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Aspects of the Novel
by E.M. Forster • 1927
A novelist dismantles fiction into its working parts: story, plot, and the characters who breathe.
3.80
5k+
Aspects of the Novel Summary
Aspects of the Novel 93%
A novelist dismantles fiction into its working parts: story, plot, and the characters who breathe.
by E.M. Forster 1927
3.80
5k+ ratings
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read
by Pierre Bayard • 2020
Not reading is a creative strategy, not a failure. A French critic makes the case.
3.44
5k+
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read Summary
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read 93%
Not reading is a creative strategy, not a failure. A French critic makes the case.
by Pierre Bayard 2020
3.44
5k+ ratings
The Anatomy of Influence
by Harold Bloom • 2011
Literary influence is love with its guard up, and Shakespeare is still winning.
3.93
477
The Anatomy of Influence Summary
The Anatomy of Influence 93%
Literary influence is love with its guard up, and Shakespeare is still winning.
by Harold Bloom 2011
3.93
477 ratings
Discovering the Hidden Wisdom of the Little Prince
by Pierre Lassus • 2014
Beneath the fable, a secret self-portrait: his wife in the rose, his despair in the desert.
3.31
51
Discovering the Hidden Wisdom of the Little Prince Summary
Discovering the Hidden Wisdom of the Little Prince 93%
Beneath the fable, a secret self-portrait: his wife in the rose, his despair in the desert.
by Pierre Lassus 2014
3.31
51 ratings
How to Read and Why
by Harold Bloom • 2000
Read selfishly, chase pleasure, and recover the irony that academic jargon banished.
3.61
4k+
How to Read and Why Summary
How to Read and Why 93%
Read selfishly, chase pleasure, and recover the irony that academic jargon banished.
by Harold Bloom 2000
3.61
4k+ ratings
The Outsider
by Colin Wilson • 1956
The outsider feels reality too sharply to accept ordinary life. That crisis destroys, or awakens.
4.03
5k+
The Outsider Summary
The Outsider 92%
The outsider feels reality too sharply to accept ordinary life. That crisis destroys, or awakens.
by Colin Wilson 1956
4.03
5k+ ratings
The Anna Karenina Fix
by Viv Groskop • 2019
The life advice hidden in Russian novels, decoded by a comedian who grew up with them.
3.96
2k+
The Anna Karenina Fix Summary
The Anna Karenina Fix 92%
The life advice hidden in Russian novels, decoded by a comedian who grew up with them.
by Viv Groskop 2019
3.96
2k+ ratings
Dialogism
by Michael Holquist • 1990
All speech answers prior speech, all selves depend on others: the dialogic philosophy of Bakhtin.
4.09
88
Dialogism Summary
Dialogism 92%
All speech answers prior speech, all selves depend on others: the dialogic philosophy of Bakhtin.
by Michael Holquist 1990
4.09
88 ratings
Buddhism
by Damien Keown • 1996
Buddhism has no god, no bible, no pope. What holds its many traditions together?
3.74
3k+
Buddhism Summary
Buddhism 92%
Buddhism has no god, no bible, no pope. What holds its many traditions together?
by Damien Keown 1996
3.74
3k+ ratings
In Praise of Risk
by Anne Dufourmantelle • 2011
To avoid risk is to refuse life. A philosopher's argument for love, beauty, and freedom.
4.12
613
In Praise of Risk Summary
In Praise of Risk 92%
To avoid risk is to refuse life. A philosopher's argument for love, beauty, and freedom.
by Anne Dufourmantelle 2011
4.12
613 ratings
The Lonely Voice
by Frank O'Connor • 1961
The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.
3.89
246
The Lonely Voice Summary
The Lonely Voice 92%
The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.
by Frank O'Connor 1961
3.89
246 ratings
Why Read Moby-Dick?
by Nathaniel Philbrick • 2010
The whale is America: a historian on why Moby-Dick is the novel our present moment demands.
3.78
5k+
Why Read Moby-Dick? Summary
Why Read Moby-Dick? 91%
The whale is America: a historian on why Moby-Dick is the novel our present moment demands.
by Nathaniel Philbrick 2010
3.78
5k+ ratings
Susan Sontag
by Jonathan Cott • 1978
Intelligence as a pulse, illness as biology, art as a body: the complete Sontag interview.
4.22
3k+
Susan Sontag Summary
Susan Sontag 91%
Intelligence as a pulse, illness as biology, art as a body: the complete Sontag interview.
by Jonathan Cott 1978
4.22
3k+ ratings
The Diaries of Franz Kafka
by Franz Kafka • 2023
Kafka's diaries: the body hatred, the office dread, the nights his fiction tried to escape.
4.28
577
The Diaries of Franz Kafka Summary
The Diaries of Franz Kafka 91%
Kafka's diaries: the body hatred, the office dread, the nights his fiction tried to escape.
by Franz Kafka 2023
4.28
577 ratings
Good Prose
by Tracy Kidder • 2013
Everything a Pulitzer winner and his editor know about writing nonfiction that people finish.
3.92
1k+
Good Prose Summary
Good Prose 91%
Everything a Pulitzer winner and his editor know about writing nonfiction that people finish.
by Tracy Kidder 2013
3.92
1k+ ratings
Very Little...Almost Nothing
by Simon Critchley • 2004
Nihilism is the norm after God. Creative resistance through literature is how meaning gets remade.
3.89
132
Very Little...Almost Nothing Summary
Very Little...Almost Nothing 91%
Nihilism is the norm after God. Creative resistance through literature is how meaning gets remade.
by Simon Critchley 2004
3.89
132 ratings
At the Existentialist Café
by Sarah Bakewell • 2016
The existentialists built a philosophy from cafés, war, and each other's complicated lives.
4.24
20k+
At the Existentialist Café Summary
At the Existentialist Café 91%
The existentialists built a philosophy from cafés, war, and each other's complicated lives.
by Sarah Bakewell 2016
4.24
20k+ ratings
The Well-Educated Mind
by Susan Wise Bauer • 2003
A classical education for play readers: what the best seats in the house still hide.
4.00
4k+
The Well-Educated Mind Summary
The Well-Educated Mind 91%
A classical education for play readers: what the best seats in the house still hide.
by Susan Wise Bauer 2003
4.00
4k+ ratings
The Art of Subtext
by Charles Baxter • 2007
What a character won't say, can't hear, and can't admit: the hidden engine of unforgettable fiction.
4.02
1k+
The Art of Subtext Summary
The Art of Subtext 91%
What a character won't say, can't hear, and can't admit: the hidden engine of unforgettable fiction.
by Charles Baxter 2007
4.02
1k+ ratings
Read Dangerously
by Azar Nafisi • 2022
Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.
4.04
2k+
Read Dangerously Summary
Read Dangerously 91%
Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.
by Azar Nafisi 2022
4.04
2k+ ratings
Shakespeare's Freedom
by Stephen Greenblatt • 2010
Shakespeare dreamed of absolute freedom; his entire career became a record of its limits.
3.83
175
Shakespeare's Freedom Summary
Shakespeare's Freedom 91%
Shakespeare dreamed of absolute freedom; his entire career became a record of its limits.
by Stephen Greenblatt 2010
3.83
175 ratings
Missing Out
by Adam Phillips • 2012
Your regrets are not ghosts; they are the hidden architecture of your personality.
3.47
3k+
Missing Out Summary
Missing Out 91%
Your regrets are not ghosts; they are the hidden architecture of your personality.
by Adam Phillips 2012
3.47
3k+ ratings
The War for Middle-earth
by Joseph Loconte • 2025
Tolkien and Lewis fought totalitarianism with fantasy: a war waged by hobbits and wardrobes.
4.45
465
The War for Middle-earth Summary
The War for Middle-earth 91%
Tolkien and Lewis fought totalitarianism with fantasy: a war waged by hobbits and wardrobes.
by Joseph Loconte 2025
4.45
465 ratings
Breaking Bread with the Dead
by Alan Jacobs • 2020
Information overload shrinks your sense of time; old books stretch it back open.
3.92
2k+
Breaking Bread with the Dead Summary
Breaking Bread with the Dead 91%
Information overload shrinks your sense of time; old books stretch it back open.
by Alan Jacobs 2020
3.92
2k+ ratings
Lost in Thought
by Zena Hitz • 2020
The intellectual life as a secret refuge: why the best thinking happens far from ambition.
3.64
2k+
Lost in Thought Summary
Lost in Thought 91%
The intellectual life as a secret refuge: why the best thinking happens far from ambition.
by Zena Hitz 2020
3.64
2k+ ratings
Albert Camus
by Robert Zaretsky • 2010
Camus wrote against the death penalty. He stayed silent on Algeria. The life between those stands.
4.10
171
Albert Camus Summary
Albert Camus 91%
Camus wrote against the death penalty. He stayed silent on Algeria. The life between those stands.
by Robert Zaretsky 2010
4.10
171 ratings
Standpoints
by Svend Brinkmann • 2018
Modernity wants a use for everything. Ten old ideas that refuse to earn their keep.
3.77
787
Standpoints Summary
Standpoints 91%
Modernity wants a use for everything. Ten old ideas that refuse to earn their keep.
by Svend Brinkmann 2018
3.77
787 ratings
Power, Politics and Culture
by Edward W. Said • 2001
The scholar who revealed how Western learning became a tool of empire, in his own words.
4.26
613
Power, Politics and Culture Summary
Power, Politics and Culture 91%
The scholar who revealed how Western learning became a tool of empire, in his own words.
by Edward W. Said 2001
4.26
613 ratings
The Facts
by Philip Roth • 1988
A master of fiction tries to write the straight truth about his life, and discovers why he cannot.
3.70
1k+
The Facts Summary
The Facts 91%
A master of fiction tries to write the straight truth about his life, and discovers why he cannot.
by Philip Roth 1988
3.70
1k+ ratings
How to Read Lacan
by Slavoj Žižek • 2006
Canned laughter, borrowed desire, and the hidden logic that links sitcoms to totalitarianism.
3.94
4k+
How to Read Lacan Summary
How to Read Lacan 91%
Canned laughter, borrowed desire, and the hidden logic that links sitcoms to totalitarianism.
by Slavoj Žižek 2006
3.94
4k+ ratings
Thug Notes
by Sparky Sweets • 2015
What if CliffsNotes were written by a hip-hop scholar who treats classics like street parables?
3.96
570
Thug Notes Summary
Thug Notes 91%
What if CliffsNotes were written by a hip-hop scholar who treats classics like street parables?
by Sparky Sweets 2015
3.96
570 ratings
The Art of X-Ray Reading
by Roy Peter Clark • 2016
How to read a novel and come away with a toolbox, not just a story.
4.04
1k+
The Art of X-Ray Reading Summary
The Art of X-Ray Reading 91%
How to read a novel and come away with a toolbox, not just a story.
by Roy Peter Clark 2016
4.04
1k+ ratings
Slavoj Zizek
by Tony Myers • 2003
Your cynicism isn't rebellion. According to Žižek, it's the purest form of ideology.
3.82
266
Slavoj Zizek Summary
Slavoj Zizek 91%
Your cynicism isn't rebellion. According to Žižek, it's the purest form of ideology.
by Tony Myers 2003
3.82
266 ratings
Give War and Peace a Chance
by Andrew D. Kaufman • 2014
What a 19th-century Russian novel knows about chaos, loss, and meaning in your life.
3.89
364
Give War and Peace a Chance Summary
Give War and Peace a Chance 91%
What a 19th-century Russian novel knows about chaos, loss, and meaning in your life.
by Andrew D. Kaufman 2014
3.89
364 ratings
The Existentialist's Guide to Death, the Universe and Nothingness
by Gary Cox • 2011
You are free in a way you never asked for. This is what that actually costs.
4.12
121
The Existentialist's Guide to Death, the Universe and Nothingness Summary
The Existentialist's Guide to Death, the Universe and Nothingness 91%
You are free in a way you never asked for. This is what that actually costs.
by Gary Cox 2011
4.12
121 ratings
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction
by Alan Jacobs • 2011
Your to-read pile is a tyrant. Follow curiosity instead, and reading becomes alive again.
3.94
3k+
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction Summary
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction 91%
Your to-read pile is a tyrant. Follow curiosity instead, and reading becomes alive again.
by Alan Jacobs 2011
3.94
3k+ ratings
Albert Camus
by Olivier Todd • 1996
The Nobel laureate who preached justice but found none for his own homeland.
4.03
837
Albert Camus Summary
Albert Camus 91%
The Nobel laureate who preached justice but found none for his own homeland.
by Olivier Todd 1996
4.03
837 ratings
Batman and Philosophy
by Mark D. White • 2008
Batman doesn't have superpowers, but his moral dilemmas are a crash course in Western philosophy.
3.76
2k+
Batman and Philosophy Summary
Batman and Philosophy 91%
Batman doesn't have superpowers, but his moral dilemmas are a crash course in Western philosophy.
by Mark D. White 2008
3.76
2k+ ratings
The Words
by Jean-Paul Sartre • 1963
Philosopher's childhood: every gesture staged for adults, every written word a bid for freedom.
3.73
10k+
The Words Summary
The Words 91%
Philosopher's childhood: every gesture staged for adults, every written word a bid for freedom.
by Jean-Paul Sartre 1963
3.73
10k+ ratings
The Anatomy of Genres
by John Truby • 2022
Genres are philosophies disguised as story types. Crack the beats and you crack writing and life.
4.21
607
The Anatomy of Genres Summary
The Anatomy of Genres 91%
Genres are philosophies disguised as story types. Crack the beats and you crack writing and life.
by John Truby 2022
4.21
607 ratings
How Proust Can Change Your Life
by Alain de Botton • 1998
The practical life advice hidden inside a 3,000-page French novel about memory and jealousy.
3.76
19k+
How Proust Can Change Your Life Summary
How Proust Can Change Your Life 91%
The practical life advice hidden inside a 3,000-page French novel about memory and jealousy.
by Alain de Botton 1998
3.76
19k+ ratings
William Faulkner
by André Bleikasten • 2017
His family, his affair, his South, his demons: Faulkner's novels were his life recast as myth.
4.23
13
William Faulkner Summary
William Faulkner 91%
His family, his affair, his South, his demons: Faulkner's novels were his life recast as myth.
by André Bleikasten 2017
4.23
13 ratings
The Simpsons and Philosophy
by William Irwin • 2001
Nietzsche through Ned Flanders. Aristotle through Homer. A course in Western thought, in yellow.
3.45
4k+
The Simpsons and Philosophy Summary
The Simpsons and Philosophy 91%
Nietzsche through Ned Flanders. Aristotle through Homer. A course in Western thought, in yellow.
by William Irwin 2001
3.45
4k+ ratings
Skills in Existential Counselling & Psychotherapy
by Emmy Van Deurzen • 2011
Existential philosophy as clinical practice: phenomenological skills for meaning and mortality.
4.31
124
Skills in Existential Counselling & Psychotherapy Summary
Skills in Existential Counselling & Psychotherapy 91%
Existential philosophy as clinical practice: phenomenological skills for meaning and mortality.
by Emmy Van Deurzen 2011
4.31
124 ratings
The Birth of Tragedy
by Friedrich Nietzsche • 1871
Greek tragedy died of rationalism, a suicide a culture is still paying for.
3.98
22k+
The Birth of Tragedy Summary
The Birth of Tragedy 91%
Greek tragedy died of rationalism, a suicide a culture is still paying for.
by Friedrich Nietzsche 1871
3.98
22k+ ratings
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
by Thomas Ligotti • 2011
Nature's worst mistake was making you self-aware. The only logical response is to stop reproducing.
4.01
10k+
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race Summary
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race 91%
Nature's worst mistake was making you self-aware. The only logical response is to stop reproducing.
by Thomas Ligotti 2011
4.01
10k+ ratings
The Closing of the American Mind
by Allan Bloom • 1988
A dogma that all truths are equal has hollowed the American mind, starting on campus.
3.76
6k+
The Closing of the American Mind Summary
The Closing of the American Mind 91%
A dogma that all truths are equal has hollowed the American mind, starting on campus.
by Allan Bloom 1988
3.76
6k+ ratings
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
by Thomas C. Foster • 2003
Reading shortcuts that turn road trips into quests, weather into meaning, and meals into symbols.
3.58
34k+
How to Read Literature Like a Professor Summary
How to Read Literature Like a Professor 90%
Reading shortcuts that turn road trips into quests, weather into meaning, and meals into symbols.
by Thomas C. Foster 2003
3.58
34k+ ratings
Heidegger
by Michael Watts • 2014
Heidegger demystified: the freedom found in facing death, and the worldview technology imposes.
4.40
143
Heidegger Summary
Heidegger 90%
Heidegger demystified: the freedom found in facing death, and the worldview technology imposes.
by Michael Watts 2014
4.40
143 ratings
Knife
by Salman Rushdie • 2024
A knife onstage. One eye gone. Thirty-three years after the fatwa, he writes back.
3.98
29k+
Knife Summary
Knife 90%
A knife onstage. One eye gone. Thirty-three years after the fatwa, he writes back.
by Salman Rushdie 2024
3.98
29k+ ratings
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