Brief books in style
March 1, 2008 1:39 PM Subscribe
Brief books are in style. "Fine, old-fashioned self-improving middlebrow literature."
Series mentioned:
*Penguin Lives (Penguin Group)
*Books That Changed the World (Grove/Atlantic)
*Eminent Lives (HarperCollins)
*Ackroyd's Brief Lives (Doubleday)
*The Canongate Myth Series (Canongate)
*The art of .. (Graywolf Press)
*Great Generals Series (Palgrave
*The American Presidents Series (Times Books)
*National Geographic Directions (National Geographic)
*Jewish Encounters (Next Books)
*Very Short Introductions (Oxford University Press)
Series mentioned:
*Penguin Lives (Penguin Group)
*Books That Changed the World (Grove/Atlantic)
*Eminent Lives (HarperCollins)
*Ackroyd's Brief Lives (Doubleday)
*The Canongate Myth Series (Canongate)
*The art of .. (Graywolf Press)
*Great Generals Series (Palgrave
*The American Presidents Series (Times Books)
*National Geographic Directions (National Geographic)
*Jewish Encounters (Next Books)
*Very Short Introductions (Oxford University Press)
Too many people have tl;dnritis.
posted by pracowity at 1:59 PM on March 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by pracowity at 1:59 PM on March 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
I don't have time for this.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 2:04 PM on March 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 2:04 PM on March 1, 2008 [1 favorite]
From the first inside link: A beautifully designed, ...(book with picture of)... George Herbert Walker Bush (...)
Whatevar.
I like long books; in that if I like it, I don't want it to end. This has been one of Graham Greene's shortcomings, for me. I've recently read The Heart of the Matter and The Quiet American, and I've come to the conclusion that they were both about 300 pages too short.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:30 PM on March 1, 2008
Whatevar.
I like long books; in that if I like it, I don't want it to end. This has been one of Graham Greene's shortcomings, for me. I've recently read The Heart of the Matter and The Quiet American, and I've come to the conclusion that they were both about 300 pages too short.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:30 PM on March 1, 2008
I have tb* ;dr-itis, and sometimes I have n.e.t.** syndrome. Therefore, I'm attracted to this genre. (And comics.)
* boring
* not enough time
posted by not_on_display at 2:36 PM on March 1, 2008
posted by not_on_display at 2:36 PM on March 1, 2008
I wander around aimlessly often, ride the trains. I like the "Very Short Introduction" series because the books drop perfectly into a jacket pocket. And I can only read Jesus's Son so many times a season.
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 3:31 PM on March 1, 2008
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 3:31 PM on March 1, 2008
And I can only read Jesus's Son so many times a season.
Once when asked my a friend what I thought of "Already Dead",also by Denis Johnson, my reply was "It's too big"
posted by billyfleetwood at 4:08 PM on March 1, 2008
Once when asked my a friend what I thought of "Already Dead",also by Denis Johnson, my reply was "It's too big"
posted by billyfleetwood at 4:08 PM on March 1, 2008
With advances of $100,000 at best, the art isn't only in writing the book, but in finding the writer.
Commentary is superfluous.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:04 PM on March 1, 2008
Commentary is superfluous.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:04 PM on March 1, 2008
The Very Short Introduction series is my favorite. The one for my field is up-to-date, short, and highly readable. Plus, they're small and cute.
posted by Locative at 5:49 PM on March 1, 2008
posted by Locative at 5:49 PM on March 1, 2008
Yeah, but the Very Short Introduction and other similar series are *really* just an introduction - one that *at best* whets your appetite for a better book about the subject. Pick a subject, read one of the above series books on it, and then read another book about that subject and you'll see. Wesley Clark says it best in the linked article:
They're the kinds of books you can pick up at an airport and finish in 4-5 hours and if readers are really interested, they'll seek out longer, more scholarly books.
I'm definitely a fan of short intro books for temporarily filling in big gaps in my knowledge; I mentioned I liked the Very Short Introduction to the French Revolution in the AskMe about that series, and recently found Christopher Hibbert's The Story of England useful in providing the broad overview I'd never had of British history. But I'd never think that I had anything close to an adequate understanding of a subject based on a book like that, and anyone who does think that is utterly fooling him- or herself.
posted by mediareport at 6:30 PM on March 1, 2008
They're the kinds of books you can pick up at an airport and finish in 4-5 hours and if readers are really interested, they'll seek out longer, more scholarly books.
I'm definitely a fan of short intro books for temporarily filling in big gaps in my knowledge; I mentioned I liked the Very Short Introduction to the French Revolution in the AskMe about that series, and recently found Christopher Hibbert's The Story of England useful in providing the broad overview I'd never had of British history. But I'd never think that I had anything close to an adequate understanding of a subject based on a book like that, and anyone who does think that is utterly fooling him- or herself.
posted by mediareport at 6:30 PM on March 1, 2008
But I'd never think that I had anything close to an adequate understanding of a subject based on a book like that, and anyone who does think that is utterly fooling him- or herself.
Well, given that the books are actually called Very Short Introduction, I don't think anybody would.
It has to be said that, in an era of extreme specialization in many, if not most, academic fields, this type of reading should be mandatory, to provide prospective and possibly inspiration.
posted by Zinger at 6:44 PM on March 1, 2008
Well, given that the books are actually called Very Short Introduction, I don't think anybody would.
It has to be said that, in an era of extreme specialization in many, if not most, academic fields, this type of reading should be mandatory, to provide prospective and possibly inspiration.
posted by Zinger at 6:44 PM on March 1, 2008
There is also the Introducing... series.
I don't think this is a case of tl;dnr at all. In my experience, people who won't read something purely based on its length are people who don't enjoy reading or learning in general; they would be unlikely to pick up a kind of brief introductory book. I and a friend of mine like these kinds of books because we love reading and learning. We read much longer books too.
Off the top of my head, these are the reasons the books appeal to me:
1. When I know little about a subject, the last thing I want to do is pick up a huge book that goes into every detail. I cannot grasp the big picture unless it is spelled out concisely, and details confuse and distract me because my brain does not know where to put them. They float nebulously in my thoughts, untethered to anything, and I often forget them or fail to realize their significance.
Once I have a basic foundation, though, I am usually curious for more details. I will then seek out that information in longer books, as others have suggested. My hold on the knowledge is then more solid because the details have a framework where they can "stick" in my brain, make sense, and contribute to my understanding. I remember the details better and understand their significance.
Some people are the opposite; they cannot understand the big picture until they have every detail. That's fine. Not everyone learns the same way, though, and it shouldn't be looked down upon if someone pursues basic knowledge instead of diving in head first. It doesn't mean they have no attention span.
2. Sometimes I don't want to know the details, or do not want to know the details of one subject as much as I would rather spend the time learning the basics or details or another subject. One cannot read every book at once, or know everything there is to know at once. We have to prioritize among all the things we would like to know more about, and something will always get put on the back burner.
For myself, this is especially true of biographies. I want to know the basics of someone's life, and, with few exceptions, an eight hundred page biography is going to feel like an unsatisfying use of time; I will feel that the ratio of new insight to time invested is declining.
I can't be insatiably interested in everyone who ever lived, but I am generally interested. It has less to do with attention span than the fact that what is interesting is subjective. Once we delve into the routine of someone's daily life or their food preferences, well, I'm not getting much out of that. I would happily read four short biographies in that same time, though.
3. Sometimes I don't know if I'm going to enjoy a particular subject, or get much out of it. Reading a brief book is the most efficient way to find out without just saying, screw it, I won't learn about that subject at all.
4. Similarly, it's the least painful way to learn something that I already think is boring but is valuable to learn anyway.
I've even had these kinds of books take a subject that I thought was boring and change my mind about it. If my only options were huge tomes on these "boring" subjects, how likely is it that I would decide to sit down and invest the time reading one? I would probably never crack the cover and go on thinking they were boring.
5. I agree with Zinger that this type of reading is beneficial to provide perspective and inspiration. There are too many subjects in the world for an individual to tell himself it's not noble to pursue knowledge in an area unless he also pursues every detail. Sometimes, all you need are the basics to inspire something great.
Taking the effort to learn anything should be encouraged, not sniffed at because it isn't enough of an effort. Someone's favorite subject might amount to a single day of reading in someone else's life, but it goes both ways. Better to have a basic understanding than be completely ignorant, and brief books remedy that.
Or, for the tl;dnr crowd: These books rule. I don't have ADD.
posted by Nattie at 6:54 AM on March 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
I don't think this is a case of tl;dnr at all. In my experience, people who won't read something purely based on its length are people who don't enjoy reading or learning in general; they would be unlikely to pick up a kind of brief introductory book. I and a friend of mine like these kinds of books because we love reading and learning. We read much longer books too.
Off the top of my head, these are the reasons the books appeal to me:
1. When I know little about a subject, the last thing I want to do is pick up a huge book that goes into every detail. I cannot grasp the big picture unless it is spelled out concisely, and details confuse and distract me because my brain does not know where to put them. They float nebulously in my thoughts, untethered to anything, and I often forget them or fail to realize their significance.
Once I have a basic foundation, though, I am usually curious for more details. I will then seek out that information in longer books, as others have suggested. My hold on the knowledge is then more solid because the details have a framework where they can "stick" in my brain, make sense, and contribute to my understanding. I remember the details better and understand their significance.
Some people are the opposite; they cannot understand the big picture until they have every detail. That's fine. Not everyone learns the same way, though, and it shouldn't be looked down upon if someone pursues basic knowledge instead of diving in head first. It doesn't mean they have no attention span.
2. Sometimes I don't want to know the details, or do not want to know the details of one subject as much as I would rather spend the time learning the basics or details or another subject. One cannot read every book at once, or know everything there is to know at once. We have to prioritize among all the things we would like to know more about, and something will always get put on the back burner.
For myself, this is especially true of biographies. I want to know the basics of someone's life, and, with few exceptions, an eight hundred page biography is going to feel like an unsatisfying use of time; I will feel that the ratio of new insight to time invested is declining.
I can't be insatiably interested in everyone who ever lived, but I am generally interested. It has less to do with attention span than the fact that what is interesting is subjective. Once we delve into the routine of someone's daily life or their food preferences, well, I'm not getting much out of that. I would happily read four short biographies in that same time, though.
3. Sometimes I don't know if I'm going to enjoy a particular subject, or get much out of it. Reading a brief book is the most efficient way to find out without just saying, screw it, I won't learn about that subject at all.
4. Similarly, it's the least painful way to learn something that I already think is boring but is valuable to learn anyway.
I've even had these kinds of books take a subject that I thought was boring and change my mind about it. If my only options were huge tomes on these "boring" subjects, how likely is it that I would decide to sit down and invest the time reading one? I would probably never crack the cover and go on thinking they were boring.
5. I agree with Zinger that this type of reading is beneficial to provide perspective and inspiration. There are too many subjects in the world for an individual to tell himself it's not noble to pursue knowledge in an area unless he also pursues every detail. Sometimes, all you need are the basics to inspire something great.
Taking the effort to learn anything should be encouraged, not sniffed at because it isn't enough of an effort. Someone's favorite subject might amount to a single day of reading in someone else's life, but it goes both ways. Better to have a basic understanding than be completely ignorant, and brief books remedy that.
Or, for the tl;dnr crowd: These books rule. I don't have ADD.
posted by Nattie at 6:54 AM on March 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
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It seems books have become like cds, that we must cram as many pages/minutes into them as possible.
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 1:56 PM on March 1, 2008