Amazon now sells more books in digital form than as bound volumes. Unlike those who read plot summaries because they are too busy to read books, book lovers worthy of the name read them in one and/or both versions and cherish certain books about books that help to increase their understanding and appreciation of “classics.”

These are among the authors and their books about books that I cherish most:

Michael Dirda, a weekly book columnist for The Washington Post, received the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for criticism. He graduated with Highest Honors in English from Oberlin College and earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature (medieval studies and European romanticism) from Cornell University. He is a contributor to The New York Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, the online Barnes & Noble Review, and several other periodicals, as well as a frequent lecturer and an occasional college teacher.

Classics for Pleasure
Bound to Please: An Extraordinary One-Volume Literary Education
Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life
On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art of Storytelling

Joseph Epstein was formerly editor of the American Scholar. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, the Atlantic Monthly, and other magazines. Epstein also wrote the Foreword to the The Yale Book of Quotations, in my opinion the best anthology of all.

A Literary Education and Other Essays
Literary Genius: 25 Classic Writers Who Define English & American Literature
Essays in Biography

John Sutherland is Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College, London. He has taught students at every level and is the author and editor of more than twenty books. His most recent book, the popular Lives of the Novelists: A History of Fiction in 294 Lives, was also published by Yale University Press in the US, and has earned widespread acclaim. I urge you to check out his Amazon page by clicking here.

A Little History of Literature
How Literature Works: 50 Key Concepts
Lives of the Novelists: A History of Fiction in 294 Lives

I agree with a fellow book lover, Desiderius Erasmus: “When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”