Michael Dirda, a reader's reader

 

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library", wrote Jorge Luis Borges, but they could also have been written by Michael Dirda, a book collector and -addict close to my heart who has been guiding readers like me to great books since 1978.

I've become a follower and admirer of his in recent years, and am slowly acquiring all his books. They are all available online at archive.org ...

• "Browsings - a year of reading, collecting, and living with books"
• "Readings - essays and literary entertainments"
• "Caring for your Books"
• "Classics for Pleasure"
• "Book by Book - notes on reading and life"
• "An open Book - chapters from a reader's life"
• "Bound to Please - an extraordinary one-volume literary education; essays on great writers and their books"
• "On Conan Doyle, or The whole art of storytelling"

... but, of course, to a book collector reading a book online is similar to going to wine tasting: once you have found a book you enjoy, you want to hold in your hand, to turn its pages, and to add to your library.

For more on Michael Dirda, go to his website. Paradise indeed!

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P.S. To read the books online, SIGN UP (it's free!), LOG IN, and BORROW.

P.P.S. There are many Michael Dirda talks on YouTube; here's one I liked.