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beth_zovko's review against another edition
5.0
3 to 5 pages per author; brief bio followed by strange facts. did you know gertrude stein supported hitler? one more reason she sucks.
ericbuscemi's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting little book, good for kick-starting conversations among the literary crowd. Not the kind of book you can sit down and read straight through -- but from the layout of the book, that was clearly never the intention. I found some segments more interesting than others, but I suppose that is to be expected, as I find some authors more interesting than others.
ajitate's review against another edition
2.0
There was so much blatant rubbish in many of these lives it was hard to trust anything in the ones I was less familiar with. It really was just like reading a scandal sheet in that a lot of it was just made up or exaggerated for the drama. A bit amusing, but on the whole, disappointing.
joannag101's review against another edition
4.0
A fun and fascinating read. This is juicy stuff and not for those easily offended. It made me want to reread some books from my past with a new perspective. A list of references would have been nice, but really this book is all about entertainment.
librarylapin's review against another edition
4.0
this was such a fun read! i love literary gossip. i don't agree with the positions the author takes in some places. it comes off judgmental at times but it is pithy and full of tidbits i didn't know about these authors.
freshkatsu's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I read this book before I wrote all the essays on Shakespeare.
sooyaam's review against another edition
3.0
More like 2.5⭐
There are a lot of red flags in this book, mostly the author's attempt to make it "funny" and "quirky" just comes off as cringey at best and straight up offensive at worst.
I did enjoy some of the chapters but overall this was a letdown.
There are a lot of red flags in this book, mostly the author's attempt to make it "funny" and "quirky" just comes off as cringey at best and straight up offensive at worst.
I did enjoy some of the chapters but overall this was a letdown.
alemia25's review
2.0
Funny, but chaotic. There was no clear structure, the authors being described randomly and jumping from one period to another, or from one style to another. Furthermore, the choice of some of the authors is questionable, some of them cannot be considered between "the greatest", in my opinion.