Prize-winning critic Michael Dirda took your questions and comments concerning literature, books and the joys of reading.

Each week Michael Dirda's name appears -- in attractively large type -- in The Post's Book World section, where he writes about new novels, neglected classics, fat biographies, European literature, fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, poetry, works of scholarship, the occasional children's book, almost anything under the rubric of "arts and letters." Although he earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Cornell, Dirda has somehow managed to retain, well into middle age, a myopic 12-year-old's exuberant passion for reading.

As he has for the past 40 years, Dirda says he still spends inordinate amounts of time mourning his lost youth, listening to music (classical, jazz, oldies, country and western), and daydreaming ("my only real hobby"). He claims that the happiest hours of his week are spent sitting in front of a computer, writing. His most recent books include "Readings: Essays and Literary Entertainments" (Indiana hardcover, 2000; Norton paperback, 2003), his self-portrait of the reader as a young man, "An Open Book" (Norton, 2003) and a collection of his essays and reviews titled "Bound to Please" (Norton, 2005) Last year he brought out "Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life" (Henry Holt, 2006) and last fall Harcourt published "Classics for Pleasure."

Dirda joined The Post in 1978, having grown up in the working-class steel town of Lorain, Ohio and graduated with highest honors in English from Oberlin College. His favorite writers are Stendhal, Chekhov, Jane Austen, Montaigne, Evelyn Waugh, T.S. Eliot, Nabokov, John Dickson Carr, Joseph Mitchell, P.G. Wodehouse and Jack Vance. He thinks the greatest novel of all time is either Murasaki Shikubu's "The Tale of Genji" or Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu." In a just world he would own Watteau's painting "The Embarkation for Cythera." Dirda is a member of several literary associations, including the Baker Street Irregulars and The Ghost Story Society. Despite a penchant for quiet and solitude, he enjoys giving talks, teaching, and traveling. People tell him that he can be pretty funny for a guy who usually has his nose in a book.

(He also thinks he can be pretty funny at times...)

An archive of his reviews is available here.

An archive of his discussions is available here.

Dirda was online Wednesday, May 14.

A transcript follows.

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Michael Dirda: Welcome to Dirda on Books! The sun had been shining here in Silver Spring, but the clouds are back this afternoon. And, no, I'm not talking about my psychological state. I'm actually in a pretty good mood. (Cheers go up all round the internet.) In fact, after this chat, I think I'll go to the gym and pump some iron.

You know, I was telling someone the other day that, despite a lifetime spent reading and writing about books, I've never thought of myself as really bookish. I see myself as an adventurer. Okay, a very low-key adventurer. I can't travel everywhere in the world, or live all the excitement of a James Bond, or bet it all on red in Monte Carlo, and lose. So I turn to books for what I can't actually pack into life itself. But I don't agree with Borges about preferring books to life. They are just a complement to life. Lately, I've thought I might have let things get skewed a little too much toward the studious and introspective, which is one reason why I take two months off in the summer from reviewing. I need other things besides the pleasures of turning pages or typing words at a computer.

Now, where was I going with that? Who knows? Just passing thoughts. And enough of them.

Let's look at today's questions and comments. Stay with me, people. Call your friends.

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New Lenox, Ill.: Thanks to last week's conversation here I was prompted to reread The World of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (all twenty-three tales, which I have in individual small volumes, in two handled carrying cases), one of my favorites is "The Tailor of Gloucester," which begins: "In the time of swords and periwigs and full-skirted lappets - when gentlemen wore ruffles, and gold-laced waistcoats of paduasoy and taffeta - there lived a tailor in Gloucester." (It is traditionally read to children on Christmas Eve, just before bedtime.) I think her illustrations are charming.

washingtonpost.com: Ooooh, nostalgic Beatrix Potter fans -- click here. Enjoy!

Michael Dirda: Many thanks. I do believe my wonderful producer Elizabeth is on the job this week. This isn't to say that Paul, my other producer, isn't just as wonderful.

As for The Tailor of G: I think most Potter readers find this her greatest prose triumph. I still retain a fondness for the more child-like stories. Frankly, I can hardly imagine a more exciting title than The Story of Two Bad Mice. The heart virtually palpitates with anticipation. Just how bad can they be? Oh, that naughty--one can hardly imagine.

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Minnetonka, Minn.: I enjoyed your piece about the Camus notebooks. As a reader, won't you want the notebooks of all your favorite writers?

washingtonpost.com: Dirda on Camus (Book World, May 11)

Michael Dirda: Well, I do love notebooks and diaries and collections of letters and all sorts of workbooks and scrapbooks, as well as lists and marginalia. One feels that here is as close as one can get to the working imagination--plus, there's usually lots of good gossip.

I mean, after a while, one picks up Fitzgerald's The Crack-Up more often than the Great Gatsby, and one enjoys Henry James's or Virginia Woolf's letters and notebooks even more than the novels.

But then I'm a guy who keeps a commonplace book, so I would like such things. The inside scoop. L'envers de l'histoire contemporaine.

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Woodlawn, Va.: I came across this nugget from the late Eudora Welty in an essay she wrote on Jane Austen and wanted to pass it along. Welty pointed out that Austen's critics have always complained that she wrote too much about matters of the heart and ignored what goes on in the wide world. "Her detractors have declared that even the Battle of Waterloo went by without her notice, so remote was her life." To which in reply Welty mentions that Austen dedicated Emma to the Prince Regent soon after his victory. "It might be that dedication page that will puzzle the far future," Welty writes in her gently pointed way. "Readers of Emma may wonder what it was that the Prince Regent had done that was so deserving." Would that we could all have someone like Miss Welty standing up for us.

Thanks for letting me share.

Michael Dirda: Many thanks. Welty was very wise--but I sometimes like to think about her mad passion-it is said to have been consummated--for the detective story author Ross Macdonald. She even dedicated her collection of essays, The Eye of the Story, to him, under his real name, Kenneth Millar.

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WpgManCDA: Dear Mr. Dirda,

If I may, I'd like to chime in belatedly on last week's discussion of children's books with questions on three books with a Canadian connection:

(1) Have you or any of the chat participants ever read "The Happy Time" by Robert Fontaine? It's set in Ottawa, but it's about a Franco-American family. I came across it accidentally when I was working in a second-hand bookstore in Ottawa and I loved it. I only recently learned (because the Washington Post reported on a local small-stage revival) that it was made into a play and a major musical, so it was presumably a big deal at one time.

(2) Probably the second most-beloved Canadian children's book (after "Anne of GG", of course) is W.O. Mitchell's "Who Has Seen the Wind?" Are this book and its author well-known in the U.S.?

(3) Are any of you familiar with the Jacob Two Two books by Mordecai Richler? I've never read them myself and I'm wondering whether I should.

Thank you.

washingtonpost.com: Review of and feature about "The Happy Time" (The Washington Post)

Michael Dirda: Thanks, Elizabeth.

You know, I think I may have read the Richler book, but have no recollection of it--which means that my memory is totally shot or that I didn't really. The other two books are just titles to me.

It's interesting that so many children's classics don't become international. I have friends from Canada and Australia who speak about kids titles I've never heard of, but that are beloved by children in those countries. I wonder why that is. I think Americans only read British children's classics, outside of their own.

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Lenexa, Kan.: I just finished an unabridged audio of Michael Crichton's "Next"--a novel with genomics as the focal point. An author interview was included. I suspect some people read Crichton to learn about general scientific areas like self-replication and nanotechnology similar to the way people once read Michener to learn overview geography and history. Have you read much Crichton? Reviewed him (early books)? Know him personally? Thanks as always.

washingtonpost.com: I met him once and he was extraordinarily tall. - Elizabeth

Michael Dirda: What a lovely sentence, Elizabeth. What more does one really need to know about Crichton?

I've never read him. My guess is that the early novels, like The Andromeda Strain, are fine thrillers, but I think from Jurassic Park on he's gotten too commercial and hackish. But this is strictly an impression, based on reviews. Still, he seems to have staying power in both publishing and Hollywood. Very tall indeed.

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Incline Village, Nev.: Several years ago I read a discursive but captivating novel, "The Horrors of Love" by Jean Dutourd. Have you heard of it, or of him? I once saw it recommended by John Lukacs but apart from that, nothing. It is sort of Proustian, ruminative, about an affair that begins ecstatically and ends disastrously; in other words, the inevitable arc, but still it was extraordinary.

Michael Dirda: You know, I see the book a lot in second-hand bookshops, but have never read it. In my mind I associate Dutourd with novels that tend to be vies romancees--kind of souped up historical novels, with lots of sex. But this must be wrong. The inevitable arc--I suppose so, at least in fiction. But surely in life some affairs must end in happiness--the right people finally find each other, lives are renewed as well as ruined? Till recently, of course, one could never actually write a novel in which adultery ended in happiness for the lovers.

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Arlington, Va.: Have you read this year's PEN/Faulkner award-winner "The Great Man" by Kate Christensen? Was there a review in the Post that I missed?

washingtonpost.com: No Post review, but here's a piece on her winning the award.

Michael Dirda: Nope. Can't read'em all. What I like about the Pen Faulkner is that it often goes to unexpected books.

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To the Honorificabilitudinitatibus Dirda: Critics don't pump iron, they pump irony! I've enjoyed you pataphysical remarks the last few weeks. Will you favor us with another hapax legomenon?

Michael Dirda: Half-Ax Legomenon--wasn't he the Viking who started that company of little plastic blocks?

Hey, I don't pump irony--Tony Kornheiser will accuse me of stealing his book title.

Actually, I don't like lifting weights, though I do like running. What I've been thinking of getting back to is the world's greatest cardio exercise--skipping rope. I doubt I could go for more 40 seconds. Even if I didn't get tangled up on the second or third loop de loop.

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Dirdanimals: I think you have mentioned here the name of your dog. And I recall once you said you could see "The Wonder Cat" through the window and it wanted to come in. Just wanted to ease your mind, in case you thought you were being stalked!

Michael Dirda: Okay. Just for the record: Seamus, the Wonder Dog, aka The Mayor of Woodside Park. Cinnamon, the Wonder Cat, aka The Mighty Huntress.

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Ashburn, Va.: Hello,

I apologize for how broad this question is, but I was hoping you could help. I'm a stay-at-home mom of two small children. There are many days when I feel my brain turning to mush! I love reading fiction but when it comes to non-fiction, I just don't know where to begin. I check out books at the library that look interesting, but often find them written for experts or way too dense.

What are some of your top picks for non-fiction? Any subject matter will do.

Thanks!

Michael Dirda: Now that is broad. Really, I'd need to know your interests to recommend anything intelligently. What I would do, though, is think: What am I interested in? Not what you think you should be interested in, but really what attracts you. Why try to make your way through a history of philosophy when you'd rather be reading about, well, collecting antiques, or learning about children's psychology, or studying the art of India. Who knows what your interests are?

For instance, I've been reading lots of psychology lately--Jung, Karen Horney, et al. For various reasons, I've become interested in the mind, in the development of the self, of how one understands neuroses or lives an authentic life in tune with what one truly is. I've had a longtime, off and on, interest in such things. But I've never written about this stuff. I'm no authority It just interests me personally. Similarly, I went through a period when I read a dozen or more books on mean's health and fitness, and an equal number of men's fashion and style. I wanted to lose weight and get in better shape and when I had done so, I wanted to buy some new duds. So these things guided my reading. Let your life choose your books for you.

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Not so admirable Crichton: I gave up on Michael Crichton after his weird, xenophobic "Rising Sun" -- did you read that hysterical rant he included by way of an afterword on how the Japanese were out to get us? He's gone off the deep end.

Michael Dirda: No, I remember the book was lambasted in the press. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I also remember the incredibly erotic scene from the movie--gorgeous blonde, ripped clothes, conference table, strangulation for sexual pleasure (which, unfortunately, goes too far).

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Arlington, Va.: Where would you recommend someone who is unfamiliar with Camus start? The Stranger?

Michael Dirda: Yes, there. I'd then recommend his play "Caligula," followed by "The Myth of Sisyphus." For many people, his greatest novel is The Plague; my favorite is that astonishing monologue, The Fall.

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Columbia, S.C.: Hello Mr. Dirda,

You recommended "A Canticle for Leibowitz" a few months ago and I loved it. I am amazed that this is Miller's only novel. Do you tend to see many "one-hit novel wonders" in the sci-fi genre and literature more broadly? Isn't quality positively correlated with fecundity?

Another question for you. I am sad to say that I have read almost everything by Gene Wolfe and Jack Vance, with few unread books left to explore. I was hoping you could recommend another author who resonates with the Wolfe/Vance style of writing.

Thanks in advance.

Michael Dirda: All genres have their one-hit wonders: Think of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man; Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

As for Vance/Wolfe cousins: Try Michael Shea's homage to Vance The Quest for Simbilis or his own Vancean fantasy Nifft the Lean, which won a world fantasy award. You might also enjoy some of R.A. Lafferty's early stories. I'd also look into John Crowley's Little Big and Steven Millhauser's short stories and novellas, eg. The Barnum Museum or the recent Dangerous Laughter.

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Latin passages: I just finished An Instance of the Fingerpost and was pleased that author Iain Pears followed each Latin quotation with the English translation.

Michael Dirda: Always a help.

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Washington, D.C.: I also like the acronym "ISOLT." If you spend a sad year reading Proust would it be a triste an en ISOLT?

Michael Dirda: Ooh, you clever boy, you! Or girl.

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Austin, Texas: I will be traveling to Kenya soon on a medical mission. Could you recommend any novels or histories on this part of Africa? Thanks for the chats.

washingtonpost.com: I loved Elspeth Huxley's "The Flame Trees of Thika" so much as a kid I designed my college senior essay around it. It's an autobiographical novel about an English girl growing up in Kenya in the pre-WWI era. - Elizabeth (producer)

Michael Dirda: Well, there's an answer for you. I don't know any histories of Kenya, per se, but Basil Davidson is the great historian of Africa and a fine writer. He's got lots of books and I'm sure one will suit your need. You might also enjoy Isak Dinesen's memoir Out of Africa, or the sexy White Mischief (made into a fabulous, but not very well known film, featuring an incredibly hot performance by Gretta Scaachi--sp?).

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For the mom: Can you manage some time to read book reviews, either in print or on line? That's where I get a LOT of my non-fiction book suggestions, especially because reviews usually make clear whether the book is written for the lay reader or not.

Michael Dirda: Good suggestion.

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New Lenox, Ill: Re: Skipping rope for cardio - sounds like a good idea. (Isn't that what boxers also do to get in shape?)

Also, I think you have a good idea in writing a book about the children's books that all adults should read. I'd buy it. (And I haven't read any of the children's titles that WpgManCDA asked about.)

Michael Dirda: Oh, yes, I'd forgotten about that book idea. Maybe I should send it to my agent. Don't any of you steal that from me--I've already copyrighted every word that flows from my pen on this site. Or, more likely, The Washington Post Company has.

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Bethesda Maryland: In your Book World column last week you confirmed your continuing interest in things French. I join you in that appreciation. However I lack the ability to characterize what it is about things French which are so enthralling. Would you help me out here? Food, Architecture, and Literature are all fair game.

Thanks,

Ann

Michael Dirda: I think it has something to do with sophistication, savoir-faire, worldliness. We Americans do tend to feel like bumpkins, even those of us in big cities like Washington. Europeans, and the French in particular, seem to look at the world through the cool eyes of reason, understanding all, forgiving all. Wine, love, beauty, art, two hour lunches, six week vacations, conversation--these are the good things in life, and the French seem to manage to make them integral with their lives. We Americans just exhaust ourselves in work, and wonder why we are such dull sticks.

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Non-fiction: The Ashburn mom who likes fiction and wants some less-dense nonfiction might look for biography or memoir or narrative nonfiction. Ones I've read recently that I enjoyed include Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder; The Rescue Artist: A true story of art, thieves, and the search for a missing masterpiece, by Dolnick; A Jesuit Off-Broadway, by Martin; and (reading now) Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets, by McMillan.

Michael Dirda: Very various, as they say. Many thanks.

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Ashcroft, B.C. (BR): Children's books: Is Mitchell's "Who Has Seen the Wind" the second most beloved children's book in Canada, after the immortal "Anne"? I'd have cast my own vote for one of Farley Mowat's books for younger readers: probably "Owls in the Family", although "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be" is a strong candidate, and "Lost in the Barrens" used to be read a lot. Pierre Berton, best known for making Canadian history popular to regular readers, wrote "The Secret World of Og", a novel for kids that was popular in its day, and Richler's "Jacob Two-Two" books are still popular. My own favourite amongst Canadian children's books is Catherine Anthony Clarke's classic "The Golden Pine Cone", which is one of the best fantasy books I've ever read, full stop, and deserves to be much better known than it it.

Michael Crichton: I read his "The Great Train Robbery" last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it, although I don't think it's typical of his work as a whole. Lots of wonderful background details about early Victorian London, and some incredibly rich and descriptive cant and slang terms from the period; only George MacDonald Fraser does it better.

Michael Dirda: Many thanks. Yes, I'll second The Golden Pinecone, which I own in a treasured copy.

Perhaps what is needed is a list of great children's books from around the world.

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Nonfiction: May I suggest? Book World's 2007 nonfiction best-of list

Michael Dirda: You may, you may.

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Non-fiction for the Fiction Reader:"The Mighty Huntress" - that's cute. My kitty is "The Mighty Lays Around on the Bed All Day Unless Someone's in the Kitchen Preparing a Meal Involving Meat or Cheese."

I used to never read non-fiction, but got interested in it after reading "Wild Swans" for my book club. That led to me read "Dragon Lady" (another book about China), and then some random true adventure type books, then some stuff about explorers. Maybe the woman looking for some interesting non-fiction should hunt around in the biography section of her bookstore to see what inspires her. Biographies can often read like a fiction novel, since there's a main character, and I find that more digestible than other types of non-fiction.

Michael Dirda: Good advice. Cinnamon is an indoor/outdoor animal, and clearly of vampire blood: she sleeps by day and hunts by night.

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Washington, D.C.: For the woman in search of nonfiction: This is the perfect opportunity to seek the help of your local librarian.

Michael Dirda: It is always a perfect time to ask your local librarian. There is no better starting point for any book search. We're dealing with professionals, and they know and love their business.

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Lenexa, Kan.: There is certainly a less admirable side to Crichton. The divorce from his fifth wife--involved a 12-year-old child I believe-- was said to be quite acrimonious. Like Richard Rorty, I always thought cruelty to be man's worse quality.

He is also known for having been invited to the White House by our current president to help confirm there is no global warming. Crichton being such an intelligent, gifted person (Harvard degree in medicine, of course) one wonders what that was all about.

Still, you can't argue with his kind of success or being such a handsome, 6'10" marvel to look at (as Elizabeth implied).

Michael Dirda: Hmm. I don't think being 6-10 makes one a marvel, unless one plays basketball.

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Lakewood: Over the past few years, I have been reading (or listening to the fine unabridged audio books narrated by Simon Vance) the Brochette books by Anthony Trollope. I know you are a big fan of Trollope's autobiography. He had keen insight into human nature and had a subtle way of mocking what on the surface his books celebrated, i.e., the importance of "blood" and "breeding" and "rank" in society. It is hard to believe that he was writing at the same time (and for the same audience) as Dickens, whose work was so melodramatic.

Michael Dirda: They're both fine writers, but Trollope was a realist/satirist, and Dickens was a visionary/satirist.

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Non fiction suggestion: If I might, I'd like to make a broad suggestion to the broad questioner. Biographies can, in my humble opinion, be a great way to get back into reading non-fiction. Pick a person you're interested in and go for it. A biography, to me, can read like fiction when done well, but is full of non-fiction and may stir the mental juices with regard to other non-fiction topics that are relevant to the subject of the biography. I have mentioned before the Patrick O'Brien biography of Picasso that I think is excellent. Here is a novelist who has delved into non-fiction, writing also about Sir Joseph Banks (no, not the clothier you wags). So, that might help. Its that or Spinoza and lots of fish in the diet.

Michael Dirda: I reviewed that Joseph Banks biography for Smithsonian, many years ago. Just the other day I began reading Simone de Beauvoir's Old Age, and noticed that it had been translated by O'Brian. He did a lot of translating at one point, including some of De Gaulle's memoirs.

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RE: one-hit wonders: Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. One of my favorite books because I can always count on it to give me a good laugh. I know he had another novel, but does anyone ever read the other one?

Michael Dirda: I think the later book was something cobbled together out of a draft or something.

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Re Vance/Wolfe: The reader might also look at Matthew Hughes, e.g. Majestrum or The Gist Hunter. Vance is now on my TBR pile because I enjoy Hughes and I keep reading reviews comparing him to Vance.

Michael Dirda: Many thanks. I've not read Hughes, but I too had heard he was like Vance. As if anyone could be like Vance.

Well, in fact, some of Clark Ashton Smith and Dunsany clearly influenced Vance, so we should add both of them to the recommended list.

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Crichton's height: It's been shown by study after study that tall people have more authority simply by virtue of their height. And unfortunately Crichton appeals to the sort of person that he ...well, is. I guess I could have left off that last sentence.

Michael Dirda: Yes, I remember John Kenneth Galbraith saying something like that. Personally, I think a manly 5 foot 10, with round glasses and dark tousled hair, is the ne plus ultra of authority and seductive charm. Let those tall guys bend down to hear my whispered bons mots and words of wisdom.

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Rockville, Md.: Another comment about Crichton. I stopped reading him after "The Lost World" and "Timeline," both of which read as if they were purposefully written to be made into movies, but I can tell you that his earlier books were, for me, quite enjoyable. His books from the 1970s and early '80s were much more thoroughly researched than his later work, and I particularly enjoyed "The Great Train Robbery", "Eaters of the Dead," a retelling of Beowulf, and "Congo," a rather intelligent and perhaps even affectionate take on those old jungle adventure stories from the days of pulp.

Michael Dirda: Haven't all his books been made into films of some sort? I remember seeing Congo.

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One-hit wonders: Proust, I suppose, novel-wise at least, though his hit was a ten-run homer.

Michael Dirda: Hey, some of us think Jean Santeuil is where it's at. And certainly Les Plaisirs et les Jours has its decadent fans.

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Thank you, that was perfect:"They're both fine writers, but Trollope was a realist/satirist, and Dickens was a visionary/satirist."

I've been trying to figure out why I think of them as alike but different. (I'm the person who read "Bleak House" after you praised it.)

Michael Dirda: Thanks for the compliment.

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Crichton: I think I've read most of his books, and would consider myself a fan. Until now, anyway! I didn't know anything about his personal stuff. I've always enjoyed his books between more serious reads. Something to cleanse the palate, so to speak.

Michael Dirda: I can understand that. One doesn't always want to eat caviar or climb Mt. Everest; sometimes a corndog and a visit to the carnival are more in order.

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Daydream Nati,ON: Michael,

Who would you rather have a beer with - Hemingway or Bukowski? Or some other rogue?

Michael Dirda: Some other rogue, I guess. But if had to choose it would be Hemingway. Most of the writers I'd like to drink with would probably prefer wine, or maybe ale. Or even mead. But for beer drinking writers, I think I'd enjoy sharing a few with Irwin Shaw and James Jones. Big guys, hearty appetites for liquor, women, life.

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Rockville, Md.: A specific suggestion for the woman in search of nonfiction: Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World," a marvelous and non-technical defense of scientific thinking.

Michael Dirda: Many thanks.

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Rockville, Md.: Congo: The movie was horrendous. For those interested in the genre, the book is far, far better.

Michael Dirda: Thanks. That's nearly always the case, of course.

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Friendship Heights: Hi Mr Dirda,

Great idea about writing that book!

re: dogs and cats--woke up last night to hear a light thwock coming from the kitchen--it was our cat on top of the fridge, knocking off spilled dog biscuits to the scottie waiting below...

I love your chats, they're the highlight of my week.

Michael Dirda: What a great story! And what nice thing to say! Now, if only there were, oh, 300,000 more like you, I could have had at least one best seller.

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Bethesda Maryland: Incanabula is defined by a very specific date. Who chose that date and why?

washingtonpost.com: Definition of Incanabula (Encyclo.co.uk)

Michael Dirda: What is this, the 64,000 dollar question? Elizabeth has supplied the answer, so I don't have to. Thanks, E.

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washingtonpost.com: When I met Crichton

Michael Dirda: Check it out.

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Writers to Drink Beer With: Flann, of course: A pint of plain is your only man!

Michael Dirda: Oh, you're absolutely right. A pint of plain really is your only man, and perhaps we could have Kavanagh and Behan along with us, too.

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One-hit wonders:"Isn't quality positively correlated with fecundity?"

Good heavens, no. Look at not only Michael Crichton but John Grisham (who cheerfully admitted in an interview that his books get worse, and his first was his best) or any other hack. Harper Lee, Thomas Heggen, Ross Lockridge, et al might have had only one novel in them because they were autobiographical.

Michael Dirda: Most first novels tend to be autobiographical, so you're probably right about why some people only write one: They only had one in them. That does mean the test of a real novelist is the ability to build and sustain a body of work, after having exhausted the strictly personal. In general, I do think that great writers tend to write a lot.

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re: both of which read as if they were purposefully written to be made into movies: I know what you mean! It's one thing to have a good novel turned into a movie. But sometimes you can just tell the writer was already thinking about the blockbuster movie that was going to be based on their novel, and they quickly got the novel out to try and get to the blockbuster. What is it about these books? I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but something in them is missing. Lack of details, dialog that is too simplified...

Michael Dirda: No texture, just surface.

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washingtonpost.com: Oh sorry. I was going to explain more about meeting Crichton. It was when I was a producer of the Diane Rehm Show and I had read his book to prepare for the interview. He was so tall it kind of freaked me out. - Elizabeth

Michael Dirda: Many thanks, again, E.

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it was our cat on top of the fridge, knocking off spilled dog biscuits to the scottie waiting below: Maybe we CAN all get along. If cats and dogs can work together...

Michael Dirda: Hmmm. I don't see this sort of thing happening very often. I wonder what the dog does for the cat.

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re Treasure Island: As discussed last week, I'm delving into Treasure Island for the first time in 20 years. I've had to restrict my reading this week for a number of reasons and have forced myself not to lie in bed reading it all night. Leaving aside the fact that as I was typing the subject line to this post I wrote, "Treat" inadvertently, I will say that I'm loving it as much as I did as a kid. I'd forgotten how good the writing is, how evocative and how well paced the plot. I approached with trepidation because of another chatter's (another host of a Post webchat) disdain for Kidnapped. I was afraid that I might not enjoy it as much as I did as a child. Happily this is far from the case, but does bring to mind the reasons why that other person may have had difficulties with Kidnapped. The heavy brogue that is employed seemed overwhelming and tedious to that other reader. I can understand that, although for me its just more delicious color. In reading other "adventure" novels, like those of Marryat, I do find the prose a bit ponderous. Even some passages of Sabatini can be heavy with description and light on action. It seems clear that some of this is a function of how people communicated at the time the books were written. Again, happily for me, that is part of the joy of the story for the most part. I wonder, is it a matter of taste or mood? I can lose myself in Austen's acute and detailed meanderings on personal behavior, but be turned off completely by another author's navel gazing. The very next day I'll be craving Hemingway's stripped down writing, while finding dull another's simple declaratives. I suppose part of it is the skill with which the author uses these styles and part of it is indeed the place, mentally, from which I approach the book. Do you experience this sort of variation?

Michael Dirda: No, never. I am as steadfast and permanent as Mount Rushmore, a rock of steadiness and equanimity, solid, unchanging, immutable.

Just teasing: Everyone has these moods, which is why books appeal most at different times.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Nonfiction - best way is to pick a broad category (history, science, etc). Then either go ask a librarian about popular classics in that field or go to the library shelf where the "general" books are stored. I.e. 500 for science, 400 for language, etc.

The books you find there will lead you to others.

Michael Dirda: Thanks.

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Freising, Germany: Have you ever considered any Western novels as being classics? This genre seems to embody the concept of Pulp Fiction, like the Kung Fu or even the Science Fiction genres, but at least Science Fiction has had some talented practitioners. What about Westerns?: Do the likes of Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey approach classic territory, or do they ride off into the sunset of pulp fiction?

Michael Dirda: There are western classics: Guthrie's The Way West; Berger's Little Big Man; McCarthy's Blood Meridian, etc. The two you mention are commercial writers, good reliable entertainment.

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Michael Dirda: Well, folks, there are some more questions, but I've run out of steam. Time to head over to the gym. In the meanwhile, while I'm sweating to the oldies, you guys keep reading! There will be tests next week.

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