I love this reference. It makes great snacks! The writing is swell, the info concise and useful. It is a goldmine of literary trivia and wonderful stories. ( )

A nice reference for literature written before 1948.

This would be my desert island book, I can spend hours lost in it, and I don't believe I could ever read all the entries. Everyone should own a copy, for a literature buff it's invaluable, and for someone with less knowledge (like me) it offers good introductions to writers, playrights, texts, artists, cultural movements, historical and mythological figures, literary themes, and so on, and so on.... ( )

With the advent of excellent online research tools like Wikipedia.org, one might be tempted to believe a book like Benet's "Reader's Encylopedia" is obsolete. Au contraire, mon frere.

The advantages of using Wikipedia to gather information about a particular work or author: it's comprehensive, entries easily link to further information, and it's fast. The disadvantages: it's not always focused on the literary importance of every cultural reference, and it's generally more information to wade through than you really need for casual reading.

Using online reference sources is like consulting a reference librarian; cracking open the "Reader's Encyclopedia" is like having a highly literate friend hanging around in your den--you can ask him for a quick fact, and depending on your mood you'll get your answer and go back to your book, or you'll wander off on a tangent and chat for hours about related topics.

There are certainly those who disagree with me and feel a focused subject encyclopedia like this is outdated--and I'm probably an old fart for thinking this way--but if books are your friends you won't regret having a copy of Benet. ( )

This reference book sits right between my dictionary and thesaurus, where I often refer to it. Sure, I can find anything I want to know online-- I know that. But sometimes it's just handier to have a real book! ( )