Pipefuls

Morley, Christopher, 1890-1957Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 322K words
Chapters: 33

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. Pipefuls by Christopher Morley. Author: Morley, Christopher, 1890-1957. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Sep 21, 2007

Editor's review

Pipefuls is an essay collection by Christopher Morley, from a Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook. Morley was a well-known American essayist and editor in the first half of the twentieth century, celebrated for an easy, witty, humane style that starts from small everyday matters and ranges over books, cities, human relations, and seemingly trivial yet thought-provoking themes such as pipes and leisure. The book serves as a window onto the American essay tradition and is suited to casual browsing in fragments. It is not a systematic treatise but conversational writing made of short pieces; readers can pick it up and put it down at will, finding a relaxed reading rhythm in scattered moments. For those who enjoy Lamb-style essays or want a taste of old-fashioned column prose, it offers a friendly and not outdated sample. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to read and search on various devices and is especially suitable as introductory material for English essay reading practice.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy British and American essays and prefer light, conversational prose
Learners who want to use fragments of time for extensive English reading
Readers interested in American cultural life in the first half of the twentieth century
Teachers needing short English materials for supplementary classroom reading

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic argument or a complete narrative structure
Readers who need a Chinese translation and cannot easily read the English original
Those seeking plot tension and fast-paced reading

Reading tips

Read in short batches, one or two pieces at a time; there is no need to proceed in order.
Mark unfamiliar expressions and keep reading; look up words after finishing a piece.
Start with chapters on books and city life to build interest first.
After reading, try restating the author's point in two or three sentences to check comprehension.

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

Is this a novel or a short-piece collection?

It is a collection of short essays, not a novel. The pieces are relatively independent, with no plot line running throughout. Readers can choose pieces in any order and need not proceed from beginning to end.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for beginners?

The style is early twentieth-century periodical essay prose, with longer sentences and somewhat old-fashioned diction; it was not written for beginners. Those with intermediate or higher English reading ability will find it smoother; weaker readers can use a dictionary and slow down.

Is the quality of the public-domain ebook reliable?

The book comes from Project Gutenberg, a public-domain electronic text proofread by volunteers, though different versions may have minor differences in layout or punctuation. There is no need to insist on a uniform version; focus on the content itself.

Comments

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About the author

Morley, Christopher, 1890-1957 Author

Christopher Morley (Morley, Christopher, 1890-1957) was an American writer, editor, and essayist with a prolific output; fifteen of his works are held in this collection. His representative works include Parnassus on Wheels (the source of the Japanese title Yūrei Shoten), Where the Blue Begins, Tales from a Rolltop Desk, Shandygaff, Mince Pie, Chimneysmoke, and Plum Pudding. These titles show that Morley's writing spans fiction, essays, and short sketches, often centering on bookshops, books, and the reading life, with a light, humorous tone and a strong bookish, nostalgic flavor. He also frequently drew on everyday trifles and city life, revealing warmth and wit through plain narration. Parnassus on Wheels, built around a traveling bookshop, is well known among book lovers and best embodies his distinctive blend of storytelling and essay. Given the limited materials in the collection, details of his life, education, and career are not well documented publicly, so no conjecture is offered here; this note confines itself to a brief account of his subjects and style.