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SoBrief
Searching...
Julio Cortázar
by Robert Brody • 1976
The novel that made the reader an accomplice: its mechanisms and meanings, fully decoded.
4.37
8k+
Julio Cortázar Summary
Julio Cortázar 88%
The novel that made the reader an accomplice: its mechanisms and meanings, fully decoded.
by Robert Brody 1976
4.37
8k+ ratings
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five
by Curtis Smith • 2016
A writer unpacks the alien logic and buried grief inside Vonnegut's time-jumping anti-war classic.
4.27
41
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Summary
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five 87%
A writer unpacks the alien logic and buried grief inside Vonnegut's time-jumping anti-war classic.
by Curtis Smith 2016
4.27
41 ratings
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist
by Orhan Pamuk • 2010
Why great novels put you in a trance even as you know every word is invented.
3.95
3k+
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist Summary
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist 87%
Why great novels put you in a trance even as you know every word is invented.
by Orhan Pamuk 2010
3.95
3k+ ratings
A Little History of Literature
by John Sutherland • 2013
Myths, money, and modernism: how literature got from campfire tales to your e-reader.
3.82
2k+
A Little History of Literature Summary
A Little History of Literature 87%
Myths, money, and modernism: how literature got from campfire tales to your e-reader.
by John Sutherland 2013
3.82
2k+ ratings
Lezioni di letteratura russa. Gogol', Turgenev, Dostoevskij, Tolstoj, Čechov e Gor'kij nelle lezioni di un grande maestro
by Vladimir Nabokov • 1981
Nabokov on Russian masters: art alone matters, not message. Dostoevsky fails, Gogol soars.
4.26
2k+
Lezioni di letteratura russa. Gogol', Turgenev, Dostoevskij, Tolstoj, Čechov e Gor'kij nelle lezioni di un grande maestro Summary
Lezioni di letteratura russa. Gogol', Turgenev, Dostoevskij, Tolstoj, Čechov e Gor'kij nelle lezioni di un grande maestro 87%
Nabokov on Russian masters: art alone matters, not message. Dostoevsky fails, Gogol soars.
by Vladimir Nabokov 1981
4.26
2k+ ratings
The Anatomy of Influence
by Harold Bloom • 2011
Literary influence is love with its guard up, and Shakespeare is still winning.
3.93
477
The Anatomy of Influence Summary
The Anatomy of Influence 87%
Literary influence is love with its guard up, and Shakespeare is still winning.
by Harold Bloom 2011
3.93
477 ratings
Aspects of the Novel
by E.M. Forster • 1927
A novelist dismantles fiction into its working parts: story, plot, and the characters who breathe.
3.80
5k+
Aspects of the Novel Summary
Aspects of the Novel 87%
A novelist dismantles fiction into its working parts: story, plot, and the characters who breathe.
by E.M. Forster 1927
3.80
5k+ ratings
Borges on Writing
by Jorge Luis Borges • 1973
Plausibility trumps truth, short stories hinge on a situation, and great poems arrive unbidden.
4.07
1k+
Borges on Writing Summary
Borges on Writing 87%
Plausibility trumps truth, short stories hinge on a situation, and great poems arrive unbidden.
by Jorge Luis Borges 1973
4.07
1k+ ratings
Gabriel García Márquez
by Michael Wood • 1990
The craft behind the curse: how magical realism, circular time, and prophecy hold Macondo together.
4.54
6k+
Gabriel García Márquez Summary
Gabriel García Márquez 87%
The craft behind the curse: how magical realism, circular time, and prophecy hold Macondo together.
by Michael Wood 1990
4.54
6k+ ratings
Conversations with Orhan Pamuk
by Orhan Pamuk • 2024
A fictional love affair, a real museum, and a Nobel laureate's lifelong argument with his city.
4.00
1
Conversations with Orhan Pamuk Summary
Conversations with Orhan Pamuk 87%
A fictional love affair, a real museum, and a Nobel laureate's lifelong argument with his city.
by Orhan Pamuk 2024
4.00
1 ratings
Book Lust
by Nancy Pearl • 2003
What to read next, organized not by genre but by how you feel right now.
3.77
4k+
Book Lust Summary
Book Lust 87%
What to read next, organized not by genre but by how you feel right now.
by Nancy Pearl 2003
3.77
4k+ ratings
The Lonely Voice
by Frank O'Connor • 1961
The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.
3.89
246
The Lonely Voice Summary
The Lonely Voice 87%
The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.
by Frank O'Connor 1961
3.89
246 ratings
The Strength to Dream
by Colin Wilson • 1962
The crisis of modern literature is a failure of imagination, and the cost is human freedom.
3.93
123
The Strength to Dream Summary
The Strength to Dream 87%
The crisis of modern literature is a failure of imagination, and the cost is human freedom.
by Colin Wilson 1962
3.93
123 ratings
Best American Essays 2018
by Hilton Als • 2018
The essay as weapon and refuge: twenty-seven writers on race, memory, and a nation on edge.
3.53
350
Best American Essays 2018 Summary
Best American Essays 2018 87%
The essay as weapon and refuge: twenty-seven writers on race, memory, and a nation on edge.
by Hilton Als 2018
3.53
350 ratings
Bandersnatch
by Diana Pavlac Glyer • 2016
Ruthless critique and a wager over pints: the creative collision that built Middle-earth and Narnia.
4.28
1k+
Bandersnatch Summary
Bandersnatch 87%
Ruthless critique and a wager over pints: the creative collision that built Middle-earth and Narnia.
by Diana Pavlac Glyer 2016
4.28
1k+ ratings
Q's Legacy
by Helene Hanff • 1985
A professor's lectures led to a London bookshop, twenty years of letters, and accidental fame.
4.05
2k+
Q's Legacy Summary
Q's Legacy 87%
A professor's lectures led to a London bookshop, twenty years of letters, and accidental fame.
by Helene Hanff 1985
4.05
2k+ ratings
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
by George Saunders • 2021
Seven Russian classics, read one line at a time, reveal the hidden machinery of great fiction.
4.53
26k+
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain Summary
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain 87%
Seven Russian classics, read one line at a time, reveal the hidden machinery of great fiction.
by George Saunders 2021
4.53
26k+ ratings
The Iliad / The Odyssey
by Homer
We know nothing of Homer. So his epics became a mirror every civilization fills with itself.
4.07
84k+
The Iliad / The Odyssey Summary
The Iliad / The Odyssey 87%
We know nothing of Homer. So his epics became a mirror every civilization fills with itself.
by Homer
4.07
84k+ ratings
Shakespeare's Freedom
by Stephen Greenblatt • 2010
Shakespeare dreamed of absolute freedom; his entire career became a record of its limits.
3.83
175
Shakespeare's Freedom Summary
Shakespeare's Freedom 87%
Shakespeare dreamed of absolute freedom; his entire career became a record of its limits.
by Stephen Greenblatt 2010
3.83
175 ratings
Why Bob Dylan Matters
by Richard F. Thomas • 2017
A classicist reveals the ancient texts hidden inside Bob Dylan's most famous lyrics.
3.74
1k+
Why Bob Dylan Matters Summary
Why Bob Dylan Matters 87%
A classicist reveals the ancient texts hidden inside Bob Dylan's most famous lyrics.
by Richard F. Thomas 2017
3.74
1k+ ratings
How to Read and Why
by Harold Bloom • 2000
Read selfishly, chase pleasure, and recover the irony that academic jargon banished.
3.61
4k+
How to Read and Why Summary
How to Read and Why 87%
Read selfishly, chase pleasure, and recover the irony that academic jargon banished.
by Harold Bloom 2000
3.61
4k+ ratings
The Art of Intimacy
by Stacey D'Erasmo • 2013
Fiction's real intimacy lives in the subjunctive, the white space, and the shared glance.
3.93
248
The Art of Intimacy Summary
The Art of Intimacy 87%
Fiction's real intimacy lives in the subjunctive, the white space, and the shared glance.
by Stacey D'Erasmo 2013
3.93
248 ratings
Make Believe
by Mac Barnett • 2026
How the most daring literature ends up for eight-year-olds, and what adults can learn from them.
4.38
3k+
Make Believe Summary
Make Believe 87%
How the most daring literature ends up for eight-year-olds, and what adults can learn from them.
by Mac Barnett 2026
4.38
3k+ ratings
Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible
by Linda Wagner-Martin • 2001
Nathan Price never narrates: inside the five-woman chorus that indicts a missionary's arrogance.
4.31
308
Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible Summary
Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible 86%
Nathan Price never narrates: inside the five-woman chorus that indicts a missionary's arrogance.
by Linda Wagner-Martin 2001
4.31
308 ratings
The Facts
by Philip Roth • 1988
A master of fiction tries to write the straight truth about his life, and discovers why he cannot.
3.70
1k+
The Facts Summary
The Facts 86%
A master of fiction tries to write the straight truth about his life, and discovers why he cannot.
by Philip Roth 1988
3.70
1k+ ratings
The Diaries of Franz Kafka
by Franz Kafka • 2023
Kafka's diaries: the body hatred, the office dread, the nights his fiction tried to escape.
4.28
577
The Diaries of Franz Kafka Summary
The Diaries of Franz Kafka 86%
Kafka's diaries: the body hatred, the office dread, the nights his fiction tried to escape.
by Franz Kafka 2023
4.28
577 ratings
Nonconformity
by Nelson Algren • 1996
Real writing means siding with the damned, risking obsession, and refusing to comfort.
4.07
268
Nonconformity Summary
Nonconformity 86%
Real writing means siding with the damned, risking obsession, and refusing to comfort.
by Nelson Algren 1996
4.07
268 ratings
Bowie's Bookshelf
by John O'Connell • 2019
Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, and 98 other books: the shelf that built David Bowie.
3.73
2k+
Bowie's Bookshelf Summary
Bowie's Bookshelf 86%
Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, and 98 other books: the shelf that built David Bowie.
by John O'Connell 2019
3.73
2k+ ratings
Dialogism
by Michael Holquist • 1990
All speech answers prior speech, all selves depend on others: the dialogic philosophy of Bakhtin.
4.09
88
Dialogism Summary
Dialogism 86%
All speech answers prior speech, all selves depend on others: the dialogic philosophy of Bakhtin.
by Michael Holquist 1990
4.09
88 ratings
About Writing
by Samuel R. Delany • 2006
The sentence, not the world, is science fiction's true unit of meaning. A master explains why.
4.26
459
About Writing Summary
About Writing 86%
The sentence, not the world, is science fiction's true unit of meaning. A master explains why.
by Samuel R. Delany 2006
4.26
459 ratings
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read
by Pierre Bayard • 2020
Not reading is a creative strategy, not a failure. A French critic makes the case.
3.44
5k+
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read Summary
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read 86%
Not reading is a creative strategy, not a failure. A French critic makes the case.
by Pierre Bayard 2020
3.44
5k+ ratings
Science Fiction
by David Seed • 2011
How space voyages, aliens, and time travel turned science fiction into the literature of ideas.
3.31
554
Science Fiction Summary
Science Fiction 86%
How space voyages, aliens, and time travel turned science fiction into the literature of ideas.
by David Seed 2011
3.31
554 ratings
Letters on Cézanne
by Rainer Maria Rilke • 1907
One poet's letters on Cézanne: how seeing becomes the artist's hardest and most honest work.
4.16
957
Letters on Cézanne Summary
Letters on Cézanne 86%
One poet's letters on Cézanne: how seeing becomes the artist's hardest and most honest work.
by Rainer Maria Rilke 1907
4.16
957 ratings
Multiple Choice
by Alejandro Zambra • 2014
A multiple-choice test on love, family, and Chile's dictatorship. No correct answers.
3.90
7k+
Multiple Choice Summary
Multiple Choice 86%
A multiple-choice test on love, family, and Chile's dictatorship. No correct answers.
by Alejandro Zambra 2014
3.90
7k+ ratings
Power, Politics and Culture
by Edward W. Said • 2001
The scholar who revealed how Western learning became a tool of empire, in his own words.
4.26
613
Power, Politics and Culture Summary
Power, Politics and Culture 86%
The scholar who revealed how Western learning became a tool of empire, in his own words.
by Edward W. Said 2001
4.26
613 ratings
101 Amazing Facts about J.K. Rowling
by Holger Weßling • 2019
From welfare to a billion dollars: the backstory of Hogwarts in 101 digestible facts.
101 Amazing Facts about J.K. Rowling Summary
101 Amazing Facts about J.K. Rowling 86%
From welfare to a billion dollars: the backstory of Hogwarts in 101 digestible facts.
by Holger Weßling 2019
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
by Gertrude Stein • 1933
Alice Toklas meets Gertrude Stein in 1907 Paris, entering the salon where modern art was born.
3.54
14k+
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas Summary
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas 86%
Alice Toklas meets Gertrude Stein in 1907 Paris, entering the salon where modern art was born.
by Gertrude Stein 1933
3.54
14k+ ratings
William Faulkner
by André Bleikasten • 2017
His family, his affair, his South, his demons: Faulkner's novels were his life recast as myth.
4.23
13
William Faulkner Summary
William Faulkner 86%
His family, his affair, his South, his demons: Faulkner's novels were his life recast as myth.
by André Bleikasten 2017
4.23
13 ratings
The Translator's Invisibility
by Lawrence Venuti • 1994
The smoother a translation reads, the more it erases the foreign culture and the translator's labor.
3.79
272
The Translator's Invisibility Summary
The Translator's Invisibility 86%
The smoother a translation reads, the more it erases the foreign culture and the translator's labor.
by Lawrence Venuti 1994
3.79
272 ratings
The Anatomy of Melancholy
by Robert Burton • 1621
A recluse stitched all of literature into one book to prove everyone is mad.
4.10
2k+
The Anatomy of Melancholy Summary
The Anatomy of Melancholy 86%
A recluse stitched all of literature into one book to prove everyone is mad.
by Robert Burton 1621
4.10
2k+ ratings
Read Dangerously
by Azar Nafisi • 2022
Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.
4.04
2k+
Read Dangerously Summary
Read Dangerously 86%
Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.
by Azar Nafisi 2022
4.04
2k+ ratings
The Best American Short Stories 2024
by Lauren Groff • 2024
Lauren Groff gathers twenty stories of the year: surreal, tender, and unafraid of the dark.
3.77
846
The Best American Short Stories 2024 Summary
The Best American Short Stories 2024 86%
Lauren Groff gathers twenty stories of the year: surreal, tender, and unafraid of the dark.
by Lauren Groff 2024
3.77
846 ratings
They Say / I Say
by Gerald Graff • 2006
Write academic arguments that respond to others, not just declare. Templates that show you how.
3.77
6k+
They Say / I Say Summary
They Say / I Say 86%
Write academic arguments that respond to others, not just declare. Templates that show you how.
by Gerald Graff 2006
3.77
6k+ ratings
The Writer's World
by Lynne Gaetz • 2005
Writing as a system: find your point, support it, revise until it holds. The textbook method.
3.67
15
The Writer's World Summary
The Writer's World 86%
Writing as a system: find your point, support it, revise until it holds. The textbook method.
by Lynne Gaetz 2005
3.67
15 ratings
Discovering the Hidden Wisdom of the Little Prince
by Pierre Lassus • 2014
Beneath the fable, a secret self-portrait: his wife in the rose, his despair in the desert.
3.31
51
Discovering the Hidden Wisdom of the Little Prince Summary
Discovering the Hidden Wisdom of the Little Prince 86%
Beneath the fable, a secret self-portrait: his wife in the rose, his despair in the desert.
by Pierre Lassus 2014
3.31
51 ratings
History of English literature
by Edward Albert • 1923
From Beowulf to Eliot: the full sweep of English literature, century by century.
3.90
257
History of English literature Summary
History of English literature 86%
From Beowulf to Eliot: the full sweep of English literature, century by century.
by Edward Albert 1923
3.90
257 ratings
How Fiction Works
by James Wood • 2008
How do novels create the illusion of a thinking mind? A master critic explains the techniques.
3.99
8k+
How Fiction Works Summary
How Fiction Works 86%
How do novels create the illusion of a thinking mind? A master critic explains the techniques.
by James Wood 2008
3.99
8k+ ratings
The Hunger Artists
by Maud Ellmann • 1993
Why self-starvation is always a form of writing, from Irish hunger strikers to Kafka.
3.82
50
The Hunger Artists Summary
The Hunger Artists 86%
Why self-starvation is always a form of writing, from Irish hunger strikers to Kafka.
by Maud Ellmann 1993
3.82
50 ratings
The Faraway Nearby
by Rebecca Solnit • 2013
The frontier between a life and the story told about it is where everything important happens.
4.20
8k+
The Faraway Nearby Summary
The Faraway Nearby 86%
The frontier between a life and the story told about it is where everything important happens.
by Rebecca Solnit 2013
4.20
8k+ ratings
Susan Sontag
by Jonathan Cott • 1978
Intelligence as a pulse, illness as biology, art as a body: the complete Sontag interview.
4.22
3k+
Susan Sontag Summary
Susan Sontag 86%
Intelligence as a pulse, illness as biology, art as a body: the complete Sontag interview.
by Jonathan Cott 1978
4.22
3k+ ratings
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