missed and awakens your desire to reopen the books you already know.
Divided chronologically by the periods in which these classics were written, each book is put in its historical context and brought to life by Van Doren's brilliant analysis. The Joy of Reading delves into a wide range of genres—fiction, poetry, drama, children's books, philosophy, history and science. This is the one book that brings together everything you need to know about the classics you missed and ignites your passion to read and reread the greatest books the world has ever known.
This book is the fruit of a lifelong love affair. Reading, I believe, is my favorite thing to do; books and I have been inseparable almost as long as I can remember … To this day, I become distressed if I am anywhere without a book, a magazine, a newspaper, any scrap of paper to read …. I like the smell of books, certainly the feel of them. Life without books would be, for me, a vacant horror."—Charles Van Doren
"Nothing recommends the joy of reading better than the communication of it by a person who has spent a lifetime enriched by the delights of reading. Charles Van Doren is that kind of reader. He has laid a feast before us that is irresistible."—Mortimer J. Adler, author of How to Read a Book
"Mr. Van Doren is that rarity, a truly well read man who reads not for professional purposes but for pleasure. His book spurs us on to explore more deeply and joyfully the infinitely varied terrain of good books."—Clifton Fadiman, author of The New Lifetime Reading The Classical Guide to World Literature
549 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1985
58 people are currently reading
710 people want to read
About the author
Charles van Doren
51 books80 followersCharles Lincoln van Doren was an American intellectual, writer, and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he confessed before the United States Congress that he had been given the correct answers by the producers of the show Twenty One.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 29, 2008
A book that changed my life--by changing my reading. Up until about 14 I read exclusively military history--biographies of great commanders, accounts of famous battles, technical histories of The Tank and The Bomber. The only novelist I recall reading before high school was James Fenimore Cooper. 'The Joy of Reading' consists of short, 3-4 page essays on the favorites of Van Doren's polymathic reading. The entries on 'The Scarlett Letter' and 'Crime and Punishment' convinced me to cease poring over diagrams of killing machines and pick up some belles lettres; and my reading now is lopsidedly literary. The tone throughout is personal, reminiscent and chatty--the best kind of pedagogic voice. Van Doren embarrassed his caste and calling by participation in the rancidly populist charade of a crooked 50's quiz show--in addition to its overall mendacity, '21' featured several deftly engineered, crowd-pleasing anti-Semitic and anti-intellectual plot twists--but this work of generous learning more than recoups his honor. Old Mark would be proud.
February 15, 2016
Mình mua cuốn sách đầu năm Bính Thân 2016, và đây là một cuốn rất đáng mua.
Không có người thích đọc sách nào mà lại có thể bỏ qua quyển này được. Đây là một công trình công phu tuyển chọn những tác phẩm và tác giả hay nhất từ thời Homer cho tới thời hiện đại. Tác giả thực sự là một người hướng dẫn giúp người đọc đi vào thế giới lịch sử của khoa học và văn chương.
Hơi đáng tiếc là sách không đề cập tới văn học phương Đông.
***
Một lưu ý khi đọc cuốn sách này là ý nghĩa của các từ "bi kịch" và "hài kịch" (là tragedy và comedy trong nguyên tác), đặc biệt là ở các phần đầu.
Ý nghĩa của "bi kịch" thì còn tương đối nhất quán với cách hiểu ngày nay, nhưng "hài kịch" thì khác. Ngày nay, hài kịch (comedy) được hiểu là những câu chuyện gây cười, có nhiều yếu tố hài hước. Còn phạm vi ý nghĩa của từ này giành cho các tác phẩm cổ điển thì khác, nên dịch "comedy" là "hài kịch" dễ khiến người đọc nhầm lẫn. Vào thời đó, comedy chỉ các tác phẩm có kết thúc có hậu, trái ngược với tragedy có kết thúc bi thương. Sau đó, trong comedy thường xuất hiện thêm những nhân vật có các đặc tính "dưới mức trung bình", ví dụ xấu xí, trái ngược với tragedy là có những nhân vật "trên mức trung bình", ví dụ dũng cảm hơn người. Đến thời trung cổ thì nhiều tác phẩm comedy đã có ý nghĩa như ngày nay.
Chính vì sự biến đổi về nghĩa này nên khi đọc về Odyssey sẽ thấy có đoạn được dịch là, "Odyssey mà không khôi hài!....", nhưng sau đó người đọc không hề thấy có một sự hài hước nào trong câu chuyện cả. Do đó cần ghi nhớ "hài kịch" hay các tính từ của nó (dịch từ chữ comic) là chỉ đến kết thúc có hậu, chứ không phải hài hước.
Một ví dụ về cách dịch từ này là "The divince comedy - Thần khúc" của Dante. Chỉ cần đọc sơ qua giới thiệu nội dung thôi thì ta thấy ngay không thể dịch comedy là "hài kịch" theo nghĩa thông thường được. Sở dĩ Dante đặt tên tập thơ của mình là comedy là vì hồi đó thơ được chia thành hai hạng là thấp (low ~ comedy) và cao (high ~ tragedy). Thơ comedy viết bằng ngôn ngữ dân dã và có kết thúc có hậu, còn thơ tragedy viết bằng thứ văn chương cao cấp hơn về những vấn đề lớn. Tập thơ này Dante viết bằng tiếng Ý bình dân chứ không phải bằng tiếng Latin hàn lâm không quen thuộc với đại chúng.
Thiết nghĩ người dịch nên chú thích để tác phẩm trở nên rõ ràng hơn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy#...
***
Tình cờ mình có đối chiếu nguyên tác với bản dịch, phần về Shakespeare, đoạn cuối cùng, thì thấy bản dịch có cắt bớt đi một đoạn của nguyên tác. Việc cắt bỏ không dịch trong sách dịch Việt Nam là không có gì lạ, tuy nhiên cũng nên dứt bỏ dần.
Không có người thích đọc sách nào mà lại có thể bỏ qua quyển này được. Đây là một công trình công phu tuyển chọn những tác phẩm và tác giả hay nhất từ thời Homer cho tới thời hiện đại. Tác giả thực sự là một người hướng dẫn giúp người đọc đi vào thế giới lịch sử của khoa học và văn chương.
Hơi đáng tiếc là sách không đề cập tới văn học phương Đông.
***
Một lưu ý khi đọc cuốn sách này là ý nghĩa của các từ "bi kịch" và "hài kịch" (là tragedy và comedy trong nguyên tác), đặc biệt là ở các phần đầu.
Ý nghĩa của "bi kịch" thì còn tương đối nhất quán với cách hiểu ngày nay, nhưng "hài kịch" thì khác. Ngày nay, hài kịch (comedy) được hiểu là những câu chuyện gây cười, có nhiều yếu tố hài hước. Còn phạm vi ý nghĩa của từ này giành cho các tác phẩm cổ điển thì khác, nên dịch "comedy" là "hài kịch" dễ khiến người đọc nhầm lẫn. Vào thời đó, comedy chỉ các tác phẩm có kết thúc có hậu, trái ngược với tragedy có kết thúc bi thương. Sau đó, trong comedy thường xuất hiện thêm những nhân vật có các đặc tính "dưới mức trung bình", ví dụ xấu xí, trái ngược với tragedy là có những nhân vật "trên mức trung bình", ví dụ dũng cảm hơn người. Đến thời trung cổ thì nhiều tác phẩm comedy đã có ý nghĩa như ngày nay.
Chính vì sự biến đổi về nghĩa này nên khi đọc về Odyssey sẽ thấy có đoạn được dịch là, "Odyssey mà không khôi hài!....", nhưng sau đó người đọc không hề thấy có một sự hài hước nào trong câu chuyện cả. Do đó cần ghi nhớ "hài kịch" hay các tính từ của nó (dịch từ chữ comic) là chỉ đến kết thúc có hậu, chứ không phải hài hước.
Một ví dụ về cách dịch từ này là "The divince comedy - Thần khúc" của Dante. Chỉ cần đọc sơ qua giới thiệu nội dung thôi thì ta thấy ngay không thể dịch comedy là "hài kịch" theo nghĩa thông thường được. Sở dĩ Dante đặt tên tập thơ của mình là comedy là vì hồi đó thơ được chia thành hai hạng là thấp (low ~ comedy) và cao (high ~ tragedy). Thơ comedy viết bằng ngôn ngữ dân dã và có kết thúc có hậu, còn thơ tragedy viết bằng thứ văn chương cao cấp hơn về những vấn đề lớn. Tập thơ này Dante viết bằng tiếng Ý bình dân chứ không phải bằng tiếng Latin hàn lâm không quen thuộc với đại chúng.
Thiết nghĩ người dịch nên chú thích để tác phẩm trở nên rõ ràng hơn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy#...
***
Tình cờ mình có đối chiếu nguyên tác với bản dịch, phần về Shakespeare, đoạn cuối cùng, thì thấy bản dịch có cắt bớt đi một đoạn của nguyên tác. Việc cắt bỏ không dịch trong sách dịch Việt Nam là không có gì lạ, tuy nhiên cũng nên dứt bỏ dần.
December 27, 2015
All right, I need to confess. I am an absolute pushover for a book like this. *toes rug in embarrassment* As a matter of fact, this is currently wending its way from Powell's because I can never ever let a book that informs me as to What I Must Read slide by.
I first encountered this sort of thing in my high school library in the form of the (Time Life series?) Great Books of the World. I was an over-ambitious 14 year old, and decided oh yeah. My sophomore English teacher asked us to write a compare/contrast paper, and since I had just hit St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, I thought they were fair game. My teacher must have gone o.O but I was oblivious. Depth of understanding was of course minimal, but I was game. A different world indeed.
Well, it looks like my patented random selector selects my first selection, Robert Burns. One could certainly do worse than that. :)
I first encountered this sort of thing in my high school library in the form of the (Time Life series?) Great Books of the World. I was an over-ambitious 14 year old, and decided oh yeah. My sophomore English teacher asked us to write a compare/contrast paper, and since I had just hit St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, I thought they were fair game. My teacher must have gone o.O but I was oblivious. Depth of understanding was of course minimal, but I was game. A different world indeed.
Well, it looks like my patented random selector selects my first selection, Robert Burns. One could certainly do worse than that. :)
December 31, 2016
Es difícil estar de acuerdo con TODO lo que se incluye en un libro de estas características, por supuesto, aunque algunas de las ausencias de esta "Breve historia del leer" son más que significativas (así como muchos de los escritores incluidos en la misma): ningún autor oriental; pocos italianos (aparte de los clasicos latinos); y Proust...quizá la ausencia que más me ha dolido de todas.
Por lo demás: interesante, sencillo (a veces demasiado) y, en ocasiones, divertido libro que nos descubrirá, seguro, a más de un nuevo escritor que añadir a la lista de clásicos (y no tan clásicos) pendientes de lectura.
Por lo demás: interesante, sencillo (a veces demasiado) y, en ocasiones, divertido libro que nos descubrirá, seguro, a más de un nuevo escritor que añadir a la lista de clásicos (y no tan clásicos) pendientes de lectura.
May 29, 2017
I have read over the past two days about half of the essays in this book.
I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it is an excellent introduction to a wide range of authors. On the other hand, the essays are rather short and do not go "deeper" into the authors as I had expected. So, somewhat of a disappointment.
Van Doren writes well, covers a broad cross-section of writers, and is successful on some level with imparting a desire or curiosity to read an author.
As a footnote: there is a "reading plan" recommended at the end of the book. I don't care for "reading plans." All of them have the goal of the "broadening horizons" thing. Well, why not read the authors that interest you?
I don't see reading plans as helpful because it comes off as forced work for a desired goal. Rather than the goal, enjoy the journey to.... wherever.
I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it is an excellent introduction to a wide range of authors. On the other hand, the essays are rather short and do not go "deeper" into the authors as I had expected. So, somewhat of a disappointment.
Van Doren writes well, covers a broad cross-section of writers, and is successful on some level with imparting a desire or curiosity to read an author.
As a footnote: there is a "reading plan" recommended at the end of the book. I don't care for "reading plans." All of them have the goal of the "broadening horizons" thing. Well, why not read the authors that interest you?
I don't see reading plans as helpful because it comes off as forced work for a desired goal. Rather than the goal, enjoy the journey to.... wherever.
February 23, 2009
I like Charles Van Doren -- read how to read a book and history of knowledge and owning the Great books of the western world as well as his work with adler on the great treasury of western thought has been part and parcel to my quest of self-education.
This book is heavy on the great works - also in the GBWW - and some of the short stories are in Gateway to great books. I expect it to take most of my life but I will eventually read all these works.
I do find myself to enjoy reading about reading and about books . I love books , and not just to read them. I add to the joy of reading by organizing my large library of books , I trade them , sell them , share them with friends , I use on-line resources such as bookmooch , and bookcrossing to trade and give books away and track their lives. I used to sell books on amazon , more for fun than profit. I love purchasing books , tag sales , used book stores and yes.. I still support authors by spending on new books via Amazon or at the local borders or B&N -
Read this book to understand the joy of reading , but feel free to learn for yourself the joy of BOOKS !!!!
This book is heavy on the great works - also in the GBWW - and some of the short stories are in Gateway to great books. I expect it to take most of my life but I will eventually read all these works.
I do find myself to enjoy reading about reading and about books . I love books , and not just to read them. I add to the joy of reading by organizing my large library of books , I trade them , sell them , share them with friends , I use on-line resources such as bookmooch , and bookcrossing to trade and give books away and track their lives. I used to sell books on amazon , more for fun than profit. I love purchasing books , tag sales , used book stores and yes.. I still support authors by spending on new books via Amazon or at the local borders or B&N -
Read this book to understand the joy of reading , but feel free to learn for yourself the joy of BOOKS !!!!
October 13, 2021
Al abrir este libro y leer el prologo (una colección de 182 breves ensayos sobre diversos libros y autores, desde textos clásicos hasta Harry Potter), y pasar a leer las primeras entradas (cada ensayo no tiene más de cuatros páginas), llegue a la conclusión que este libro me tomaría muchos meses en leerlo, y no por ser complicado o largo (aunque 650 páginas no es poco), sino porque quería disfrutar cada página con tiempo y reflexión. Charles Van Doren es una de las mentes más preclaras en el ámbito de la cultura y en este libro vuelca sus emociones alrededor de los libros que el considera los que deben ser leídos (hasta contiene un epílogo con un plan de lectura para los próximos años).
El estilo de ligero, amable con el lector, pero destila una relación de amor por los buenos libros. Ahí algunos que se extrañan, pero no importa: leer a Van Doren es un placer de cabo a rabo. Esto es particularmente notable en la versión en español del libro, que contiene entradas adicionales de David Guzmán sobre algunos autores y libros en español que complementan los ensayos para el público hispano. Sin embargo, la diferencia de estilo es notable, lo suficiente como para pasar estas entradas lo más rápido posible. Son entradas eruditas, con una mirada crítica de los textos; pero Van Doren no aspira a ser un crítico literario ni un erudito (que lo es), es solo alguien que ama los libros.
Aunque hay muchas entradas sobre libros de poesía (habiendo sido Van Doren profesor de literatura y poesía no es de extrañar sus preferencias), la mayor parte del libro esta dedicado a ensayos, novelas y ficciones. Aunque el autor no recomienda leer el libro de cabo a rabo, sino buscar la entrada que le interese, leerlo en su totalidad es un largo viaje por la historia cultural del hombre, por lo grandes libros de la historia y por las más originales reflexiones sobre nuestra vida. Son demasiados los libros que he terminado anotando y agregando a la cola de libros de ser leídos, libros que probablemente nunca hubiese conocido (¿Cómo hubiese sabido de la existencia de El Origen de la Conciencia en la Ruptura de la Mente Bicameral de Julian Jaynes?, ¿O que el mejor cuento para dormir a un niños quizá sea Buenas Noches, Luna de Margaret Wise Brown?). ¿Quién hubiera dicho que al profesor Van Doren le encanta leer y comentar con sus nietos los libros de J. K. Rowling?
Es un verdadero placer navegar por los libros de Van Doren, leer sus breves, eruditas y apasionadas entradas, pero sobre todo dejarse llevar de la mano de un gran maestro. Altamente recomendable.
El estilo de ligero, amable con el lector, pero destila una relación de amor por los buenos libros. Ahí algunos que se extrañan, pero no importa: leer a Van Doren es un placer de cabo a rabo. Esto es particularmente notable en la versión en español del libro, que contiene entradas adicionales de David Guzmán sobre algunos autores y libros en español que complementan los ensayos para el público hispano. Sin embargo, la diferencia de estilo es notable, lo suficiente como para pasar estas entradas lo más rápido posible. Son entradas eruditas, con una mirada crítica de los textos; pero Van Doren no aspira a ser un crítico literario ni un erudito (que lo es), es solo alguien que ama los libros.
Aunque hay muchas entradas sobre libros de poesía (habiendo sido Van Doren profesor de literatura y poesía no es de extrañar sus preferencias), la mayor parte del libro esta dedicado a ensayos, novelas y ficciones. Aunque el autor no recomienda leer el libro de cabo a rabo, sino buscar la entrada que le interese, leerlo en su totalidad es un largo viaje por la historia cultural del hombre, por lo grandes libros de la historia y por las más originales reflexiones sobre nuestra vida. Son demasiados los libros que he terminado anotando y agregando a la cola de libros de ser leídos, libros que probablemente nunca hubiese conocido (¿Cómo hubiese sabido de la existencia de El Origen de la Conciencia en la Ruptura de la Mente Bicameral de Julian Jaynes?, ¿O que el mejor cuento para dormir a un niños quizá sea Buenas Noches, Luna de Margaret Wise Brown?). ¿Quién hubiera dicho que al profesor Van Doren le encanta leer y comentar con sus nietos los libros de J. K. Rowling?
Es un verdadero placer navegar por los libros de Van Doren, leer sus breves, eruditas y apasionadas entradas, pero sobre todo dejarse llevar de la mano de un gran maestro. Altamente recomendable.
January 21, 2020
Lots of great info/background on some of the world's most classic reads. I gave this 3-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. It was good--but I found myself only being able to read so much at a time, and sometimes it was not as engaging as it could have been. I was thinking there would be more insights into reading well and how to get more out of classic works. There was some of that, but not much. There was good background on the authors, though, and some on other works of each author. I read this on my iPad; borrowed from the library (about 4x!).
December 5, 2021
Great summaries of over 100 books interspersed with author's notes about what he was feeling or doing at the time(s) he read the particular book.
He also included more recent authors which give some more options for fiction.
He also included more recent authors which give some more options for fiction.
December 7, 2022
DNF. The author's tone irked me, I don't know how to explain it. If you're after a basic overview of the Western world's most influential works, this will suffice, but I found it lacking and a little condescending.
February 24, 2019
Một cuổn sách lý thú. Cung cấp cho ta nhiều kiến thức về những quyển sách hay nhất và nhiều ý nghĩa nhất. Giúp ta có cái nhìn tổng quát về sách trong hàng thế kỉ.
May 8, 2019
One of the favorite books of my life.
October 10, 2020
Excellent! It really inspires you to read. I've added at least 100 books to my TBR list from this.
February 26, 2023
The book does what the title says: conveys the author's passion for some of the best popular literature in the world. I wish I could read them all--is there enough lifetime?
March 1, 2018
So far, zero surprises. It's very standard stuff.
--
There's nothing wrong with this book, I guess, but it doesn't really inspire, surprise, or do much of anything.
If you want a bird's eye tour of Western classics in literature, I guess this is an okay place to start.
--
There's nothing wrong with this book, I guess, but it doesn't really inspire, surprise, or do much of anything.
If you want a bird's eye tour of Western classics in literature, I guess this is an okay place to start.
June 21, 2020
There are many books about the enjoyment of reading. Each of them share the joy gained from reading certain books the author has found to be uplifting or enlightening or simply entertaining. Emerson once said, "Tis the good reader that makes the good book;" as he shared his confidence in the reader to find a message in the book intended particularly for that singular reader. Whether the authors of books about reading find messages or merely memories, the words they write about their enjoyment and the books they accumulate in lists for other readers' pleasure are some of the most interesting words that I have encountered in my reading life.
Charles Van Doren is one of the best of these authors and the title of his book says it all; the book is about the joy a reader experiences. This joy is enhanced when exploring the best works of literature from the time of the Greeks and before until the twentieth century. Van Doren aims in particular at those readers with "the mind and heart of a reader of goodwill". That is the general reader who, like Charles Van Doren, finds reading their "favorite thing to do." I unabashedly count myself among that group and cannot remember a time when I have not had a book near at hand or, better yet, in my hand. The Joy of Reading follows a plan in that it includes only books that Charles Van Doren has "fallen in love with", and of those books he comments on both what the book is about and why one should read it. The selected books span several genres including novels, plays, poems, history, philosophy, essays, etc. As with all good books there is a helpful bibliography that suggests, when it is important, editions that the author found particularly helpful.
While this book did not begin my journey through great literature it has enriched it and provided a companion to turn to when I am in need of meditation on the favorites of someone who evinced what is truly the best in literature. I sometimes feel that I am like the reader described by Malcolm Bradbury when he said, " A true good read is surely an act of innovative creation in which we, the readers, become conspirators."
Do I agree with his all of his selections of favorite books? No, but they are all worth considering, exploring, reading for a while to see if I can find some of what he saw in them. Some I have made my own with readings and re-readings and some have been reserved for what I hope will be a prosperous reading future filled with more joy. Perhaps you, too, dear reader will share in "The Joy of Reading".
Charles Van Doren is one of the best of these authors and the title of his book says it all; the book is about the joy a reader experiences. This joy is enhanced when exploring the best works of literature from the time of the Greeks and before until the twentieth century. Van Doren aims in particular at those readers with "the mind and heart of a reader of goodwill". That is the general reader who, like Charles Van Doren, finds reading their "favorite thing to do." I unabashedly count myself among that group and cannot remember a time when I have not had a book near at hand or, better yet, in my hand. The Joy of Reading follows a plan in that it includes only books that Charles Van Doren has "fallen in love with", and of those books he comments on both what the book is about and why one should read it. The selected books span several genres including novels, plays, poems, history, philosophy, essays, etc. As with all good books there is a helpful bibliography that suggests, when it is important, editions that the author found particularly helpful.
While this book did not begin my journey through great literature it has enriched it and provided a companion to turn to when I am in need of meditation on the favorites of someone who evinced what is truly the best in literature. I sometimes feel that I am like the reader described by Malcolm Bradbury when he said, " A true good read is surely an act of innovative creation in which we, the readers, become conspirators."
Do I agree with his all of his selections of favorite books? No, but they are all worth considering, exploring, reading for a while to see if I can find some of what he saw in them. Some I have made my own with readings and re-readings and some have been reserved for what I hope will be a prosperous reading future filled with more joy. Perhaps you, too, dear reader will share in "The Joy of Reading".
June 6, 2009
I must own this book in my library. It starts with the beginning of written history and goes through today detailing authors, thoughts, and suggested reading. It is put into chronological order, broken into time periods, and then each author/work is given attention to in smaller sections. My apetite was whetted to know more about what has been written, thought, and created in the past. My reading list has grown exponentially and I am so excited to get going! The author includes a 10 year plan for reading in the back. Once I get my own copy I intend to have this book as a companion to my studies.
February 9, 2013
A solid introduction to the classics. Some of the descriptions made me eager to read this or that book right now, Van Doren's enthusiasm is so contagious. On the other hand, it's obvious what books and authors he included out of duty instead of love, as the text becomes conspicuously terse. A good book to split up with other reading, use as a reference, or find a foothold in the wall that is The Classics.
February 19, 2015
I love books and so I love books about books. This is one of the better books about books. Haha. Although some of the sections were a bit too heavy on the biography of the writers instead of their books. Overall though it was inspiring. I'd read a lot of the books Doren writes about before reading the Joy Of Reading but I still found it fascinating and it made me want to read them again. Thanks to Doren, I have a new list of books I want to read.
January 17, 2016
The Joy of Reading: A Passionate Guide to 189 of the World’s Best Authors and Their Works by Charles Van Doren (Sourcebooks Inc. 2008) (011.7). The author advocates for his list of greatest authors and their best tales. These are divided into chronological sections. I don't agree with him on very many of these selections. My rating: 7/10, finished 2008.
February 8, 2014
Contains great selections and critiques of books you should give a chance at reading. Everything from Homer to J.K. Rowling is covered in the edition that I read. Charles Van Doren gives a small essay or snippet of text to explain why he chose that particular work. Spoilers do not about in this book though, since the point is to read them for yourself.
January 30, 2022
I think Charles Van Doren created an interesting and detailed work through this publication "Joy of Reading". I can find useful tips regarding effective reading skill through this publication. Besides, engaging analysis could be found. It also provided some publications which might be workable. Overall I think this is a worthwhile publication.
March 2, 2010
This book is truly a treasue! I am so pleased to have come across it.. I owe a lot to Mr. Van Doren. This book reaffirmed in me the simple pleasure of reading, which unfortunately 20 years of standard education had dulled.
Want to read
March 17, 2008This looks like a good personal, albeit well-informed, list of works to read!
Read
September 9, 2010Skimmed most of it. Very fun to see the list of most important books to read over history of literature. Am trying to go through this list over the next ten years!
June 20, 2013
A good introduction to the history of Western literature...
August 12, 2012
Not only do I always get good ideas about what to read next, BUt I also get a huge case of guilt for not having read some of the world's greatest books. At least I know what they are about...:)
April 5, 2017
The author lists four ways to use this book. I have a fifth. I leaf through it and renew memories of books I've read, gain insight and encouragement as I start or restart a book I've been planning to read, and invariably rediscover a few that I'd forgotten. I've just spent two days whetting my appetite and am now ready to tackle my next adventure.
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