Books by Sandra Newman

There they sit, the great tomes of classical literature, taunting you with their length and difficulty, as you ask: which books are the most important and why - and what's actually any good? Why does most writing about the classics have words like 'seminal' or 'oeuvre' in it? What does postmodernism mean? Can I get away with just reading the introduction?Now you can enjoy the classics without fear. This survival kit will guide you painlessly through the Western literary canon, century by century: from Ancient Greek drama to the modern novel, via Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Romantic poetry, Tolstoy and Proust. There are entertaining plot summaries, unpretentious definitions of literary movements and fresh insights into authors' lives. With each work assigned ratings from 1 to 10 on Importance, Accessibility and Fun, you'll discover what's really worth bothering with and what you can safely discard without guilt.This book will make the things you've read clearer, inspire you to tackle the ones you've always meant to and make you sound far cleverer than you really are.

In 2009 it was How NOT to Write a Novel ('A hilarious, wickedly observed and deeply useful guide' Observer). In 2010 it's READ THIS NEXT - Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark have written the perfect book for anyone who has ever struggled to choose what to read next. But this is far more than a guide for book groups. Covering 600 books ranging from The Shock Doctrine to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and exploring all the important issues like how to tell the difference between Naomis Wolf and Klein, whether anyone really likes Emma Bovary, what makes a really good loo book and whether it's really wrong to marry for money, READ THIS NEXT reminds you exactly why you love reading and then makes you want to go out and read lots more. And what's more, it's very, very funny.