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Also by Jack Murnighan:

Beowulf on the Beach, May 2009
Hardcover

BEOWULF ON THE BEACH
By: Jack Murnighan

What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits

Three Rivers Press
May 2009
On Sale: May 19, 2009
384 pages
ISBN: 0307409570
EAN: 9780307409577
Hardcover
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Fiction Classics

Feel bad about not reading or not enjoying the so-called great books? Don’t sweat it, it’s not your fault. Did anyone tell you that Anna Karenina is a beach read, that Dickens is hilarious, that the Iliad’s battle scenes rival Hollywood’s for gore, or that Joyce is at his best when he’s talking about booze, sex, or organ meats?

Writer and professor Jack Murnighan says it’s time to give literature another look, but this time you’ll enjoy yourself. With a little help, you’ll see just how great the great books are: how they can make you laugh, moisten your eyes, turn you on, and leave you awestruck and deeply moved. Beowulf on the Beach is your field guide–erudite, witty, and fun-loving–for helping you read and relish fifty of the biggest (and most skipped) classics of all time. For each book, Murnighan reveals how to get the most out of your reading and provides a crib sheet that includes the Buzz, the Best Line, What’s Sexy, and What to Skip.

Media Buzz

Weekend Edition Sunday - June 14, 2009