REVIEW: “In praise of three ‘unimportant’ books,” The Washington Post

by Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

To broadly generalize, books can be divided into three sorts. First, there are the established classics, works central to our culture and imagination such as Plato’s dialogues, Shakespeare’s plays and Jane Austen’s novels. Second, there are the books that speak to us at this moment, that are topical, relevant, part of ongoing national and societal conversations. The range here is vast, encompassing current bestsellers, modern children’s literature, contemporary poetry, self-help guides, political tracts and much else. All these works are at least tacitly therapeutic; they aim to help us enjoy, escape from or critique the way we live now.

Finally, there is a third category comprising all those idiosyncratic, half-forgotten or “unimportant” books that simply attract us personally. Seldom canonical, though often old, and of doubtful contemporary pertinence, they chiefly appeal to people who like reading in and of itself. Let me mention three examples, all recently published but quite different…

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REVIEW: “Our December Book Club Selection: Monsieur Teste by Paul Valéry,” Asymptote

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INTERVIEW: “Charlotte Mandell on Translating Paul Valéry,” Asymptote