Last week marked the release of How to Write a Sentence — the much-buzzed-about modern rival of the iconic The Elements of Style. And it reminded us of a fantastic series of books by editor Simon Critchley that addresses the other end of the equation: How to Read.

Each of the books tackles one of humanity’s great texts of literature, philosophy, science and religion, from Shakespeare to Freud to Darwin to the Bible, and enlists a leading scholar in that subject to break down the classic in a way that facilitates, deepens and enriches your understanding of it.

The collection includes the following titles, each a treasure trove of intellectual stimulation and contextual fascination:

• How to Read Beauvoir
• How to Read Derrida
• How to Read Foucault
• How to Read Freud
• How to Read Heidegger
• How to Read Hitler
• How to Read Hume
• How to Read Kierkegaard
• How to Read Lacan
• How to Read Marx
• How to Read Nietzsche
• How to Read Wittgenstein
• How to Read Sade
• How to Read Sartre
• How to Read Shakespeare
• How to Read the Bible
• How to Read the Qur’an
• How to Read the Egyptian Book of the Dead

Bonus points for the beautifully designed paperback covers.