Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out
(eBook)

A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a teacher, bibliophile and Thurber Prize finalist We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us and, perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human. Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (Gone Girl, Their Eyes Were Watching God) to the ones she didn't (Tess of the D'Urbervilles), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them and the surprising ways in which literature can transform us for the better. "Shannon Reed gives us grace to love the books we love and reminds us, by sharing her own tender memories, why certain stories stick in our hearts for a lifetime. Shannon is one of my favorite writers-brilliant, humble, and wickedly funny. I envy her students and will return to these pages again and again. And I'm thrilled that she officially let me off the hook for never reading Middlemarch." -Elizabeth Passarella, author of Good Apple and It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway "Why We Read is a rare thing-a joy on its own, as well as potent inspiration to revisit the formative books from your own reading journey. Shannon Reed's warm, authentic voice in these invigorating essays invites us into her literary universe while at the same time encouraging us to expand our own. I cannot wait to gift this marvelous book to all the readers in my life." -Caitlin Kunkel, coauthor of New Erotica For Feminists: Satirical Fantasies of Love, Lust, and Equal Pay