Loading...
187th out of 366 books
—
518 voters
My rating:
add to my books
How to Read and Why
by
Harold Bloom
Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?" is the crucial question with which renowned literary critic Harold Bloom begins 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 f...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
September 25th 2001
by Scribner
(first published June 1st 2000)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,557)
matthew
marked it as to-read
Recommends it for:
nonagenarian bibliophiles and people who think shakespeare is the SHIT
Shelves:
couldnt-get-through
i love harold bloom. i just read all his stuff. i had to stop reading this one, though, because, essentially, you have to've read everything that bloom's read to appreciate it, and i'm not quite yet that old. it really should be entitled "how to reread and why", 'cause the book is one ginormous spoiler. he really really really loves shakespeare, too, and he doesn't let ye forget it! i'll come back to it in some years. he's still a great writer.
view all 4 comments
Evan Elizabeth Harder
added it
well, he's kind of a windbag...but, it's interesting
I thought there were a lot of smart, astute observations although Bloom, possibly being the most well-read person alive today, has no qualm with telling you exactly what he thinks is good and what is garbage and what you should read and why and how you should read it. As a premise, this sounds nosy and elitist but I didn't find it off-putting. I actually found a lot of great insight in his short explications. More than any observation about a work in particular, it was Bloom's personal experienc...more
Really dull and pedantic view of literature, IMO. On the one hand, it purports to explain why one should read (I'll save you the time and money-- read for enjoyment). On the other hand, it contains many references to literature that it makes almost no sense to read it unless you have already read the copious books Prof. Bloom makes reference to. All of this begs the question: To whom is this book targeted? I humbly suggest: To no-one in particular.
As someone who posits that literat...more
As someone who posits that literat...more
This is one of my absolute favorite books. It is a psychological perspective of becoming a bibliophile. Even deeper, though, it explicitly describes how we become connected to a story, a character, a moment. How does reading turn into experiencing? Why does it happen? What do author's do to make sure you love the experience or at least remember it forever? Why do we strive to gain this experience? What characters should we turn to so we can meet that need? These are the questions and answers o...more
Oh darn, I just typed a whole lot and lost it. I had hoped that this would be about skills to improve my reading and comprehension. It seems more along the lines of why you must read the work of certain authors.
However I do like why Bloom wants us to read. And I think the big point he says is to read so that we can:
1. Weigh and consider what it is we are reading.
2. Read to prepare ourselves for change.
3. Read to form our own judgments and opinions.
4. Read ...more
However I do like why Bloom wants us to read. And I think the big point he says is to read so that we can:
1. Weigh and consider what it is we are reading.
2. Read to prepare ourselves for change.
3. Read to form our own judgments and opinions.
4. Read ...more
للأسف الشديد فأن المؤلف اخفق للغايه فى هذا الكتاب وهذا من وجهة نظرى للأسباب الأتيه
اولا ... اسم الكتاب هو ( كيف نقرأ ولماذا ) وللأسف فأن مضمون الكتاب جاء مغايرا لهذا الاسم . فعندما يقع نظر الانسان على هذا العنوان لأول مره يذهب تفكيره فى ان المحتوى يتحدث عن القراءة وكيفيتها مثل الاقتناء والتركيز والمقارنه بين الكتاب ومثيله الخ الخ الخ ... ولكن للأسف فأن الكتاب يتضمن نقد ادبى قد كتبه الدكتور هارولد بلوم للعديد من الاعمال الادبيه الغربيه من القصص القصيره الى الروايات الى المسرحيات الى ...more
اولا ... اسم الكتاب هو ( كيف نقرأ ولماذا ) وللأسف فأن مضمون الكتاب جاء مغايرا لهذا الاسم . فعندما يقع نظر الانسان على هذا العنوان لأول مره يذهب تفكيره فى ان المحتوى يتحدث عن القراءة وكيفيتها مثل الاقتناء والتركيز والمقارنه بين الكتاب ومثيله الخ الخ الخ ... ولكن للأسف فأن الكتاب يتضمن نقد ادبى قد كتبه الدكتور هارولد بلوم للعديد من الاعمال الادبيه الغربيه من القصص القصيره الى الروايات الى المسرحيات الى ...more
I am always eager to read a book that purports to encourage reading within the general population. Bloom certain encourages reading, but his text How to Read and Why assumes that the reader is already well versed in the classics. Plots of classic novels and plays are referred to in shorthand; Bloom makes innumerable comparison to Shakespeare's Iago without ever mentioning the plot of Othello. Luckily for me, I've read enough of his sources to have gleaned a good deal from Bloom's book, but I was...more
This is a remarkably conservative introduction to how to read and why. His selection of texts is also quite conservative and illustrative of his ideological positioning. What is most interesting is that he spends so much time criticising the very idea of reading from within an ideological position that he appears completely blind to the fact of his own ideology or even that it is an ideology. This ideology is most clearly illuminated at the end of the book when he discusses why it is good to ...more
Bloom's objectives in this book are grand, while a more appropriate title may have been What to Read and Why. With sections on the short story, poetry, drama, classical novels, and the modern novel, he identifies whom he considers the best contributors and their best work(s), with evolutionary speculation on how the earlier influenced the latter, plus some theoretical thoughts on the interplay between the development of Western civilization and its literature.
His use of a precise and e...more
His use of a precise and e...more
I don't think Harold Bloom can so much as take a shit without referencing the act to Shakespeare in some way, shape or form.
I understand now that he is a Shakespeare scholar, but prior to picking up this book, I had no idea. I knew him to be a literary critic and scholar and therefore assumed he would be treating the topic of reading and literature to an academic analysis. Really, the book should be titled "How to Read Everything as an Offshoot of Shakespeare." On the gener...more
I understand now that he is a Shakespeare scholar, but prior to picking up this book, I had no idea. I knew him to be a literary critic and scholar and therefore assumed he would be treating the topic of reading and literature to an academic analysis. Really, the book should be titled "How to Read Everything as an Offshoot of Shakespeare." On the gener...more
Harold Bloom è un critico di chiara fama (il suo ambito è, come si nota scorrendo l'indice di questo saggio, la letteratura statunitense). Il presupposto da cui parte è semplice: la lettura serve a noi stessi. E' un piacere solitario, e un modo di migliorarci. Bloom ammette che nessuno dovrebbe dirci che cosa dobbiamo leggere, ma disobbedisce per primo a questa indicazione. Scegli alcuni scrittori di racconti, poeti, scrittori teatrali e romanzieri e ne illustra delle opere, cercando di spiegarc...more
Harold Bloom, arguably our greatest literary critic since Lionel Trilling, published his How to Read and Why in 2000, just two years after The Western Canon. Some might find monotony in Bloom because his writing often seems to repeat itself, and it is true that there are many overlaps. In this book, we become reacquainted with his reading of the works of of Shakespeare, Cervantes, Jane Austen, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Marcel Proust, and Jorges Luis Borges. In fact it exalts as his past out...more
There are two authors, both prolific critics, whom I read often despite their artistic and critical incoherence: T.S. Eliot and Harold Bloom. Bloom is an interesting case: I discovered him, in search of a kindred spirit, because of his almost religious devotion to Shakespeare, and have often subsequently wondered if there has ever been a man in history so in love with something that is not another human being. Bloom's love for literature is deep and intense and voracious on the surface. But read...more
more how to read what harold bloom reads. i agree with idea reading is ultimately private, not necessarily socially ameliorative, nor productive of greater mind or heart, but also that it is more that people read that is important rather than set texts must be read. most texts chosen i have read, some with less impact than suggested, some i have not read or remember only vaguely. i do not read poems much, i value plays in production not text. no surprises, no texts that are not eurocentric or am...more
I enjoy Harold Bloom's criticism. I picked up this book at a book sale at the Minneapolis downtown library and began reading it while on our Labor Day weekend visit there.
A lot in this book is redundant and at times overwrought, not as enjoyable as his annotated volume of best English language poems that I read a few years ago. That book influenced how I read and has influenced my preaching. I'm not sure if anything deep will come from this book. I more enjoyed his thoughts and i...more
A lot in this book is redundant and at times overwrought, not as enjoyable as his annotated volume of best English language poems that I read a few years ago. That book influenced how I read and has influenced my preaching. I'm not sure if anything deep will come from this book. I more enjoyed his thoughts and i...more
I chose this book because people were saying it was better than How to Read a Book, by Adler. I loved Adler's book and was looking forward to reading a book that was potentially better. However, I'm returning Bloom's book to the library only partially read.
The book is titled How to Read and Why. Bloom covered the "why" but left out the "how." This book is more of a literary analysis than a how-to and I don't understand why people were comparing it to How to Read ...more
The book is titled How to Read and Why. Bloom covered the "why" but left out the "how." This book is more of a literary analysis than a how-to and I don't understand why people were comparing it to How to Read ...more
Old review from 2006:
Alas, a book of marginal utility to me. Well, that’s a lie. It taught me that I will probably never comprehend "serious" literature because doing so clearly takes way too much work. I should probably just come to terms with the fact that I read primarily for escapism and that any other benefits are purely incidental. Yes, I am willfully dumb. I thought it was sort of interesting that Bloom always seems to assume that authors have some intent, that they wr...more
Alas, a book of marginal utility to me. Well, that’s a lie. It taught me that I will probably never comprehend "serious" literature because doing so clearly takes way too much work. I should probably just come to terms with the fact that I read primarily for escapism and that any other benefits are purely incidental. Yes, I am willfully dumb. I thought it was sort of interesting that Bloom always seems to assume that authors have some intent, that they wr...more
This book is not geared toward the academic, rather it is a popular book on reading quality literature. What this means is that Bloom does not spend time discussing the theory and techniques of literary scholarship and criticism, but instead models a very personal, pleasurable style of attentive reading. The length of the book precludes a thorough examination of any specific work. Instead it is a survey to whet the appetite, an aperitif. It is quite like an interesting few days spent with a live...more
Max Maxwell
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Confident readers who need a little scaffolding
Recommended to Max by:
Good question, I think I just noticed it myself
Shelves:
lit-theory,
50-book-challenge-2009-failed-48
I can definitely see what Harold Bloom is getting at when he asserts that when one is in one's seventies, one does not have time to read bad literature; I'm in my twenties, and I can't see that I have any more time for it than Bloom could. The worst thing that can be said of Bloom is, of course, that he goes on about what "good literature" is, but has no qualm with you reading his own okay-ish tomes.
The worst thing that could be said about this book in particular, however, ...more
The worst thing that could be said about this book in particular, however, ...more
I've been keeping my eye out in bookshops and libraries for books of this sort: "how to read"-type things. The reason is because of a quiet yet nagging thought in the side of my brain telling me I missed something about reading in my schooling. The thought that despite a young lifetime of private education, some key concepts were either still missing or - worse - forgotten. That, and maybe too much pot. Hehe.
Bloom's how-to-read-book, however, isn't nearly as joyous as a ce...more
Bloom's how-to-read-book, however, isn't nearly as joyous as a ce...more
A lot of why I liked this book is because it gave me a few books to add to my queue. This is my first exposure to Bloom and my impression is that he's sort of a charming character. He's erudite and opinionated without being condescending or abrasive. I found his passion for books and literature contagious and criticism insightful. After reading this, I've started Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and I'll probably read Blood Meridian after that. How to Read and Why gave me a new, or renewed, apprec...more
I would give this 2.5 if this would allow half stars. It could have been more accessible but was in fact very dry and did not address the hows and whys. Typical of Bloom, he launches deep into complex references and while occasionally delivering something in a more universal language. I don't need dancing clowns to keep my attention, but with a background in literature, we should be speaking somewhat the same language. His high-minded, obscure references keep me researching footnotes ad nauseu...more
Full of brilliant prose which I didn't always fully understand, but that was probably due to the fact that I hadn't read most of the books mentioned. Bloom chooses to structure his book according to a list of works which he deems to be of literary significance. While each of his reviews always seem insightful in any case, lack of familiarity with the works impedes much of the book's impact, especially the parts on plays and novels. A good thing is that Bloom always attempts to link back every es...more
I abandoned this early on, around page forty. The author just doesn't give you anything worth knowing, his range is narrow and elitist, everything referred and compared to Shakespeare with vague mentions of irony. A much better book on getting more out of reading is Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer which stimulates you into looking out a load of authors you may never have tried or even heard of. But forget Harold Bloom!
Oh, and James Wood is a much better literary critic bec...more
Oh, and James Wood is a much better literary critic bec...more
Desprès de un pròleg magnífic, no compleix amb les expectatives que genera.
No em queda clar, com llegir ni per què, ja que em contes de intentar respondre aquestes preguntes, el llibre et dona una llista d'autors i obres que han agradat a Bloom, i aquesta llista està totalment centrada amb les novelles de personatges, i l'únic que en trec de clar, és que s'ha de llegir Shakespeare i Cervantes, ja que tots els personatges actuals en son pàl·lides ombres dels d'aquests dos autors. El Qu...more
No em queda clar, com llegir ni per què, ja que em contes de intentar respondre aquestes preguntes, el llibre et dona una llista d'autors i obres que han agradat a Bloom, i aquesta llista està totalment centrada amb les novelles de personatges, i l'únic que en trec de clar, és que s'ha de llegir Shakespeare i Cervantes, ja que tots els personatges actuals en son pàl·lides ombres dels d'aquests dos autors. El Qu...more
Bloom presents short notes on poetry, plays and novels. Shakespeare. The book is Shakespeare fast paced. It provides an intelligent laundry Shakespeare list of classics. I enjoyed his "hows" of reading a lot more than his "whys." Shakespeare. His encouragement to read difficult works deeply and to memorize poetry gave me Shakespeare a renewed vigor. I may yet tackle Paradise Lost. I was a little surprised by the modern novels he chose to feature, as most are favorites: Moby D...more
This is a fantastic book for any novice reader such as myself. Harold Bloom is such well read individual. He speaks of his favorite authors with such passion you can’t help but get sucked in to his world. I listened to this book via audio-recording which made my commute going and coming from work almost bearable. I’m pretty sure I would have become quite bored with many parts of the book if I would have read it so I would definitely recommend the audio book. Bloom had some absolutely beautif...more
Peter
rated it
Recommends it for:
Pick this up
Recommended to Peter by:
No need introduction.
Shelves:
inspiration-memoir-self-help
This is good entertaining,he writes with passion, it captivate me in his own way, this is what good reading is all about.How to read a book is a must to be Reread and Rereading.Those out there who don't understanding Bloom story telling, I quote, "Reread what is most worthy of rereading, and you will remember what strenthengs your spirit".[Unquote:]
I found that he do have flaws in telling how to read, other than that it is still a good read. Those out there wanted to know where w...more
I found that he do have flaws in telling how to read, other than that it is still a good read. Those out there wanted to know where w...more
This is essentially a subset of Bloom's Western Canon course books. I'd already read about half of the books recounted in this book, and they are all more interesting than his description of them. But, I think I would have enjoyed the Charterhouse of Parma and Hamlet more had I read this first - particularly the latter - he's really engaging when it comes to Shakespeare.
You can safely ignore the title - despite Bloom's tendency towards the professorial, it isn't an instructional work. It's a go...more
You can safely ignore the title - despite Bloom's tendency towards the professorial, it isn't an instructional work. It's a go...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Bloom is a literary critic, and currently a Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University.
More about Harold Bloom...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“... one doesn't want to read badly any more than live badly, since time will not relent. I don't know that we owe God or nature a death, but nature will collect anyway, and we certainly owe mediocrity nothing, whatever collectivity it purports to advance or at least represent.”
—
5 people liked it
“The creator of Sir John Falstaff, of Hamlet, and of Rosalind also makes me wish I could be more myself. But that, as I argue throughout this book, is why we should read, and why we should read only the best of what has been written.”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
