Between February 2012 and February 2013 I contributed an essay each Friday to the home page of The American Scholar. I had no particular restrictions on what I might write about, though it was expected that my column would be literary and personal. Initially I was told that each piece should run about 600 words but, due to my natural garrulousness, this length soon doubled and occasionally tripled. From the start, I planned to write these “Browsings” essays for a year, then stop. And that’s what I did.
I’ve retained the name Browsings as the title of this collection, even though it is something of a misnomer. Rather than chronicling “the adventures of a soul among the masterpieces,” I quickly gravitated to talking digressively, and I hope amusingly, about bookishness itself. These are, in fact, very much personal pieces, the meandering reflections of a literary sybarite. The essays themselves vary widely in subject matter, and rarely stick closely to their stated titles. In reading them over, I did notice a few repeated names, as well as some dated allusions to contemporary events, but have decided to let these stand. However, I have corrected small mistakes, sharpened sentences and, in one or two instances, added a few illustrative details. But that’s all. I hope Browsings as a whole will communicate some sense of a year in the life of an especially bookish literary journalist. I also hope that it will encourage readers to seek out some of the many titles I mention or discuss.
Please bear in mind that these are light essays, meant to be entertaining. They aren’t jokey precisely, but they do have jokes in them. And lots of allusions and quotations, as well as the occasional pun. Now and again, I go off on rants, sometimes I make up lists, at other times I describe my misadventures at literary conventions and conferences. But throughout you’ll recognize, I think, the same voice. If you like that voice, you’ll probably like this book.
But allow me to make two small recommendations: First, don’t read more than two or three of the pieces at one sitting. Space them out. That way Browsings will take longer to get through and you’ll enjoy each essay more. Trust me on this. Second, consider reading the columns in the order they appear. Each is meant to stand on its own, but I did aim for a pleasing variety in my choice of topics, as well as a seasonal arc to the series as a whole.
—MICHAEL DIRDA