送交者: 葫芦 于 July 26, 2003 23:12:03:
本人最讨厌逛商店，只是书店除外。书店中又特别喜欢旧书店。岁月的沉淀本身就是
一种筛选，当我看见书架上那些满是灰垢的图书时，我常常这么想，更不要说价格
也要便宜得多。以前闲暇时间不多，坐下来品味自己喜欢的整本图书都难，更别说
什么有计划的读书了。不久前在一家旧书店看到一本题为“The Life Reading Plan”
的书评，只为这个名字和一刀的价格就买了下来。回来才发现，作者Clifton Fadiman
(1904-1999) 在美国还真算得上颇有名气的图书评论家和编辑，而且还主持过以读
书和知识为主题的电台节目。
“The Life Reading Plan”共介绍了近百个作者的近百本书，虽然在取舍上或有偏
缺，但是评论却很有特色。他舍弃那种乏味的梗概式的介绍，而是侧重作者的时代、
更深层的思想火花和人文内涵，每每让人看了，都能激起你想读原作的冲动。请看
下面这段关于Thackeray 的“Vanity Fair”(名利场)的文字：
Only because of Becky Sharp, Thackeray's masterpiece will never completely
fade. She resolves one of the simpler contridictions in our human nature.
For men will always (if possible) marry good women and secretly admire bad
ones. And women, knowing that their job is to keep the race going, will
always come out strongly for morality, and always have a furtive feeling
that somehow immorality seems darned attractive. Thackeray, who had little
depth but much worldly wisdom, understand this division in our natures,
and through Becky Sharp exploited it perfectly.
当然，各位千万别把本贴的题目与上面这段话联系起来。我说的只是书的价钱。