Cover of One Hundred Great Books in Haiku

One Hundred Great Books in Haiku

Why spend weeks slogging through The Iliadwhen you can just read the haiku? From Homer to Milton to Dostoyevsky, the classics are finally within reach of today's busy readers.

Read more

In the sixteenth century Zen monks in Japan developed the haiku, a poem consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven and five syllables. Now, in One hundred great books in haiku, David Bader applies this ancient poetic form to the literary canon. The formal requirements of the haiku have, admittedly, necessitated a few cuts: characters, plot, dialogue and descriptive passages aren't what they were. Still, these are small sacrifices in view of the huge savings in time and shelf space. Avoid eyestrain, reduce deforestation and show off your literary prowess at cocktail parties. It's the perfect gift for book lovers with short attention spans.

Audience
adult
Length
short · 104 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked One Hundred Great Books in Haiku? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked One Hundred Great Books in Haiku. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. The Annotated Archy and Mehitabel Shares poetry, humor, classics
  2. The Best of Ogden Nash Shares poetry, humor, classics
  3. The Pocket Book of Ogden Nash Shares poetry, humor, classics
  4. Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books Retold Through Twitter Shares humor, classics, books about

“People who read One Hundred Great Books in Haiku tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Books Do Furnish a Room
  2. Book Finds: How to Find, Buy, and Sell Used and Rare Books
  3. Why We Read What We Read: A Delightfully Opinionated Journey Through Bestselling Books
  4. Bizarre Books

“If you want more of the same (humor), start with these.”

  1. Very Bad Poetry
  2. You Took the Last Bus Home: The Poems of Brian Bilston
  3. Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone
  4. Billy Collins Live: A Performance at the Peter Norton Symphony Space

“If it was the poetry that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Warning: When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
  2. Archy and Mehitabel
  3. O, What a Luxury: Verses Lyrical, Vulgar, Pathetic & Profound
  4. Broetry Poetry for Dudes

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and The Spiritual Journey
  2. The Heart of Haiku
  3. The Sound of Water: Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets
  4. Book of Haikus