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Rating: 
Summary: wide-ranging romp through reading
Review: A collection of his columns from the Washington Post's Book World, Dirda's book is a fun hodgepodge of short, readable essays on a variety of book-related topics. While many of them, as one would expect, are discussions of books themselves, Dirda also spins off into other areas, such as fond memories of a favorite English teacher, childhood trips to the library, the joy of book shopping, etc., which makes this collection more varied, more personal, and in the end more interesting than a simple "review" style collection. That's not to say the reviews aren't worth it--they are intelligent, concise, and witty and the sheer variety of books discussed in terms of style, tone, genre, enhances their interest. Dirda not only holds your interest, he piques it as well, so keep a pen handy as you read so you can jot down the titles of books you're going to want to pick up after Dirda finishes telling you about his experiences with them. One word of caution--if you've read his memoir An Open Book, some of these pieces will sound familiar as they have been incorporated with some changes in the memoir. If you haven't yet read the memoir, don't let that turn you off from doing so. It's certainly worth its own read, reworked and in a more full context the familiar columns won't seem as repetitive as you'd think, and if you want, you can always just skim through those sections.
Rating:
Summary: wide-ranging romp through reading
Review: A collection of his columns from the Washington Post's Book World, Dirda's book is a fun hodgepodge of short, readable essays on a variety of book-related topics. While many of them, as one would expect, are discussions of books themselves, Dirda also spins off into other areas, such as fond memories of a favorite English teacher, childhood trips to the library, the joy of book shopping, etc., which makes this collection more varied, more personal, and in the end more interesting than a simple "review" style collection. That's not to say the reviews aren't worth it--they are intelligent, concise, and witty and the sheer variety of books discussed in terms of style, tone, genre, enhances their interest. Dirda not only holds your interest, he piques it as well, so keep a pen handy as you read so you can jot down the titles of books you're going to want to pick up after Dirda finishes telling you about his experiences with them. One word of caution--if you've read his memoir An Open Book, some of these pieces will sound familiar as they have been incorporated with some changes in the memoir. If you haven't yet read the memoir, don't let that turn you off from doing so. It's certainly worth its own read, reworked and in a more full context the familiar columns won't seem as repetitive as you'd think, and if you want, you can always just skim through those sections.
Rating: 
Summary: Follow the reader.
Review: Reading about how literature has shaped Michael Dirda's life is somewhat entertaining, I suppose. But reading the books he discusses is an incredible experience. If for no other reason, buy this book because it will turn you on to so, so many more. I never would have discovered Maugham's Ashenden, Wodehouse, Lawrence's trek across Arabia, Vidal's Washington, or Kipling's Kim. Treat Readings like a directory of great literature and follow Dirda.
Rating:
Summary: Follow the reader.
Review: Reading about how literature has shaped Michael Dirda's life is somewhat entertaining, I suppose. But reading the books he discusses is an incredible experience. If for no other reason, buy this book because it will turn you on to so, so many more. I never would have discovered Maugham's Ashenden, Wodehouse, Lawrence's trek across Arabia, Vidal's Washington, or Kipling's Kim. Treat Readings like a directory of great literature and follow Dirda.
Rating:
Summary: A Passion For Books And Literature
Review: 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 say 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 you "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
Rating:
Summary: A Passion For Books And Literature
Review: 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 say 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 you "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
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