"All that kid wants to do is stick his nose in a book," Michael Dirda's steelworker father used to complain, worried about his son's passion for reading. In An Open Book, one of the most delightful memoirs to emerge in years, the acclaimed literary journalist Michael Dirda re-creates his boyhood in rust-belt Ohio, first in the working-class town of Lorain, then at Oberlin College. In addition to his colorful family and friends, An Open Book also features the great writers and fictional characters who fueled Dirda's imagination: from Green Lantern to Sherlock Holmes, from Candy to Proust. The result is an affectionate homage to small-town Americaāsummer jobs, school fights, sweepstakes contests, and first datesāas well as a paean to what could arguably be called the last great age of reading. "Dirda is a superb literary essayist."āHarold Bloom "Michael Dirda's memoirāno surprise to meāis so good that I went up to the attic meaning to send him one of my antique Big Little books as a salute to excellence...A great job. I'll be buying An Open Book for my children and grandchildren."āRussell Baker, author of Growing Up "Here, in An Open Book, is the show and tell of a wonderful American story, everything coming together in the immemorial dance of literature and memory, of history and gossip, and of the deeply felt, bittersweet story (his own) of a young life. Read it and rejoice."āGeorge Garrett "A lovely, unapologetically nostalgic remembrance of growing up in a more innocent America, but it is also the touching story of one person's lifelong love affair with words."āJune Sawyer, San Francisco Chronicle "Dirda inhabits each book he reads. Inhabits itāand makes a space alongside it for us to join him....He is a rare treasure."āJames Sallis, Boston Sunday Globe
This book title, An Open Book (Chapters fom a Reader's Life), ISBN: 9780393326147, by Michael Dirda, published by W. W. Norton & Company (December 17, 2004) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
Unlike Amazon and other retailers who may also offer An Open Book (Chapters fom a Reader's Life) books on their website, we specialize in large quantities and provide personal service, from trusted, experienced, friendly people in Portland, Oregon. We offer a Price Match Guarantee, and QuickQuote form, to make purchasing quick and easy.
Prefer to work with a human being when you order An Open Book (Chapters fom a Reader's Life) books in bulk? Our Book Specialists are standing by Monday-Friday 8-5 PST, ready to help!