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GtrsRGr8 · 11-16-2014, 04:02 AM

When I saw the name of the author of this book, Charles Van Doren, I definitely remembered hearing the name. But, I just couldn't remember where I heard the name or what from. Then, as I was looking at other books at Amazon that Doren (or would it be "Van Doren"?) had written, I found out. This guy co-authored with Mortimer Adler the magisterial classic How to Read a Book! That pretty much made up my mind to buy this ebook, for myself.

The book covers authors beginning with Homer (that's Homer the Greek poet, not Homer Simpson) and runs to the modern times (no later than 2008, when the edition was published).

Sure, you could get the list of authors from the book's table of contents and read the Wikipedia entries for each of them. You would sorta cover what the book covers. But for just $2.99 for this book, would it be worth all of the trouble? I thought not.

The Joy of Reading: A Passionate Guide to 189 of the World's Best Authors and Their Works. By Charles Van Doren. Rated 4 stars, but from only 4 reviews at the present moment. Print list price $24.95; digital list price $24.95; Kindle price now $2.99. Sourcebooks, publisher. 549 pages. http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Reading-Pa...nd+Their+Works.

Book Description
This engaging love letter to reading follows the great authors and classics that transformed the world: from Aristotle and Herodotus in ancient Greece to Salinger and Heinlein in 20th century America. Like a professor whose enthusiasm enwraps his students, Van Doren explains what's wonderful in the books you've missed and awakens your desire to reopen the books you already know.

Divided chronologically by the periods in which these classics were written, each book is put in its historical context and brought to life by Van Doren's brilliant analysis. The Joy of Reading delves into a wide range of genres-fiction, poetry, drama, children's books, philosophy, history and science. This is the one book that brings together everything you need to know about the classics you missed and ignites your passion to read and reread the greatest books the world has ever known.

This book is the fruit of a lifelong love affair. Reading, I believe, is my favorite thing to do; books and I have been inseparable almost as long as I can remember ... To this day, I become distressed if I am anywhere without a book, a magazine, a newspaper, any scrap of paper to read .... I like the smell of books, certainly the feel of them. Life without books would be, for me, a vacant horror."

11-16-2014, 04:02 AM	#210
GtrsRGr8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,334 Karma: 27815322 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Southeastern U.S., ya'll Device: Kindle; Kindle (10.1.1) for PC; Kindle Cloud Reader	Big Markdown (88%) on Charles Van Doren's The Joy of Reading! When I saw the name of the author of this book, Charles Van Doren, I definitely remembered hearing the name. But, I just couldn't remember where I heard the name or what from. Then, as I was looking at other books at Amazon that Doren (or would it be "Van Doren"?) had written, I found out. This guy co-authored with Mortimer Adler the magisterial classic How to Read a Book! That pretty much made up my mind to buy this ebook, for myself. The book covers authors beginning with Homer (that's Homer the Greek poet, not Homer Simpson) and runs to the modern times (no later than 2008, when the edition was published). Sure, you could get the list of authors from the book's table of contents and read the Wikipedia entries for each of them. You would sorta cover what the book covers. But for just $2.99 for this book, would it be worth all of the trouble? I thought not. The Joy of Reading: A Passionate Guide to 189 of the World's Best Authors and Their Works. By Charles Van Doren. Rated 4 stars, but from only 4 reviews at the present moment. Print list price $24.95; digital list price $24.95; Kindle price now $2.99. Sourcebooks, publisher. 549 pages. http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Reading-Pa...nd+Their+Works. Book Description This engaging love letter to reading follows the great authors and classics that transformed the world: from Aristotle and Herodotus in ancient Greece to Salinger and Heinlein in 20th century America. Like a professor whose enthusiasm enwraps his students, Van Doren explains what's wonderful in the books you've missed and awakens your desire to reopen the books you already know. Divided chronologically by the periods in which these classics were written, each book is put in its historical context and brought to life by Van Doren's brilliant analysis. The Joy of Reading delves into a wide range of genres-fiction, poetry, drama, children's books, philosophy, history and science. This is the one book that brings together everything you need to know about the classics you missed and ignites your passion to read and reread the greatest books the world has ever known. This book is the fruit of a lifelong love affair. Reading, I believe, is my favorite thing to do; books and I have been inseparable almost as long as I can remember ... To this day, I become distressed if I am anywhere without a book, a magazine, a newspaper, any scrap of paper to read .... I like the smell of books, certainly the feel of them. Life without books would be, for me, a vacant horror." Last edited by GtrsRGr8; 11-16-2014 at 08:20 PM.