In some ways New York City or maybe just Manhattan is fairly provincial because people think and they're led to believe that the whole world comes here. So therefore in translated literature you should read like the very most famous works, he says. If you can read a language fluently usually you'll enjoy the fiction or poetry in that language much more than if you don't. The bigger problem I see of course is that you're missing out on so much literature from elsewhere which it really is worthwhile keeping up with.
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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