Great Short Books: A Year of Reading—Briefly
- Downloads：7840
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-27 01:19:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kenneth C. Davis
- ISBN：B09RX38S4N
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
joyce w。 laudon
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This book is a wonderful resource。 It will have readers adding new titles to their wish lists or perhaps having a moment’s nostalgia for a book previously read。 There are over fifty books featured。 Just a few of those mentioned are Kate Chopin’s The Awakening， Charlotte’s Web by E B White， Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie。 As can be seen， there are classics， popular fiction and even some children’s books。For each title， there are sections。 These include Firs This book is a wonderful resource。 It will have readers adding new titles to their wish lists or perhaps having a moment’s nostalgia for a book previously read。 There are over fifty books featured。 Just a few of those mentioned are Kate Chopin’s The Awakening， Charlotte’s Web by E B White， Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie。 As can be seen， there are classics， popular fiction and even some children’s books。For each title， there are sections。 These include First Lines， Plot Summary， About the Author， Why You Should Read It， and What to Read Next。 Each of these included much that is detailed and informative。This is a book that bibliophiles and those who want good reading suggestions are sure to enjoy。 Highly recommended。Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for this title。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
M。
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It was a good read。
Faith
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Each time I choose a book I hope for 2 things。 That it be good and that it be short。 I no longer have the patience for long books， so this guide is perfect for me。 The author selected 58 books， both classics and contemporary works。 Each book was fiction between 100 and 200 pages （with a few minor exceptions with respect to length）。 They are listed in alphabetical order by title， but at the end of the book are lists of the books by author and by publication date。 Each entry includes the opening s Each time I choose a book I hope for 2 things。 That it be good and that it be short。 I no longer have the patience for long books， so this guide is perfect for me。 The author selected 58 books， both classics and contemporary works。 Each book was fiction between 100 and 200 pages （with a few minor exceptions with respect to length）。 They are listed in alphabetical order by title， but at the end of the book are lists of the books by author and by publication date。 Each entry includes the opening sentences， a synopsis， the author’s biography， critical appraisal and suggestions for other works by that author。 Some included authors: George Orwell， Jacqueline Woodson， Francoise Sagan， Voltaire， Edith Wharton， Philip Roth， James Baldwin， Ursula K。 Le Guin， Virginia Woolf， Colson Whitehead， Kazuo Ishiguro， Stephen King， Margaret AtwoodThere are additional suggested short books listed in a section at the end of this book， but without the detailed information。 Some included authors: Paulo Coelho， Herman Melville， Raymond Chandler， Cormac McCarthy， Ian McEwan， Leo Tolstoy， Ernest J。 Gaines， Franz Kafka， Truman Capote， Emile Zola， Han Kang， Jhumpa LahiriI had already read a lot of these books and I read a few more of them while I was reading this book。 I didn’t like all of them， but that is one advantage of short books; the pain doesn’t last long。 I also added quite a few to my wish list （although many were not available as audio books which disappointed me）。 This book was very helpful and I recommend it。 I received a free copy of this book from the publisher。 。。。more
Catie
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Review copy provided by publisher - July 2022
Tom O’Leary
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GREAT SHORT BOOKS is a wonderful， breezy but deep look at the outstanding short books of the last 150 years。 Kenneth C。 Davis is a genius at summarizing each book and making the reader want to read said book post haste。 This is a book I didn’t know the world needed but the world did。
Kennedy
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I only came away from this with a couple of books added to my TBR list， which is good because I already have so many things to read， but disappointing that I didn't get more out of this book。 While reading it， I would look up interesting sounding books on Goodreads， but so many of them seemed so depressing。 If we're reading short books because the world is a dumpster fire， let's see more lighthearted ones！I liked the premise， set-up， and format， but I didn't really gain anything from it。 I only came away from this with a couple of books added to my TBR list， which is good because I already have so many things to read， but disappointing that I didn't get more out of this book。 While reading it， I would look up interesting sounding books on Goodreads， but so many of them seemed so depressing。 If we're reading short books because the world is a dumpster fire， let's see more lighthearted ones！I liked the premise， set-up， and format， but I didn't really gain anything from it。 。。。more
Jeff Swartz
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Great reference book。 So well conceived and constructed。 Great list， great bios， just great information！It would have been so easy to half-ass this project and still have a decent reference book， but obviously this was a labor of love for Mr。 Davis。As a bookseller， I would add this title to any “Graduation Gifts” table。
Jill Elizabeth
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I enjoy books about books。 Finding new titles - particularly older titles - is always a good thing for me。 This collection introduced me to a number of books I was not familiar with， which was fun。 I must admit that a number of the titles I was familiar with were not favorites of mine - either the specific stories or the authors - but I still found the overall format and content interesting。 Davis's writing is a nice balance between informative and entertaining， and I did find his year-long ques I enjoy books about books。 Finding new titles - particularly older titles - is always a good thing for me。 This collection introduced me to a number of books I was not familiar with， which was fun。 I must admit that a number of the titles I was familiar with were not favorites of mine - either the specific stories or the authors - but I still found the overall format and content interesting。 Davis's writing is a nice balance between informative and entertaining， and I did find his year-long quest an engaging one。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy。 。。。more
mary
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these are a compilation of stories by the great writers of the past ， well done ， enjoyed all the stories and would recommend this if you want to dip your toe in and see who's style of writing you may like to deep dive into 。 these are a compilation of stories by the great writers of the past ， well done ， enjoyed all the stories and would recommend this if you want to dip your toe in and see who's style of writing you may like to deep dive into 。 。。。more
Steve
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First off， my thanks to Scribners and NetGalley for the ebook ARC。 Davis reads， and writes mostly non-fiction （I was surprised to find I knew of him - from his very very first book from way way back when - "Two-Bit Culture"， on the paperback book in America）。 But with the pandemic lockdown he found himself drawn to fiction， Short fiction in particular。 AKA - novellas。 As a "road warrior" of 30 years， I found myself drawn to short works - you could finish them within a week in your hotel room， or First off， my thanks to Scribners and NetGalley for the ebook ARC。 Davis reads， and writes mostly non-fiction （I was surprised to find I knew of him - from his very very first book from way way back when - "Two-Bit Culture"， on the paperback book in America）。 But with the pandemic lockdown he found himself drawn to fiction， Short fiction in particular。 AKA - novellas。 As a "road warrior" of 30 years， I found myself drawn to short works - you could finish them within a week in your hotel room， or on your flights。 Retired now for 7 years， I still tend to read shorter works。 After 300 or so pages， I start thinking， "You really could have said all this in about 220 pp。。。。" Or， my appreciation of the short mystery - about 200 pp。 Not the bloated things writers like Parker and Crais and others have been forced by publishers to put out later in their careers， made to produce an annual "door stopper" sized thriller。 His presentation is standard for each title - publication information， first lines， plot， about the author， why read it， and further reading。 He does this for the 58 books he read over a year。 And includes a "Further Reading" list at the very end of the book as well。 He also explains why some "classics" are not included here - offensive （less an issue of being political correct than their being tiresome in their casual racism or homophobia）， and he wanted to focus on new-to-him titles。 Not books he has read in the past。 I found over a dozen new authors or titles I want to now read that were included in his main list， and the Further Reading at the end of each chapter and at the end of the volume itself。As others have suggested， this is a great tool for Book Clubs！ Not Lit Crit， it is mostly focused on necessary， just-the-facts-mam information on one person's reading of short books over a year。 Well worth a read， and great for browsing！ 。。。more
Aaron Brown
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Some good choices， some really silly choices。 Leaving， for example， Saul Bellow's Seize the Day or Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground off the main list in favor of the very recent Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is a bit much and obvious pandering。 But the author does a pretty good job analyzing the selections he made and providing a good introduction to these books。 Certainly recommended for readers looking to add some great works to their reading list。 Some good choices， some really silly choices。 Leaving， for example， Saul Bellow's Seize the Day or Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground off the main list in favor of the very recent Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is a bit much and obvious pandering。 But the author does a pretty good job analyzing the selections he made and providing a good introduction to these books。 Certainly recommended for readers looking to add some great works to their reading list。 。。。more
Ann
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Great Short Stories" is an incredibly valuable tool for book clubs and readers everywhere！ Some authors/titles are well-known and others will be new discoveries。 Author Kenneth C。 Davis made sure to include "a broad diversity of writers and voices" as well as a variety of genres。 The guideline for length is roughly 100 - 200 pages with exceptions。I am a member of two book groups as well as reviewing for NetGalley so I was delighted to see "Great Short Stories"， a guidebook for "A Year of Reading Great Short Stories" is an incredibly valuable tool for book clubs and readers everywhere！ Some authors/titles are well-known and others will be new discoveries。 Author Kenneth C。 Davis made sure to include "a broad diversity of writers and voices" as well as a variety of genres。 The guideline for length is roughly 100 - 200 pages with exceptions。I am a member of two book groups as well as reviewing for NetGalley so I was delighted to see "Great Short Stories"， a guidebook for "A Year of Reading - Briefly"。 In his introduction the author discusses the issue of time for readers in our society and how the idea to curate short stories came to him。 There actually are fifty-eight entries in alphabetical order listing the title， the author， and year of publication with basic information including the opening paragraph， overview， author's bio， why you should read the book， and what else to read from that author。 There are lists of entries by the author's last name， dates of publication， additional lists of short stories， and more。 A random sample of titles includes: Charlotte's Web （E。B。 White）; Evil Under the Sun （Agatha Christie）; The Hour of the Star （Clarice Lispector）; The Lathe of Heaven （Ursula K。 LeGuin; Mrs。 Dalloway （Virginia Woolf）; Tokyo Ueno Station （Yu Miri）; etc。HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for any book group looking to find new titles or any reader who wants to know what to read next。Thank you to the author， publisher Simon & Schuster， and NetGalley for an early copy for an honest review。 。。。more
Natalie
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