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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
"Adventures in reading" may sound like an oxymoronic proposition, but Zane's collection points out that a wild journey or a bold feat can be inspired by a great piece of writing. Zane has culled a series of essays from the Raleigh News & Observer (where he is book review editor) in which authors assign superlatives ("the most enchanting," "the wisest," "the classiest") to their (usually) favorite books (there is also "the most dangerous" and "the most disappointing"). The results are occasionally surprising and enlightening: Clyde Edgerton's "most technically elegant" book-a flying manual-proves that good writing can be found in unlikely places. Jonathan Lethem's "loneliest" book (i.e., "I've still never met anyone else who's read it") is an obscure children's story by 1960s pop psychologist Eric Berne called The Happy Valley. Nasdijj chooses Louis L'Amour's To Tame a Land as his "saddest," for its inaccurate portrayal of cowboys and Native Americans. Some of the essays are anecdotal; others read like critical analysis, such as Doris Betts's examination of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho (she concludes that her "most unpleasant" book has no artistic merit). At times, the rigid short format constricts the depth of the writing, and there are a few pat "aha" moments-Brett Lott's essay on The Catcher in the Rye, for one. At its best, this volume offers easily digestible nuggets of insight about why the written word matters.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Curious about what writers read and how books have influenced them, Zane, book review editor for the Raleigh News & Observer, invited 34 writers to contribute essays launched by the request that they fill in the blank: "the most ______ book I ever read." Zane's challenge elicited truly eye-opening responses about the most memorable, enchanting, dangerous, daunting, exotic, devastating, smokin', and luminous books read by the likes of Bebe Moore Campbell (The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss), Charles Frazier (The Tarahumara, by Antonin Artaud), and Lee Smith (The Little Locksmith, by Katharine Butler Hathaway). Much of the pleasure of this exciting little volume is found in the surprising selections of the contributors and in the diverse sensibilities of the contributors themselves, a notable list that also includes Lydia Millet, whose essay on The War with the Newts by Karel Capek, is a knockout; nature writer Scott Weidensaul on Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac; and Canadian novelist Elizabeth Hay on Pauline Kael. Fresh and thought-provoking, this anthology is pure catnip for book lovers. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
"Adventures in reading" may sound like an oxymoronic proposition, but Zane's collection points out that a wild journey or a bold feat can be inspired by a great piece of writing. Zane has culled a series of essays from the Raleigh News & Observer (where he is book review editor) in which authors assign superlatives ("the most enchanting," "the wisest," "the classiest") to their (usually) favorite books (there is also "the most dangerous" and "the most disappointing"). The results are occasionally surprising and enlightening: Clyde Edgerton's "most technically elegant" book-a flying manual-proves that good writing can be found in unlikely places. Jonathan Lethem's "loneliest" book (i.e., "I've still never met anyone else who's read it") is an obscure children's story by 1960s pop psychologist Eric Berne called The Happy Valley. Nasdijj chooses Louis L'Amour's To Tame a Land as his "saddest," for its inaccurate portrayal of cowboys and Native Americans. Some of the essays are anecdotal; others read like critical analysis, such as Doris Betts's examination of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho (she concludes that her "most unpleasant" book has no artistic merit). At times, the rigid short format constricts the depth of the writing, and there are a few pat "aha" moments-Brett Lott's essay on The Catcher in the Rye, for one. At its best, this volume offers easily digestible nuggets of insight about why the written word matters.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Curious about what writers read and how books have influenced them, Zane, book review editor for the Raleigh News & Observer, invited 34 writers to contribute essays launched by the request that they fill in the blank: "the most ______ book I ever read." Zane's challenge elicited truly eye-opening responses about the most memorable, enchanting, dangerous, daunting, exotic, devastating, smokin', and luminous books read by the likes of Bebe Moore Campbell (The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss), Charles Frazier (The Tarahumara, by Antonin Artaud), and Lee Smith (The Little Locksmith, by Katharine Butler Hathaway). Much of the pleasure of this exciting little volume is found in the surprising selections of the contributors and in the diverse sensibilities of the contributors themselves, a notable list that also includes Lydia Millet, whose essay on The War with the Newts by Karel Capek, is a knockout; nature writer Scott Weidensaul on Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac; and Canadian novelist Elizabeth Hay on Pauline Kael. Fresh and thought-provoking, this anthology is pure catnip for book lovers. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
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