What we talk about when we talk about books : the history and future of reading

Reports of the death of reading are greatly exaggerated Do you worry that you've lost patience for anything longer than a tweet? If so, you're not alone. Digital-age pundits warn that as our appetite for books dwindles, so too do the virtues in which printed, bound objects once trained us: the willpower to focus on a sustained argument, the curiosity to look beyond the day's news, the willingness to be alone. The shelves of the world's great libraries, though, tell a more complicated story. Examining the wear and tear on the books that they contain, English professor Leah Price finds scant evidence that a golden age of reading ever existed. From the dawn of mass literacy to the invention of the paperback, most readers already skimmed and multitasked. Print-era doctors even forbade the very same silent absorption now recommended as a cure for electronic addictions. The evidence that books are dying proves even scarcer. In encounters with librarians, booksellers and activists who are reinventing old ways of reading, Price offers fresh hope to bibliophiles and literature lovers alike. Winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Christian Gauss Award, 2020 Reports of the death of reading are greatly exaggerated Do books have a future? Does reading? And what's the difference? Digital-age Jeremiahs lament that readers have lost patience for anything longer than a tweet. As our appetite for books dwindles, so too do the virtues in which printed, bound objects once trained us: the willpower to focus on a sustained argument, the curiosity to look beyond the day's news, even the willingness to be alone. However, by examining objects on the shelves of the world's great libraries, book historian Leah Price has discovered that no golden age of reading ever existed. From the dawn of mass literacy to the invention of the paperback, most readers skimmed and multitasked. Print-era doctors warned against the very same silent absorption now recommended as a cure for electronic addictions. A revealing examination of how readers have interacted with books over the centuries, What We Talk About When We... It adds to the charm of this book to remember that it is virtually a picture of the author's own boyhood. It is an excellent picture of the life of a struggling English youth in the middle of the last century. The pictures of Canterbury and London are true pictures and through these pages walk one of Dickens' wonderful processions of characters, quaint and humorous, villainous and tragic. Nobody cares for Dickens heroines, least of all for Dora, but take it all in al, l this book is enjoyed by young people more than any other of the great novelist. After having read this you will wish to read Nicholas Nickleby for its mingling of pathos and humor, Martin Chuzzlewit for its pictures of American life as seen through English eyes, and Pickwick Papers for its crude but boisterous humor. In Encounters With Librarians, Booksellers, And Activists Who Are Reinventing Old Ways Of Reading, Price Offers Fresh Hope To Bibliophiles And Literature Lovers Alike. Reading Over Shoulders -- The Real Life Of Books -- Reading On The Move -- Please Lay Flat -- Prescribed Reading -- Bound By Books -- End Papers. Leah Price. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 173-200) And Index. "In encounters with librarians, booksellers, and activists who are reinventing old ways of reading, Price offers fresh hope to bibliophiles and literature lovers alike."--Résumé de l'éditeur.;Reading over shoulders -- The real life of books -- Reading on the move -- Please lay flat -- Prescribed reading -- Bound by books -- End papers. A story of a young man's adventures on his journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among the gloriously vivid cast of characters he encounters are his tyrannical stepfather, Mr Murdstone; his brilliant, but ultimately unworthy school-friend James Steerforth. David Copperfield, whose stepfather casts him out after the death of David's mother, lives through trials and tribulations, first at a boys' school and then as a young man in London before he goes to live with his great-aunt and eventually finds happiness Born six months after his father's death, David faces many hardships growing up in nineteenth-century England. As a child, David is sent by his stepfather to work in a warehouse. He finally runs away to his great-aunt Betsy who gives him a genuine welcome "In encounters with librarians, booksellers, and activists who are reinventing old ways of reading, Price offers fresh hope to bibliophiles and literature lovers alike."-- Résumé de l'éditeur

A classic, coming to Masterpeice Theatre in March