Michael orthofer was born in grodd's austria and has a background in law. Was put off by the academic nature of formal literary study because it involved so little reading of books and too much theory. can read in a lot of different languages and we know you read a lot of books out at close well order three other things about yourself you might want to tell us not to do with books i don't know that any one would find anything interesting about me uh i don't i don't know what what sculpture perhaps well the ice sculpture he said.
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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