Waterstones Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truth

Zoom

×

Price: £14.99

Brand: Waterstones

Description: Few could explain, let alone seek out, a career in criticism. Yet what A. O. Scott shows in Better Living Through Criticism is that we are, in fact, all critics: because critical thinking informs almost every aspect of artistic creation, of civil action, of interpersonal life. With penetrating insight and humour, Scott shows that while individual critics - himself included - can make mistakes and find flaws where they shouldn't, criticism as a discipline is one of the noblest, most creative and urgent activities. Using his own film criticism as a starting point - everything from an infamous dismissal of the international blockbuster The Avengers to his intense affection for Pixar's animated Ratatouille - Scott expands outwards, easily guiding readers through the complexities of Rilke and Shelley, the origins of Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones, the power of Marina Abramovic and 'Ode on a Grecian Urn.' Scott shows that real criticism was and always will be the breath of fresh air that allows true creativity to thrive. As he puts it: 'The time for criticism is always now, because the imperative to think clearly, never goes away.' One of the funniest, smartest, most articulate critics around… - The Sunday Telegraph. Waterstones Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truth - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

Category: Books

Merchant: Waterstones

Product ID: 9781910702550

Delivery cost: 2.99

ISBN: 9781910702550

My website utilises affiliate links when you click my 'Get the best deal now' buttons. If you buy something through one of these links, I may earn a little commission, at no extra cost to you.

I have relationships with many of the top online retailers (purchasing, shipping and returns will be handled directly by them) which enables me to offer the best deal online for the Waterstones Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truth and many other similar products - which will appear below, to enhance your online shopping experience.

For even more great deals on Waterstones Books, click the link.

Similar Products

• 

  Waterstones Beauty in Photography

  Price: £12.95

  Brand: Waterstones

   

  

  103 ratings

   

  Description

  Description: The eight essays in Beauty in Photography provide a critical appreciation of photography by one of its foremost proponents. The result is a rare book of criticism, alive to the pleasure and mysteries of true exploration.

  Product details

  Category: Books

  Delivery cost: 2.99

  ISBN: 9780893813680

   

  

  Merchant: Waterstones

  Product ID: 9780893813680

   
• 

  Waterstones Criticism and Truth

  Price: £16.00

  Brand: Waterstones

   

  Description

  Description: A defense and celebration of the discipline of literary studies and its most distinctive practice | ??close reading. Does literary criticism offer truths about the world? In Criticism and Truth, Jonathan Kramnick offers a new and surprising account of criticism's power by zeroing in on its singular method: close reading. Long recognized as the distinctive technique of literary studies, close reading is the critic's way of pursuing arguments and advancing knowledge, as well as the primary skill taught in the English major. But it is also more than that | ??a creative, immersive, and transformative writing practice that fosters a unique kind of engagement with the world. Drawing on the rich and varied landscape of contemporary criticism, Kramnick changes how we think about the basic tools of literary analysis, including the art of in-text quotation, summary, and other reading methods, helping us to see them as an invaluable form of humanistic expertise. Criticism and Truth is a call to arms, making a powerful case for the necessity of both literature and criticism within a multidisciplinary university. As the humanities fight for survival in contemporary higher education, the study of literature doesn't need more plans for reform. Rather, it needs a defense of the work already being done and an account of why it should flourish. This is what Criticism and Truth offers, in vivid and portable form.

  Product details

  Category: Books

  Delivery cost: 2.99

  ISBN: 9780226830537

   

  

  Merchant: Waterstones

  Product ID: 9780226830537

   
• 

  Waterstones Living for Pleasure

  Price: £16.99

  Brand: Waterstones

   

  Description

  Description: If we all want happiness and pleasure so much, then why are we so bad at getting it? Pleasure feels amazing! Anxiety, however, does not. The Ancient Greek Philosopher Epicurus rolled these two strikingly intuitive claims into a simple formula for happiness and well-being-pursue pleasure without causing yourself anxiety. But wait, is that even possible? Can humans achieve lasting pleasure without suffering anxiety about failure and loss? Epicurus thinks we can, at least once we learn to pursue pleasure thoughtfully. In Living for Pleasure, philosopher Emily Austin offers a lively, jargon-free tour of Epicurean strategies for diminishing anxiety, achieving satisfaction, and relishing joys. Epicurean science was famously far ahead of its time, and Austin shows that so was its ethics and psychology. Epicureanism can help us make and keep good friends, prepare for suffering, combat imposter syndrome, build trust, recognize personal limitations, value truth, cultivate healthy attitudes towards money and success, manage political anxiety, develop gratitude, savor food, and face death. Readers will walk away knowing more about an important school of philosophy, but moreover understanding how to get what they want in life-happiness-without the anxiety of striving for it.

  Product details

  Category: Books

  Delivery cost: 2.99

  ISBN: 9780197558324

   

  

  Merchant: Waterstones

  Product ID: 9780197558324

   
• 

  Lovereading Bad Sex Truth, Pleasure, and an Unfinished Revolution

  Price: £18.89

  Brand: Lovereading

   

  Description

  Description: Bad Sex Truth, Pleasure, and an Unfinished Revolution. Hardback. By Nona Willis Aronowitz.

  Product details

  Category: Books

   

  

  Merchant: LoveReading

  Product ID: 9780593182765

   
• 

  Lovereading The Beauty of Living Twice

  Price: £8.99

  Brand: Lovereading

   

  Description

  Description: The Beauty of Living Twice. Paperback /softback. By Sharon (author) Stone.

  Product details

  Category: Books

   

  

  Merchant: LoveReading

  Product ID: 9781838953898

   
• 

  Lovereading Truth and Beauty A Friendship

  Price: £9.89

  Brand: Lovereading

   

  Description

  Description: Truth and Beauty A Friendship. Paperback /softback. By Ann Patchett.

  Product details

  Category: Books

   

  

  Merchant: LoveReading

  Product ID: 9780007196784

   
• 

  Waterstones Pop-up Sleeping Beauty

  Price: £11.99

  Brand: Waterstones

   

  

  167 ratings

   

  Description

  Description: The enchanting story of Sleeping Beauty is brought to life in this gorgeously illustrated pop-up book. Follow the fairies starry trail, join the prince as he discovers the secret tower where Sleeping Beauty is destined to sleep for a hundred years, and see if magic can save the day. A pleasure to share with little children, and a wonderful gift. Waterstones Pop-up Sleeping Beauty - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

  Product details

  Category: Books

  Delivery cost: 2.99

  ISBN: 9781474939560

   

  

  Merchant: Waterstones

  Product ID: 9781474939560

   
• 

  Lovereading The Beauty Of Purposeful Living

  Price: £76.50

  Brand: Lovereading

   

  Description

  Description: The Beauty Of Purposeful Living. Hardback. By Judith Conant Chase.

  Product details

  Category: Books

   

  

  Merchant: LoveReading

  Product ID: 9781932476903

   
• 

  Lovereading Math Art Truth, Beauty, and Equations

  Price: £17.99

  Brand: Lovereading

   

  Description

  Description: Math Art Truth, Beauty, and Equations. Hardback. By Stephen Ornes.

  Product details

  Category: Books

   

  

  Merchant: LoveReading

  Product ID: 9781454930440

   
• 

  Waterstones Languages of Truth

  Price: £20.00

  Brand: Waterstones

   

  Description

  Description: From 'Best of the Booker' winner Salman Rushdie, an incisive and inspiring collection of non-fiction essays, criticism and speeches that takes readers on a thrilling journey through the evolution of language and culture. Gathering pieces written between 2003 and 2020, including several never previously in print, Languages of Truth chronicles a period of momentous cultural shifts. Across a wide variety of subjects, Rushdie delves into the nature of storytelling as a deeply human need, and what emerges is a love letter to literature itself. Throughout, Rushdie shares his personal encounters, on the page and in person, with storytellers from Shakespeare and Cervantes to Samuel Beckett, Eudora Welty, and Toni Morrison, and revels in the creative lines that can join art and life. Always attuned to the malleability of language, Rushdie considers the nature of truth, and looks anew at migration, multiculturalism and censorship. Written with the author's signature wit and energy, Languages of Truth offers pleasure and insight in equal measure, confirming Rushdie's place as one of the most original and important thinkers of our time.

  Product details

  Category: Books

  Delivery cost: 2.99

  ISBN: 9781787331938

   

  

  Merchant: Waterstones

  Product ID: 9781787331938