HOW TO READ AND WHY - HAROLD BLOOM

Discover the fascinating world of literature with Harold Bloom, one of the most eminent literary critics of our time. In this book, Bloom shares his reading experiences, offering a unique perspective on classic works and guidance on how to get the most out of them. It is not only a guide to literature but, above all, an invitation to a personal and profound reading that enriches our lives.

• Inspiring essays on classical literature
• Practical tips for novice and advanced readers
• Personal reflections by Harold Bloom on reading
• Analysis of works from Shakespeare to Toni Morrison
• Personal development through reading
• Aesthetic approach to literature

Harold Bloom, a famous American literary critic from Yale University, author of works such as "The Western Canon" and "The Book of J", shares his rich reading experiences in this book. His goal is to help readers achieve a "successful" and "good" reading by recalling many classical works, mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries. Bloom analyzes short stories, poems, novels, and plays by various European and American authors, from Shakespeare to Toni Morrison, showing what to look for in each work and "why" to read them. It is not a systematic lecture on theory or history of literature, but a personal account of the reception of these works, which form a certain canon to which the author constantly returns for decades.

Bloom prefers the aesthetic dimension, emphasizing that literature should not serve social purposes but rather the private "pleasure of reading", which includes encountering otherness and soothing our loneliness. We read for ourselves, and reading literary works is not so much about educating as it is about strengthening and developing our "self". The pleasure derived from it is "selfish", and Bloom goes even further, suggesting that reading should be creative, even to the point of "misreading", i.e. one's own interpretation, which does not necessarily have to be literal, but rather distanced and "ironic".

Good reading is therefore a pleasure, but a difficult and demanding one. Bloom's book opens new perspectives for both novice and advanced readers. It contains 352 pages, a format of 14.5x20.5 cm, and was published in 2019 by Aletheia Publishing in paperback. It is an ideal proposition for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of literature and get even more out of it.