Vittory Saloon is a blog which has two parts. One is called Vittory Saloons, the other is complete review. But I think of them as one integrated entity. You review books on a very regular basis. And most of all, you review books which are being translated from other languages into English. Is that a fair way to put it? Yes, foreign fiction dominates. It's not that I find foreign fiction more interesting than American or British fiction but just I think it's better to read from everywhere from all over the place rather than one specific locale.
Michael Orthofer, one of the world’s most prolific book reviewers, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on — what else? — books. Read to discover why Michael believes everyone should read more fiction, how we should choose books, why American popular literature is overrated, what he thinks about authors like Herman Melville, Fyoder Dostoevsky, Goethe, J.K. Rowling, Arno Schmidt, and many others, his recommendations for the best sites for readers, why studying literature at college was such a big disappointment, how much book covers matter, and why his opinion will never be the final word.
Check out the reader Q&A here and the Strand shopping video here.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
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