Why I read
Subtitle: the serious pleasure of books
By: Wendy Lesser
Edition: Large print edition.
Series: Thorndike Press large print nonfiction; Thorndike Press large print nonfiction series
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 335
ISBN-13: 9781410468567
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Books and reading; Large type books; Literature; History and criticism
Description: Lesser draws on a lifetime of pleasure reading and decades of editing to describe her love of literature. As Lesser writes in her prologue, "Reading can result in boredom or transcendence, rage or enthusiasm, depression or hilarity, empathy or contempt, depending on who you are and what the book is and how your life is shaping up at the moment you encounter it." Here the reader will discover a definition of literature that is as broad as it is broad-minded. In addition to novels and stories, Lesser explores plays, poems, and essays along with mysteries, science fiction, and memoirs. All categories are examined from such perspectives as Character and Plot, Novelty, Grandeur and Intimacy, and Authority. "Reading literature is a way of reaching back to something bigger and older and different," she writes. "It can give you the feeling that you belong to the past as well as the present, and it can help you realize that your present will someday be someone else's past. This may be disheartening, but it can also be strangely consoling at times."
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Prologue: Why I read; title: Character and plot; title: The space between; title: Novelty; title: Authority; title: Grandeur and intimacy; title: Elsewhere; title: Inconclusions; title: Afterward: The book as physical object.