
WHY WE SHOULD READ——
INTRODUCTION
PART I SOME ENGLISH CLASSICS
I TOM JONES
II WUTHERING HEIGHTS
III CHARLES LAMB
IV JAMES BOSWELL
V WILLIAM HAZLITT
VI SAMUEL PEPYS
VII WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR
In this lively meditation on the act of reading, the author invites listeners to consider how books shape our everyday lives. Drawing on experiences from a wartime schoolroom to quiet evenings with classics, the prose weaves together personal anecdotes, literary history, and a gentle critique of modern publishing habits. The tone is conversational yet thoughtful, encouraging a balanced appreciation that avoids both blind reverence and wholesale dismissal.
The core of the work is a series of reflections on three kinds of writers—contemporaries, foreign voices, and enduring classics—organized not as dry analysis but as genuine enjoyment. By sharing the reasons certain books captured his attention, the author models a way to discover new favorites and to pass that enthusiasm on to friends. Listeners will come away with a renewed sense of why a well‑chosen book can feel like a shared conversation across time.
Language
en
Duration
~9 hours (549K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Jana Srna, Anna Hall and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
2012-11-04
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1885–1975
Best known as S. P. B. Mais, this widely read British writer brought travel, books, and broadcasting together in a warm, informal style that appealed to general readers. He wrote prolifically and became a familiar literary voice in Britain across the first half of the 20th century.
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