Carlo: You can't overate life because it's all we got again so you take it as it comes. He says there is this unusual mix between extreme passion for the subject and curiosity about other people who are reviewing the books. "You're very hard to impress as a reader" he adds. Carlato on his favorite book of 2013, The Deathly Hallows by William Styron.
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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