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An Open Book: Chapters From a Reader’s Life Audiobook
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(3.12) - 174 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Dirda shares his love for all literature-novels, comic books, poetry, even erotica-in this humorous memoir of his childhood. Growing up in a bluecollar, Midwestern household of the 50s and 60s, Dirda appalled his father with his insatiable thirst for reading. His humorous remembrances of the works he loved will spark the interest of anyone who savors a good story.
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"Dirda grew up in Lorain, OH, attended Oberlin College and became the senior editor of the Washington Post Book World. He writes about all the ways that books have been the major influence in his life. He truly loves books, and I was amazed at how much he has read and remembered concerning books. "
— Ruth (4 out of 5 stars)
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“A love story, full of a passion for literature and marked by intellectual vigor.”
— The Los Angeles Times
An Open Book Listener Reviews
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" Dirda is one of our most interesting writers on the subject of reading and its pleasures. In this memoir he was able to articulate how much books and reading meant to his early life in a way that really resonated with me. "
— David, 2/15/2014 -
" I should have read this one long ago, and I'm glad I finally did. I enjoyed Dirda's writing, and there's nothing like reading about the familiar streets of your hometown. "
— Susan, 2/4/2014 -
" If it weren't set in my hometown, I might rate it a "3" as I'm not overly interested in Dirda's coming of age. "
— Zeke, 1/22/2014 -
" Want to fall in love with reading again? Get to a bookstore and pick this up. "
— Kristin, 1/19/2014 -
" Let's just say I relate. "
— Noel, 1/18/2014 -
" Loving books as I do, I am susceptible to memoirs about bookish childhoods and this is a good one. I especially enjoyed the tales of Dirda's younger reading adventures; he got a little pretentious describing his teen and college years at Oberlin. "
— Barbara, 11/22/2013 -
" Michael Dirda strikes exactly the right balance between his outside journey through childhood/yound adulthood and his interior world (particularly his book reading). Each part is told with a perception and intelligence that makes for a truly pleasurable reading experience. "
— Mickey, 11/11/2013 -
" Dirda grew up in Lorain, OH, attended Oberlin College and became the senior editor of the Washington Post Book World. He writes about all the ways that books have been the major influence in his life. He truly loves books, and I was amazed at how much he has read and remembered concerning books. "
— Ruth, 11/3/2013 -
" ...we all yearn for a life beyond what we already have experienced. Books will save you. "
— L., 9/2/2013 -
" Loved the first half; second half--meh. "
— Elisabeth, 3/13/2012 -
" Very interesting coming of age memoir by editor of Washington Post Book World. "
— Terrell, 3/2/2012 -
" This wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped. "
— jen8998, 2/27/2012 -
" A very fun book to read. <br/><br/>My book is War and Peace by Count Leo Tolstoy, complete and unabridged. <br/><br/>Love the idea of a grade 8 kid doing that as a book report. "
— Andy, 12/9/2010 -
" Hard to imagine anyone who loves to read not enjoying this book. "
— Paul, 12/9/2010 -
" Dirda is one of our most interesting writers on the subject of reading and its pleasures. In this memoir he was able to articulate how much books and reading meant to his early life in a way that really resonated with me. "
— David, 9/25/2010 -
" Loving books as I do, I am susceptible to memoirs about bookish childhoods and this is a good one. I especially enjoyed the tales of Dirda's younger reading adventures; he got a little pretentious describing his teen and college years at Oberlin. "
— Barbara, 3/10/2010 -
" I should have read this one long ago, and I'm glad I finally did. I enjoyed Dirda's writing, and there's nothing like reading about the familiar streets of your hometown. "
— Susan, 9/19/2009 -
" This is both a great book as a challenge to readers based on Michael Dirda's memoir of his reading life and as a source for books to read and reread. Either way it is a delight and one more reason to read the work of Michael Dirda, one of our great literary commentators. "
— James, 10/8/2008 -
" This wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped. "
— jen8998, 3/25/2008
About Michael Dirda
Michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize–winning critic and longtime book columnist for the Washington Post. He was once chosen by Washingtonian magazine as one of the twenty-five smartest people in our nation’s capital. He also writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement, the New York Review of Books, and other literary journals. He is the author of the memoir An Open Book; the essay collections Readings, Bound to Please, Book by Book, and Classics for Pleasure; and On Conan Doyle, for which he won an Edgar Award. A lifelong Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle fan, he was inducted into the Baker Street Irregulars in 2002. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
About Jonathan Hogan
Jonathan Hogan is a stage, television, and film actor. He has appeared in several episodes of Law & Order, as well as One Life to Live, As the World Turns, and Ryan’s Hope. In 1985 his performance in the play As Is earned him a Tony Award nomination.