--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My gift, if that's not too grandiose a…" description: "\"My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that people want to read the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/michael-dirda-3414_books_my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-te_226075.png" --- # My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for… ![“My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that people want to read them.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/michael-dirda-3414_books_my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-te_226075.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/michael-dirda-3414_books_my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-te_226075.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/michael-dirda-3414_books_my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-te_226075.png) > “My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that people want to read them.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He excels at presenting non‑fiction so compellingly that readers are drawn to it. **In simple terms:** He makes history and biographies irresistible. Key Takeaway Use vivid storytelling to engage audiences. Themes storytelling engagement non‑fiction Mood enthusiastic inspired Type educational promotional When to use this quote - marketing books - teaching history - writing reviews Key Concepts narrative craft reader psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can depth be preserved while being engaging? - What techniques make factual writing captivating? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex facts for appeal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I love reading. I'm very much into history, novels, biographies and I have a wide range of thrillers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-tonioli/i-love-reading-i-m-very-much-into-history-novels-biographies-and-i/) [Bruno Tonioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-tonioli/) > [However you disguise novels, they are always biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/however-you-disguise-novels-they-are-always-biographies/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [What novels do that biographies don't is get at truths by penetrating the facts, by going deeper to what's underneath fact, through invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varley-o-connor/what-novels-do-that-biographies-don-t-is-get-at-truths-by-penetrating/) Varley O'Connor > [A woman who is careful with her words is a gift to all who know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-is-careful-with-her-words-is-a-gift-to-all-who-know-her/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [“Falling in love is easy. Fools fall in love all the time. Staying in love is the test of time and the gift you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-murphy/falling-in-love-is-easy-fools-fall-in-love-all-the-time-staying-in/) [James A. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-murphy/) > [Being able to scream at the top of my lungs in front of people is very therapeutic. It is a great gift for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-matthews/being-able-to-scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs-in-front-of-people-is/) [Dave Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-matthews/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [What a gift it would be if every child in the country could hear a professional orchestra at least once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-henry/what-a-gift-it-would-be-if-every-child-in-the-country-could-hear-a/) [Lenny Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-henry/) > [“Children give terrible gifts because they are poor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-delaney/children-give-terrible-gifts-because-they-are-poor/) [Rob Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-delaney/) > [Here is your third gift from Me once again..I had a fourth gift it was about me making a video telling you how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilbear/here-is-your-third-gift-from-me-once-again-i-had-a-fourth-gift-it-was/) [LilBear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilbear/) > [By the gift of God, WWE fell into my lap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-brooke/by-the-gift-of-god-wwe-fell-into-my-lap/) [Dana Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-brooke/) > [MOM,DAD YOU'RE THE BEST GIFT I EVER HAD.THERE'S NO ONE WILL BE LIKE YOU.THANKS GOD FOR THESE PRECIOUS GIFT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottoe/mom-dad-you-re-the-best-gift-i-ever-had-there-s-no-one-will-be-like/) Ottoe > [The greatest gift you can give to those around you is honesty. Sometimes honest words may sting the heart, but dishonesty pierces deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-to-those-around-you-is-honesty/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Here I am, 11 years old, and these grown men have to give it everything they have to beat me. In one part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karch-kiraly/here-i-am-11-years-old-and-these-grown-men-have-to-give-it-everything/) [Karch Kiraly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karch-kiraly/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs, having failed at everything else, decided to write a novel. He was then in his mid-thirties, married with two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/in-1911-edgar-rice-burroughs-having-failed-at-everything-else-decided/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that people want to read them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Dirda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/michael-dirda-3414_books_my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-te_226075.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/michael-dirda-3414_books_my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-te_226075.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/michael-dirda-3414_books_my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-te_226075.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history…” — Michael Dirda", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Dirda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My gift, if that's not too...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```