The Kamasutra of the Bookworm

“The Kamasutra of the Bookworm” is an intellectual autobiography of Alexander Genis. It is also a love letter to his library. Considering reading as “the everyday happiness,” the author eagerly shares it with everyone willing to listen to the intense... dialogue of a seasoned bookworm with his favorite books.

“Reading mastery is polished throughout life, never reaching a limit, for it has no goal other than pure enjoyment.”
Alexander Genis3 reasons to buy this book:
1. “The Kamasutra of the Bookworm” is written in a style traditional for Genis, well-known from his other intellectual bestsellers (“Dovlatov and Surroundings,” “Return Address”). This unique writing manner, honed over decades of practice, is characterized by unobtrusive erudition, sharp wit, unexpected metaphors, constant contact with personal experience, and dramatic turns in the narrative that prevent the reader from being distracted or, even worse, bored.
2. The text is structured as a multifaceted dialogue: addressing readers of the past, present, and future, the author unveils universal secrets of reading that transcend time, space, and language.
3. Genis's “lessons of reading” are entirely lacking in teacherly pedantry. He speaks to the reader with the voice of an old friend, whom it’s hard to let go until the three-hundred-page conversation is over.