Review:Mary Karr puts her considerable experience teaching, writing, and reading memoir to good work in this compelling, readable, and idiosyncratic how-to book. I liked Lit, didn't love it, and I've had some starts and stops while reading Liar's Club -- in spots it just feels like she's trying too hard and the pace is still too slow. Yet this book glides along at a swift clip; it's a fun, often entrancing read. She's a careful, clear writer. At times I feel like she's trying too hard in this book too,... Read more

Review:Francine Prose knows prose. In "Reading Like a Writer," she presents the timeless truth that great writers are great readers of great writers. More than that, Prose parses how to read well, which in our hurried, image-driven age, has become something of a lost art, even for literature lovers.

She not only encourages and explains the reading of the classics, Prose also offers a diet rich in vignettes from an egalitarian menu of authors. She is like a chef who tells you to eat great food, t... Read more

Review:Simon Winchester tells a story . . . a history of a happening . . . (perhaps) like no other. Who would think that the history of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary would be a 'page turner.' The research and thought that Winchester has put into this book is mind-boggling, but it is unique way of telling the story, weaving time, place and characters that makes this a remarkable story.
Wan'na read a good book? Have at it. Read more

Review:Lovers of history and interesting words will adore this book, and even the most casual reader will find it easy to read. I read The Meaning of Everything over the course of three days while on vacation, and although it isn't what I would call "beach reading" it was light and fun.

Winchester seems to have a good sense of when to move on to a new idea, which is part of what makes this so painless to read. There's no belaboring any points.

Also, there's an abundance of interesting sid... Read more