I am something of an aficionado of thrift stores. In my youth, I regularly searched their shelves for old books. — Michael Dirda Books Copy Share Image
From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror… — Michael Dirda Christmas Copy Share Image
I think of my own work as part of a decades-long conversation about books and reading with people I will mainly never… — Michael Dirda Book Copy Share Image
I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
I'm sometimes willing to put in vast, even inordinate amounts of time if I find a project that interests me. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Adventurous reading allows one to escape a little from the provincialities of one's home culture and the blinders of one's narrow self. — Michael Dirda Adventure Copy Share Image
“. . the humanities encourage the development of our own humanity. They are our instruments of self-exploration.” — Michael Dirda Humanities Copy Share Image
Fiction is a house with many stately mansions, but also one in which it is wise, at least sometimes, to swing from… — Michael Dirda Fiction Copy Share Image
Нe [Kurt Vonnegut] felt that life was largely a crap shoot and that we simply need to muddle on as best we… — Michael Dirda Belief Copy Share Image
People who've read my reviews know my tastes, know how I approach a book, know my background. I can write with believable… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
A personal library is a reflection of who you are and who you want to be, of what you value and what… — Michael Dirda Desire Copy Share Image
On any given day, I'm likely to be working at home, hunched over this keyboard, typing Great Thoughts and Beautiful Sentences -… — Michael Dirda Beautiful Copy Share Image
I find that the Amazon comments often are exceptionally shrewd and insightful, so I'm not going to diss them. But you don't… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite… — Michael Dirda Books Copy Share Image
In PLATO AT THE GOOGLEPLEX, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein set out to showcase, in sometimes startling ways, the continuing relevance of a classic… — Michael Dirda Authority Copy Share Image
Not all of E. Nesbit's children's books are fantasies, but even the most realistic somehow seem magical. In her holiday world, nobody… — Michael Dirda Books Copy Share Image
I have now and again tried to imagine the perfect environment, the ideal conditions for reading: A worn leather armchair on a… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of… — Michael Dirda Action Copy Share Image
Many readers simply can't stomach fantasy. They immediately picture elves with broadswords or mighty-thewed barbarians with battle axes, seeking the bejeweled Coronet… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
[Kurt] Vonnegut was a writer whose great gift was that he always seemed to be talking directly to you. He wasn't writing,… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
“and yet the original Writers at Work volumes, especially the first three, possessed a magic all their own. As a teenager, I… — Michael Dirda Life Copy Share Image
“I like first editions, though I’ll sometimes settle for a later printing if it’s within a year or two of the book’s… — Michael Dirda Books Copy Share Image
For years, I meant to read 'Arabian Sands', Wilfred Thesiger's account of two punishing camel journeys during the late 1940s across Southern… — Michael Dirda Books Copy Share Image
With concerted effort, I can follow written instructions, but don't ask me to simply grasp how to operate a smartphone. — Michael Dirda Effort Copy Share Image
In my own case, my folks didn't actually object to comics, as many parents did, but they pretty much felt the things… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
I am shocked that we seemed to have learned nothing, absolutely nothing, from Vietnam. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Throughout history the exemplary teacher has never been just an instructor in a subject; he is nearly always its living advertisement. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
I didn't work for any newspapers in college, never worked for any newspaper before 'The Washington Post'. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Order and surprise: these are two intertwined elements that make for any great library or collection. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
I think the essence of [Kurt] Vonnegut's humanism lay in his emphasis on human kindness as, so to speak, our saving grace. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Books can be a source of solace, but I see them mainly as a source of pleasure, personal as well as esthetic. — Michael Dirda Books Copy Share Image
The world is a library of strange and wonderful books, and sometimes we just need to go prowling through the stacks. — Michael Dirda Book Copy Share Image
My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my… — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Near my desk, I keep a large plastic carton filled with fresh notebooks and stationery of various kinds, sizes, and qualities. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
'The Admirable Crichton' is probably Barrie's most famous work after 'Peter Pan', nearly a pendant to that classic. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Most scholarly books we read for the information or insight they contain. But some we return to simply for the pleasure of… — Michael Dirda Books Copy Share Image
Since I make my living as a literary journalist, not a book scout, I spend inordinate amounts of time either reading or… — Michael Dirda Book Copy Share Image
The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens. — Michael Dirda Copy Share Image
Mentoring is the last refuge of the older artist. With luck, disciples will keep one's books in print, one's reputation alive. — Michael Dirda Alive Copy Share Image
I once read that there are more biographical works about Napoleon Bonaparte than any other man in history. — Michael Dirda History Copy Share Image
![“Нe [Kurt Vonnegut] felt that life was largely a crap shoot and that we simply need to muddle on as best we can, being as kind and loving to one another as possible, right now. It's a pretty good philosophy, no matter what one's religious beliefs or lack of them.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/8ab/michael-dirda-3414_belief_e-kurt-vonnegut-felt-that-life-was-large_1672725.png)
![“[Kurt] Vonnegut was a writer whose great gift was that he always seemed to be talking directly to you. He wasn't writing, he wasn't showing off, he was just telling you, nobody else, what it was like, what it was all about. That intimacy made him beloved. We can admire the art of John Updike or…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/beb/michael-dirda-3414_admire_kurt-vonnegut-was-a-writer-whose-great-g_2525625.jpg)
![“I think the essence of [Kurt] Vonnegut's humanism lay in his emphasis on human kindness as, so to speak, our saving grace.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/4ab/michael-dirda-3414_emphasis_i-think-the-essence-of-kurt-vonnegut-s-h_2901067.png)
