Philosophy of Language, Art and Answerability in Mikhail Bakhtin Book

I've been cleaning out my bookshelf--not virtually but physically, in the sense that I'm out of space again--and I came across piles of my old literary theory textbooks. This is one of them, and I can't say it would have ever made my "want to read" list: if anything drove me out of being a pure english major, it was this book. It's a collection of essays by the sort of academic literary theorists who at times seem determined to suck any joy or life that might remain in the experience of text. It made my realize that if I stayed an english major I might someday have to pick up my fantasy novels and be unable to enjoy them: a terrifying thought. I eventually learned better and embraced theory in all its crazy glory, but books like this don't make it easy.