More Trivia

Logan Pearsall SmithProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 96K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. More Trivia by Logan Pearsall Smith. Author: Smith, Logan Pearsall, 1865-1946. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: Oct 1, 2008

Editor's review

More Trivia is a sequel to the essays of the English writer Logan Pearsall Smith and belongs to the classic tradition of the English prose sketch. The book is known for short, finely honed fragmentary pieces that often begin with everyday trifles, passing impressions, and fragments of memory; the tone is unhurried and slightly ironic, skilled at gathering a thought or mood into a very brief space. Its value lies not in plot progression but in the texture of the language itself and the sharpness of observation. It suits bedside reading or spare moments—read one or two pieces at a time and savor the rhythm and humor of English prose. For readers hoping to improve their feel for English and understand the early twentieth-century English essay style, this is a light and rewarding text; there is no need to finish it in one sitting—slow chewing reveals more of its pleasure.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to enjoy English prose sketches in spare moments
English learners seeking to improve their feel for the language and short-sentence rhythm
Readers who prefer essays and notes to full narratives
Readers interested in early twentieth-century English literary essays

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting continuous plot or complete stories
Beginner English readers needing Chinese translation or notes

Reading tips

Read three to five pieces a day and pause afterward to recall which one moved you.
Keep a notebook, excerpt favorite sentences, and try translating them into Chinese.
Read by theme or mood and observe how the author starts from trifles.
Read some passages aloud to feel the rhythm and tone of English prose.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does this book need to be read in order from beginning to end?

No. It consists of many independent short pieces with no necessary plot connection, so you can open it at any page. Treating it as bedside or wait-time reading and reading a few pieces at a time actually suits this kind of essay better.

Can I read it with average English proficiency?

The original is in English; sentences are usually short, but the diction is refined and the tone subtle, with a certain literary quality. It suits readers with some foundation in English reading who can read essays with a dictionary; those with limited vocabulary may use a dictionary or an audio version, focusing first on general meaning.

How does it relate to another work by the author?

This book is a sequel in the author's series of essays, continuing the same short-note style. If you enjoy its unhurried, slightly ironic tone, you can look for other works in the same series and compare how the author varies and continues the same approach.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Logan Pearsall Smith Author · British (American-born) · 1865–1946

Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) was an American-born British essayist and critic. Born in Millville, New Jersey, into a Quaker family, he studied at Harvard and then at Oxford, became a British citizen in 1913, and died in London in 1946. Smith is best known for his aphoristic prose in Trivia and More Trivia, distinguished by its concision and delicate observation and its gift for drawing enduring reflections from everyday trifles; his story collection The Youth of Parnassus, and Other Stories continues this restrained and witty manner. He also wrote on the English language and published the memoir Unforgotten Years. Three of his works are held in the collection; public information about him is limited, yet his essays hold a place in the English essay tradition.