LEADER 00000pam  2200313 i 4500 
003    DLC 
005    20141231193541.0 
008    130930s2014    nyu           001 0 eng   
010    2013033000 
020    9780374289201 (hardback) 
040    DLC|beng|erda|cDLC|dDLC|dNjBwBT|dIMmBT|dUtOrBLW 
042    pcc 
082 00 028/.9|223 
092    028.9|bLES 
100 1  Lesser, Wendy. 
245 10 Why I read :|bthe serious pleasure of books /|cWendy 
       Lesser. 
250    First edition. 
264  1 New York :|bFarrar, Straus and Giroux,|c2014. 
300    223 pages ;|c22 cm 
336    text|btxt|2rdacontent 
337    unmediated|bn|2rdamedia 
338    volume|bnc|2rdacarrier 
500    Includes index. 
520    "An exhilarating volume that will ratchet up the joy for 
       all reading groups  "Wendy Lesser's extraordinary 
       alertness, intelligence, and curiosity have made her one 
       of America's most significant cultural critics," writes 
       Stephen Greenblatt. In Why I Read, Lesser draws on a 
       lifetime of pleasure reading and decades of editing one of
       the most distinguished little magazines in the country, 
       The Threepenny Review, to describe a life lived in and 
       through literature. As Lesser writes in her foreword, 
       "Reading can result in boredom or transcendence, rage or 
       enthusiasm, depression or hilarity, empathy or contempt, 
       depending on who you are and what the book is and how your
       life is shaping up at the moment you encounter it." Here 
       the reader will discover a definition of literature that 
       is as broad as it is broad-minded. In addition to novels 
       and stories, Lesser explores plays, poems, and essays 
       along with mysteries, science fiction, and memoirs. As she
       examines these works from such perspectives as "Character 
       and Plot," "Novelty," "Grandeur and Intimacy," and 
       "Authority," Why I Read sparks an overwhelming desire to 
       put aside quotidian tasks in favor of reading. A book in 
       the spirit of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and 
       Elizabeth Hardwick's A View of My Own, Why I Read is 
       iconoclastic, conversational, and full of insight. It will
       delight those who are already avid readers as well as 
       neophytes in search of sheer literary fun"--|cProvided by 
       publisher. 
600 10 Lesser, Wendy|xBooks and reading. 
650  0 Books and reading. 
650  0 Literature|xHistory and criticism.