How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read is a fun little book. If I ever acquire any family members of a playfully literary (and/or critical) bent, Bayard's book will surely show up as a gift for some occasion or another.
As all the reviews I have read are quick to point out -- within the opening lines -- this is not a "how to" on passing yourself off at cocktail parties populated by academics, whether intimidating or just merely pretentious. It is, instead, a deftly spun exploration of how we talk about books.
His tongue is frequently and deeply in his cheek, but where, exactly? And in the midst of a chuckle -- or appropriately self-conscious bit of jargon (see "masks the countergesture") -- is a telling turn that casts... what? This whole project? The efforts that underlie this project? In a very different light.
Or perhaps I am simply enamored of Bayard for providing me the necessary cover for having forgotten all those books I've read -- and all those books on my shelves (and that I continue to buy) that I might never read.
At least not in the "traditional" sense.
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