HowtoTalkAboutBooksYouHaven'tReadHowtoTalkAboutBooksYouHaven'tReadPIERREBAYARDTranslatedfromtheFrenchbyJeffreyMehlmanBLOOMSBURYCopyright©2007LesEditionsdeMinuitEnglishtranslationcopyright©2007byJeffreyMehlmanAllrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedorreproducedinanymannerwhatsoeverwithoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisherexceptinthecaseofbriefquotationsembodiedincriticalarticlesorreviews.ForinformationaddressBloomsburyUSA,175FifthAvenue,NewYork,NY10010.PublishedbyBloomsburyUSA,NewYorkDistributedtothetradebyHoltzbrinckPublishersAllpapersusedbyBloomsburyUSAarenatural,recyclableproductsmadefromwoodgrowninwell-managedforests.Themanufacturingprocessesconformtotheenvironmentalregulationsofthecountryoforigin.LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATABayard,Pierre,1954-[Commentparlerdeslivresquel'onn'apaslus?English]Howtotalkaboutbooksyouhaven'tread/PierreBayard;translatedfromtheFrenchbyJeffreyMehlman.—1stU.S.ed.p.cm.ISBN-13:978-1-59691-469-8ISBN-10:1-59691-469-61.Literature—Historyandcriticism—Theory,etc.2.Booksandreading.I.Title.PN45.B344132007809dc222OO7O27178OriginallypublishedinFrenchasCommentparlerdeslivresquel'onn'apaslus?byLesEditionsdeMinuit,Paris,2007FirstU.S.Edition200713579108642TypesetbyWestchesterBookGroupPrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyQuébécorWorldFairfieldJneverreadabookImustreview;itprejudicesyouso.—OSCARWILDEContentsListofAbbreviationsxiPrefacexiiiWaysofNotReadingiI.BooksYouDon'tKnow3(inwhichthereaderwillsee,asdemonstratedbyacharacterofMusil's,thatreadinganyparticularbookisawasteoftimecomparedtokeepingourperspectiveaboutbooksoverall)II.BooksYouHaveSkimmed14(inwhichwesee,alongwithValéry,thatitisenoughtohaveskimmedabooktobeabletowriteanarticleaboutit,andthatwithcertainbooksitmightevenbeinappropriatetodootherwise)III.BooksYouHaveHeardOf32(inwhichUmbertoEcoshowsthatitiswhollyunnecessarytohaveheldabookinyourhandtobeabletospeakaboutitindetail,aslongasyoulistentoandreadwhatotherssayaboutit)viiiCONTENTSIV.BooksYouHaveForgotten47(inwhich,alongw...
