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Loading... How to Read and Why (original 2000; edition 2001)by Harold Bloom (Author)
Work InformationHow to Read and Why by Harold Bloom (2000)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I realized while reading this that I had read it before some years ago, and that it had had a strong influence on my reading choices since then. Very straightforward and readable. ( ) Leggere bene e' uno dei grandi piaceri che la solitudine puo' concederci perche', ... e' il piu' terapeutico dei piaceri. (p. 9) - Nel giorno del suo settantacinquesimo compleanno - Non lottai con nessuno, perche' nessuno era degno della mia lotta. Amai la natura e, con la natura, l'arte: riscaldai entrambe le mani al fuoco della vita; si affievolisce, e sono pronto ad andarmene. Sir Walter Savage Landor (p. 84) Leggiamo per trovare noi stessi, in modo piu' pieno e bizzarro di quanto potremmo sperare altrimenti. (p. 92) - Ode al vento di ponente - O Vento, se Inverno viene, puo' Primavera essere lontana? Shelley (p. 102) - La torre rotta - E fu cosi' che entrai nel mondo spezzettato per inseguire la compagnia visionaria dell'amore, la sua voce un istante nel vento (non so in quale direzione lanciato) ma non a lungo per contenere ogni decisione disperata. Hart Crane (p. 169) I romantici lo consideravano il vero compito della poesia: stupirci destandoci dal nostro sonno di morte e iniziandoci a un senso piu' ampio della vita. (p. 171) La buona lettura ci insegna ad ascoltarci a vicenda, come propone il modello di Cervantes? Oserei dire che e' impossibile ascoltare gli altri come si ascolta un ottimo libro. (p. 246) Diglielo che anche se hai le scarpe rotte e la faccia piena di brufoli, si', i denti sporgenti e il piede deforme, non te ne importa niente, perche' domani daranno gli ultimi quartetti di Beethoven alla Carnegie Hall e a casa hai tutta l'opera di Shakespeare in un unico volume. Oscar Wilde (p. 320) L'uomo che crede che i segreti del mondo resteranno nascosti per sempre vive nel mistero e nella paura. La superstizione lo trascinera' in basso. La pioggia erodera' gli atti della sua vita. Ma l'uomo che si assume il compito di individuare nell'arazzo il filo che tutto ordisce, in virtu' di questa sola decisione si fa carico del mondo, ed e' soltanto facendosene carico che egli puo' trovare il modo di dettare i termini del proprio destino. Cormac McCarthy (p. 332) This is a passionate book about the joys and rewards of good reading. Bloom mines the great works for their enduring wisdom, drawing on his experience as a critic, teacher, and voracious reader. He writes to the lone reader, urging them to read in order to find and enhance their own selves. He demonstrates an unwavering belief in the reader's ability to be restored and inspired by literature. Writing with zeal for the works of authors whose work affirms life. This book takes a number of examples in different genres of literature and explains how to enjoy those works. It really reminds me of How to Read a Book, but perhaps that is what Bloom was going for. There isn't really much else to say, but this guy really hates Edgar Allan Poe. Since he is a literary critic he probably has his reasons, though he doesn't explain them. In any case, this book was pretty good. It wasn't phenomenal, but it was quite nice.
Trotz Blooms' altmodischer und eigensinniger Art an Texte heranzugehen, weckt er im Leser den Wunsch, sich noch unbekanntes Terrain zu erschließen oder bereits Vertrautes neu zu lesen. Während es Bloom versteht, vom Reiz des Lesens zu erzählen, so vermag sein Kanon, der materiale ebenso wie der interpretatorische, nicht ganz zu überzeugen. Die Gültigkeit seiner Auswahl und teils auch seiner Analyse bleibt fraglich, gerade weil Bloom selbst sich gegen jene Institutionen ausspricht, die dem Leser eine obligatorische Leseliste und eine unfehlbare Analyse zu diktieren suchen. Sein Plädoyer für das Lesen von Literatur ist zweifelsohne leidenschaftlich und gerade im Hinblick auf die ständige Bedrohung durch das Triviale sicher nötig, aber "Die Kunst der Lektüre" könnte ohne weiteres auch den Titel "Lieblingswerke von Harold Bloom" tragen. Auch Blooms Gestus, "volksnah" zu sein, kann nicht wirklich überzeugen - dafür kommen seine Ausführungen zu belehrend daher. So kann dieses Buch, trotz der zur Schau getragenen Anspruchslosigkeit, den Ehrgeiz seines Verfassers nicht verhehlen, und ist am Ende doch nicht mehr als eine Anregung. Man möchte Bloom auf ein Zitat Virginia Woolfs aus seinem eigenen Vorwort hinweisen: "Der einzige Rat nämlich, den ein Mensch einem anderen in puncto Lesen geben kann, ist der, auf keinen Rat zu hören." Distinctions
"Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?" is the crucial question with which renowned literary critic Harold Bloom commences this impassioned book on the pleasures and benefits of reading well. For more than forty years, Bloom has transformed college students into lifelong readers with his unrivaled love for literature. Now, at a time when faster and easier electronic media threaten to eclipse the practice of reading, Bloom draws on his experience as critic, teacher, and prolific reader to plumb the great books for their sustaining wisdom. Shedding all polemic, Bloom addresses the solitary reader, who, he urges, should read for the purest of all reasons: to discover and augment the self. Always dazzling in his ability to draw connections between texts across continents and centuries, Bloom instructs readers in how to immerse themselves in the different literary forms. Probing discussions of the works of beloved writers such as William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, Jane Austen, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Charles Dickens, and William Faulkner highlight the varied challenges and delights found in short stories, poems, novels, and plays. Bloom not only provides illuminating guidance on how to read a text but also illustrates what such reading can bring--aesthetic pleasure, increased individuality and self-knowledge, and the lifetime companionship of the most engaging and complex literary characters. Bloom's engaging prose and brilliant insights will send you hurrying back to old favorites and entice you to discover new ones. His ultimate faith in the restorative power of literature resonates on every page of this infinitely rewarding and important book. No library descriptions found. |
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