title: Remarkable Reads: 34 Writers and Their Adventures in Reading
author:  J. Peder Zane 
description: "Adventures in reading" may sound like an oxymoronic proposition, but Zane's collection points out that a wild journey or a bold feat can be inspired by a great piece of writing. Zane has culled a series of essays from the Raleigh News &amp; Observer (where he is book review editor) in which authors assign superlatives ("the most enchanting," "the wisest," "the classiest") to their (usually) favorite books (there is also "the most dangerous" and "the most disappointing"). The results are occasionally surprising and enlightening: Clyde Edgerton's "most technically elegant" book-a flying manual-proves that good writing can be found in unlikely places. Jonathan Lethem's "loneliest" book (i.e., "I've still never met anyone else who's read it") is an obscure children's story by 1960s pop psychologist Eric Berne called The Happy Valley. Nasdijj chooses Louis L'Amour's To Tame a Land as his "saddest," for its inaccurate portrayal of cowboys and Native Americans. Some of the essays are anecdotal; others read like critical analysis, such as Doris Betts's examination of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho (she concludes that her "most unpleasant" book has no artistic merit). At times, the rigid short format constricts the depth of the writing, and there are a few pat "aha" moments-Brett Lott's essay on The Catcher in the Rye, for one. At its best, this volume offers easily digestible nuggets of insight about why the written word matters. <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: ![](Images/image00197.jpeg)
  
  Readers are raving about Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux"s CUT & RUN SERIES
  
  _Cut & Run _
  
  “Ty and Zane were so heartbreakingly beautiful and so realistic that these two
  will go down as two of the most fascinating characters written in this genre.”
  
  _—Literary Nymphs_
  
  “The plot was a stroke of genius….”
  
  _—Erotic Horizon_
  
  “An action-packed, angst-filled story where the sparks fly around Ty and Zane
  both in and out of bed.”
  
  _—Joyfully Reviewed_
  
  “A touching erotic romance as well as an intriguing murder mystery.”
  
  _—Romance Junkies_
  
  _Sticks & Stones _
  
  “I was slightly infatuated with Ty and Zane after reading _Cut & Run_, but I
  fell in love with them in _Sticks & Stones_.”
  
  _—Joyfully Reviewed_
  
  “I didn"t think it was possible to top _Cut & Run_, which is an awesome book,
  but _Sticks & Stones_ is right there with it. You definitely do want to read
  it.”
  
  _—Rainbow Reviews_
  
  “Filled with moments both brutal and tender, _Sticks & Stones_ is a fast,
  compellin