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Books v Cigarettes cover art

Books v Cigarettes

By: George Orwell
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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Summary

Books v Cigarettes is a funny and irreverent essay comparing the costs of reading to other forms of recreation including smoking.

Originating from the experience of an editor friend who was firewatching during the Second World War, who was told by factory workers that they had no interest in literature because they could not afford books, the essay first appeared in Tribune in 1946.

Public Domain (P)2021 SNR Audio

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Books or Cigarettes?

A great, somewhat irreverent little essay from Orwell that muses on the access to literature and its effects.

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