Michael Orthofer on Why Fiction Matters
Conversations with Tyler
Conversations with Tyler
4.8 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 27 July 2016
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Michael Orthofer, one of the world’s most prolific book reviewers, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on — what else? — books. Read to discover why Michael believes everyone should read more fiction, how we should choose books, why American popular literature is overrated, what he thinks about authors like Herman Melville, Fyoder Dostoevsky, Goethe, J.K. Rowling, Arno Schmidt, and many others, his recommendations for the best sites for readers, why studying literature at college was such a big disappointment, how much book covers matter, and why his opinion will never be the final word.
Check out the reader Q&A here and the Strand shopping video here.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Conversations with Tyler is produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, |
| 0:08.4 | bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. |
| 0:12.6 | Learn more at mercatis.org. |
| 0:15.2 | And for more conversations, including videos, transcripts, and upcoming dates, visit |
| 0:20.4 | ConversationsWithT Tyler.com. |
| 0:25.1 | Today's conversation is with Michael Orthofer. |
| 0:28.1 | I had the pleasure of chatting with him recently in New York City. |
| 0:31.8 | Michael is a truly voracious reader and reviewer of fiction. |
| 0:35.4 | He runs the site Literary Saloon, the complete review, where he covers hundreds of books a |
| 0:40.8 | year. |
| 0:41.8 | I've bought at least 100 books thanks to Michael's recommendations, so that will give |
| 0:46.1 | you a sense of just how much I value his work. |
| 0:49.7 | Before we get to the chat, I'd also like you to know about two bonus videos you can find |
| 0:53.9 | on YouTube. |
| 0:55.1 | I wanted to know more about Michael's bookbying secrets, so I asked him to join me at the famous |
| 1:00.6 | Strand bookstore in Manhattan for a film shopping trip. |
| 1:04.6 | Watch to learn how he thinks about books, why he reads, and what he has to tell us about |
| 1:09.5 | the world of fiction. |
| 1:11.4 | In the second video, Michael answers questions that readers left on my blog at marginalrevolution.com. |
| 1:18.4 | Both videos can be found linked to in the show notes to this episode, or by searching |
| 1:23.4 | YouTube. |
| 1:24.6 | And as always, the full transcript of this conversation, as well as more photos and |
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