The Art of Reading by Damon Young

A beautiful celebratory tribute to the powers of one of our most undervalued skills. 

‘What you are doing right now is, cosmically speaking, against the odds.’

As young children, we are taught to read, but soon go on to forget just how miraculous a process it is, this turning of scratches and dots into understanding, unease and inspiration. Perhaps we need to stop and remember, stop and learn again how to read better.

Damon Young shows us how to do exactly this, walking alongside some of the greatest readers who light a path for us — Borges, Plato, Woolf. Young reads passionately, selectively, surprisingly — from superhero noir to speculative realism, from Heidegger to Heinlein — and shows his reader how cultivating their inner critic can expand their own lives as well as the lives of those on the pages of the books they love.

Review

“Its short length belies a book heavy with insight, creativity, and wit. To Young’s credit, he treats all types of reading, from scholarly meditation to frivolous binge reading, with seriousness and respect…This literary study is serious but also witty and fun―a tough balance to strike, but Young nails it.” STARRED REVIEW

―Publishers Weekly

“For Damon Young, writers are like secret agents gone rogue, grabbing us by the lapels and inviting us into a realm of delicious ambiguity. The Art of Reading is an intimately conspiratorial book―erudite, surprising, and persuasive.”

―Henry Hitchings, author of Browse: the world in bookshops

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribe Publications (August 10, 2017)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 176 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1911344188

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1911344186

Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.67 x 7.8 inches

Customer Reviews: 3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars    17 ratings