List Price: $18.95 Details

Save: $3.75 (20%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

FREE delivery: Monday, Sep 20 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Fastest delivery: Thursday, Sep 16
Order within 7 hrs and 19 mins Details

In Stock.

$$15.20 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement

1-Click ordering is not available for this item.

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery: Tuesday, Sep 21 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by Altair Alpha

Fulfilled by Amazon

Share

Other Sellers on Amazon

$9.45
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: thebookforest

$11.61
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Prodigal Products

$15.54
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Ambis Enterprises

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Follow the Author

Michael Dirda

Readings: Essays and Literary Entertainments Paperback – October 17, 2003

by Michael Dirda (Author)

19 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$768.57

$11.84

Paperback

"Please retry"

$15.20

$9.39

$3.01

Enhance your purchase

"For some time now, the best book critic in America has been Michael Dirda."―Michael M. Thomas, New York Observer

Intimate, humorous, and insightful, Readings is a collection of classic essays and reviews by Michael Dirda, book critic of the Washington Post and winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for criticism. From a first reading of Beckett and Faulkner at the feet of an inspirational high-school English teacher to a meeting of the P. G. Wodehouse Society, from an obsession with Nabokov's Lolita to the discovery of the Japanese epic The Tale of Genji, these essays chronicle a lifetime of literary enjoyment.

Print length

232 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

October 17, 2003
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
ISBN-10

0393324893
ISBN-13

978-0393324891
See all details

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Michael Dirda
13
Hardcover
$23.91
& Free Shipping
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Michael Dirda
32
Hardcover
$16.99
+ $4.28 shipping
Only 7 left in stock - order soon.
Michael Dirda
53
Paperback
$16.95
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Sep 21
FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Only 3 left in stock (more on the way).
Michael Dirda
14
Paperback
$27.42
Get it as soon as Monday, Sep 20
FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Michael Dirda
4
Paperback
$19.95
Get it as soon as Monday, Sep 20
FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Michael Dirda
9
Paperback
$21.95
Get it as soon as Monday, Sep 20
FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Michael Dirda
14
Paperback
$27.42
Get it as soon as Monday, Sep 20
FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Michael Dirda
32
Hardcover
$16.99
+ $4.28 shipping
Only 7 left in stock - order soon.
Michael Dirda
33
Paperback
$18.23
Get it as soon as Monday, Sep 20
FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Michael Dirda
53
Paperback
$16.95
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Sep 21
FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Only 3 left in stock (more on the way).
Michael Dirda
9
Paperback
$21.95
Get it as soon as Monday, Sep 20
FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Michael Dirda may be as close to the ideal as we are likely to get."
― Annie Proulx

"Michael Dirda is a superb literary essayist, and Readings should provide deep delight for discerning readers."
― Harold Bloom

About the Author

Michael Dirda, who won a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism at the Washington Post Book World, is the author of An Open Book, Bound to Please, and Readings: Essays and Literary Entertainments. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (October 17, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393324893
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393324891
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #290,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,325 in Essays (Books)

Customer Reviews:
19 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		63%
4 star		22%
3 star		15%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Amazon Customer

Fun and Informative

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

Michael Dirda's books should come with the following warning: Even if your to-read stack has already reached epic proportions, make room for more. If you don't have a to-read stack, you will shortly.
While some of the essays in this collection talk about books that do not interest me, all of them are well written, fun to read, and left me wondered what else I have been missing.
I highly recommend any of Dirda's titles.

Helpful

David M. Giltinan

Contagious enthusiasm for books and reading.

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2008

Verified Purchase

I read this in parallel with two other books of pieces by literary critics: Joseph Epstein's "In a Cardboard Belt" and Maureen Corrigan's "Leave me Alone, I'm Reading". Of the three, Dirda's book is hands-down my favorite. (Epstein's essays were kind of mean-spirited and Corrigan's book, though good, is nowhere near as funny as this one.)

There are so many terrific pieces in this collection. In no particular order, ten of the forty-six that really tickled my fancy:

Weekend with Wodehouse. (the biannual convention of the P.G. Wodehouse society)
Mr Wright. (tribute to his high-school English teacher)
Commencement Advice.
Four Novels and a Memoir. (a devastating sendup of several bestselling genres)
Bookish Fantasies.
Comedy Tonight. (a list of 100 amusing comic novels)
Sez Who? (Different experiences while browsing for books)
Excursion. (a weekend in New Orleans)
Talismans.
Vacation Reading.
Mememormee. (Why he's not a fan of memoirs)

There are another ten that could just as easily have made the list. What I enjoyed about Dirda's essays are his infectious enthusiasm for books and reading, which comes through in every piece, his wit and humor, as well as a certain generosity of spirit. EVen his brilliant takedown of the various bestseller genres is obviously done with affection.

This book has left me eager to seek out more of Dirda's work, as well as many of the books he mentions in these essays.

Recommended for all fans of books and reading.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Claire Hall

A Passion For Books And Literature

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2004

Verified Purchase

The writings of Michael Dirda are a wonderful gift to anyone who loves books and literature. "Readings" is a collection of his columns from the Washington Post's "Book World" section. The contents are as varied as a well-stocked library. His learning, his wit and his breadth of his interests make this book equally inviting.

Within these covers you'll find an appreciation of P.G. Wodehouse, an excursion into the literary world of New Orleans, the story of his guest membership in New York's Yale Club (and its wonderfully inviting library), a discussion of Japanese literature, ruminations on turning 50, the pleasures of book-shopping...and I haven't begun to exhaust the variety. Read this volume and understand why Francine Prose calls Dirda "a cultural treasure" and why Annie Proulx says he may "be as close to the ideal critic as we are likely to get."

One cautionary word to readers of Dirda's delightful memoir published last year, "An Open Book": as he notes there, he adapted some of the autobiographical pieces from this book for that memoir. But the overall amount of overlap is small. And a second cautionary note to all: be warned that your "must read" list is likely to grow even longer once you've immersed yourself in Dirda's enthusiasms. If you cherish fine writing in its many forms, you should love this book.--William C. Hall

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

CynthiaLR

Read at your own risk!

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2009

Verified Purchase

There should be a warning prefacing this book. A warning that Michael Dirda's passion for books is contageous and he's going to get you buying a lot more books! I had always thought I was just about the most avid reader/collector, then I came across Michael Dirda. I can't begin to tell you how many books I've bought based on Dirda's recommendations. Reading this book is like having a chat with a great friend, you know the kind, the kind of friend you can call and say 'man you have to read what I just read', and they'll understand. I smiled from cover to cover while reading this volume and only wish it were available on kindle so that I could have a copy of it there, too. This is the type of book a bibliophile can pick up on the most depressing day and get pulled right into a better mood. How can one NOT be cheered when one reads about Dirda running to the store for candy bars and curling up reading 'Hound of the Baskervilles' while his parents are out for the evening. I now have a new wish, to be able to spend a few hours in a used bookstore with Michael Dirda. Would that NOT be a trip! But seriously, if you love books and love thinking about favorite books you have read - this is the book for you. You will not be disappointed.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Idiosyncratic collection of well written pieces - as others have ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

Idiosyncratic collection of well written pieces - as others have said - be careful, because you will want to go out any buy more books when you're through reading. Dirda's the kind of guy you want to have a drink and conversation with.

Helpful

George B. Edwards, Jr.

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

A wonderfully interesting and varied book.

Helpful