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For the Love of Books

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Remarkable front to back. I have loved books all my life, lectured and written about them throughout a long career, and reflected at length on the whole question of what the point of reading is anyway, and why anyone-on whatever path in life-would bother. I don't profress to be a reigning authority on books or on life; but as the end of my own life approaches, perhaps I'm qualified to shout from the rafters that those who think life too short or too full of more practical pursuits or interesting diversions-or think reading is a luxury too rich for their blood (or not rich enough)-have missed the point. No book I have ever read is more illustrative than For The Love of Books: 115 Celebrated Writers on the Books They Love Most. I'm grateful to Mr. Shwartz for having the temerity to conceive of this wonderfully engaging and seductive book and the enormous dedication to see it through. Yet for all the discipline, tact, and resourcefulness it obviously required, I suspect something even more precious at work here. I doubt that many of the world-class writers who agreed to take part would have given Shwartz the time of day had they not sensed in him, as I do, an exquisite literary intelligence of his own. Shwartz has given me a lasting gift and I cannot imagine a book more worthy of giving others and not just book lovers-a perfect gift even and maybe especially for those who think good books are mostly for the "bookish." A simply extraordinary achievement.

If you're a booklover with eclectic tastes, who likes to roam the aisles of libraries and bookstores, this is a book you'll want to keep and refer back to again and again. It is greatly rewarding not only for the books that are mentioned, but for what they reveal about the writers who were influenced by them. While many of the old standards --- Melville, Shakespeare, Hemingway, Faulkner, Proust, Joyce --- are given their due by the writers, there are surprises at every turn. For example, a book that I had never heard of --- "Epitaph of a Small Winner," by Machado de Assis, was singled out by no fewer than three of the writers (Pete Hamill, John Barth, and Thomas McGuane.) Indeed, just sifting through the bibliographical index to see which authors had multiple references (e.g. Melville had eight)was most instructive. The essays are, for the most part, thoughtful and stimulating. This is a great book for random browsing...I came away from it stimulated and entertained, but also guilty and frustrated, knowing I'll never have time to read but a tiny fraction of the books that have so inspired others.

This book is so good, on so many levels, that it's hard to know where to begin to praise it. For those whose idols are writers, there are stellar names -- Mailer, Updike, Gordimer -- who have contributed original pieces to this unique anthology. Furthermore, each essay is intensely personal, setting forth the writer's own best-loved books and authors. You can play amateur sleuth and try to deduce how the writer's own output was shaped by what s/he cherishes, or assemble a reading list of often little-known books which have deeply influenced someone who has deeply influenced you. And the essays themselves are literature. You can consider yourself well-read, I think, and never have heard of say, Guy Davenport, described as an award-winning translator, poet, and modernist fiction writer in the handy biographical notes. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be drawn to his subject matter, but his essay is so down-to-earth and engaging, I want to reach both his books and those of others whom he admires. This book has already lead me to previously unfamiliar writers, including Carol Shields, John Casey, and Elizabeth McCracken, which automatically amortizes the purchase price over the rest of my lifetime and means I could die tomorrow and still have gotten my money's worth. My one regret is that the introduction by editor Ronald B. Shwartz, who clearly spent two years of his life's blood assembling this collection, only hints at what an extraordinary experience it must start with one good idea and build it into this impressive monument to bibliphilism. I hope the full story of this accomplishment will become his next book.

I received this book as a gift; generally this method of acquisition all but ensures I will never read the work. In this particular case that generality was broken, and I was the beneficiary.

Mr. Ronald B. Shwartz has collected the thoughts of 115 writers and received an answer to the request, "Identify those 3-6 books that have in some way influenced or affected you most deeply...". The entertainment begins prior to the first author's selection as Mr. Shwartz shares some responses to the idea of the question itself. Anna Quindlen "This is a mean thing to ask someone to do."

Kurt Vonnegut "Anyone asking a writer a question like yours should own a thumbscrew and a rack."

James McBride "If the literary world, or if anyone else in the world for that matter, feels I'm smart enough to offer my two cents about anything, we're all in deep doo-doo, but what the heck, count me in..."

I would imagine the collected responses would make for an excellent read of their own. Fortunately the book leaps much further and deeper, it almost pries into the very personal thoughts of these writers who all are associated with excellence. Their work ranges from one to the other end of whatever writing genre could be listed, and their answers will generally surprise you. As these people are some of the literary legends of the 20th and now the 21st Century I expected answers both lofty and impenetrable to the average reader. I could not have been more in error. Yes there are references to poetical works that I could not find in 10 years with the same number of computers. But happily the book is very readable. And lest you think it takes itself too seriously, I offer Christopher Buckley and his opening to his answer,"Well, if you're looking for recondite works in, say, lesbian studies from the early seventeenth century, you're "___" out of luck with me." I imagined Buckley The Elder wincing with that bit of earthiness from his Son.

The books that made some wish to write or at least were influential in their work will surely fascinate. It is the only book of its kind I have read, but unless I come across another, this sets the bar.

Ever wonder what books might have influenced Oliver Stone in his formative years? Would you be surprised to know that "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Gone With The Wind" are among them? If your home had only six books in it, would one of them be "The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini"? Bruce Jay Friedman grew up in that home. This entertaining, important, and eminently readable book has surprises, delights, insights, and good prose on every page. And little wonder, when the list of contributors includes many of the titans of modern literature(Mailer,Lessing, Merwin, Updike, Styron...). The graceful Introduction and biographical comments of Ronald B. Shwartz perfectly complement the at-times-amusing, at-times-profound tone of his contributors. I simply cannot put this book down; my only wish is that it could be even longer.

There are books to gulp down in one sitting and there are others to savor slowly like fine wine. Once in awhile, you come across a book that makes you want to do both simultaneously. Such a book is "For the Love of Books," edited by Ronald B. Shwartz. This unique collection of essays by well-known writers about the books they love the most is suffused with passion and affection for the written word.

In his captivating introduction, Shwartz suggests he hopes to show why books still matter in the e-world we increasingly inhabit. He has done so brilliantly by collecting these fascinating tales of the books 115 writers cannot forget. Be prepared to read with pen in hand to construct a list of the books you missed along the way, and join me in being grateful to Shwartz for having conceived this gift to all of us who love books.

Mr. Shwartz, a lawyer by training and apparently a skillled advocate, has somehow managed to persuade 115 of the finest living English-speaking writers to offer up original and delightful commentary on the books they love most. Brilliantly conceived and executed, "For the Love of Books" is, I think, one of those rare books that can fairly be called an authentic contribution to both the world of letters and the cause of literacy. But it's no mere collection of scholarly exegesis or list of book recommendations. It should deter no one who might shy away from the high-brow term "literature." To the contrary, the book features, in 115 altogether different and candid voices, each with its own wonderful brand of wit, personal insight, and eloquence, the intimate connection between reading and life. Indeed, the book is as much about living as it is about books, as if the two are--as they truly are--inseparable for anyone possessing heart and mind. I also think that Shwartz's own extraordinary introduction is worth the price of admission by itself.

Ronald Shwartz was curious about what books writers read, how and what influenced them, so he set about to seek answers. This book contains 115 different viewpoints. Each chapter, written by a different author, begins with a brief biographical blurb followed by two or three pages describing the authors' choices. Some, like Mario Puzo or Norman Mailer, were quite terse, just itemizing their choices, but most of the other entries were a bit more revealing, giving us a feel for what the books meant to them, when they read them, etc. Their passion for books and reading were truly inspirational.

I kept a pad and pen handy as I read this book to make a list of the books mentioned that sounded interesting to me. By the end of the book I had a huge list of books that I wanted to find and read.

This book not only served as a great source for recommended reading, but provided a wonderful window into all of these authors' lives.

For those who love to read, this is a book that should be sitting on your bookshelf. Readers can get into the writers' mind and discover "another story behind their stories".... I have only read the introductory, and has already captured my attention !!!

Mr. Shwartz, a lawyer by training and apparently a skillled advocate, has somehow managed to persuade 115 of the finest living English-speaking writers to offer up original and delightful commentary on the books they love most. Brilliantly conceived and executed, "For the Love of Books" is, I think, one of those rare books that can fairly be called an authentic contribution to both the world of letters and the cause of literacy. But it's no mere collection of scholarly exegesis or list of book recommendations. It should deter no one who might shy away from the high-brow term "literature." To the contrary, the book features, in 115 altogether different and candid voices, each with its own wonderful brand of wit, personal insight, and eloquence, the intimate connection between reading and life. Indeed, the book is as much about living as it is about books, as if the two are--as they truly are--inseparable for anyone possessing heart and mind. I also think that Shwartz's own extraordinary introduction is worth the price of admission by itself.