"Emerson said that there is creative reading as well as creative writing. 'When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever we read becomes luminous with manifold allusion.' There are few better readers than David Mikics, and even fewer who are able to give such clear and solid advice for reading. His book is scripture meant for all young, old, flustered, or jaded readers of this century who wish to remake the book into a divine thing."
Publisher Belknap Press
Publication Date 2013-10-08
Section New Hardcover - Nonfiction / All Staff Suggestions / Nonfiction Suggestions / Spencer R.
Format Hardcover
ISBN 9780674724723
Wrapped in the glow of the computer or phone screen, we cruise websites; we skim and skip. We glance for a brief moment at whatever catches our eye and then move on. Slow Reading in a Hurried Age reminds us of another mode of reading--the kind that requires our full attention and that has as its goal not the mere gathering of information but the deeper understanding that only good books can offer.
Slow Reading in a Hurried Age is a practical guide for anyone who yearns for a more meaningful and satisfying reading experience, and who wants to sharpen reading skills and improve concentration. David Mikics, a noted literary scholar, demonstrates exactly how the tried-and-true methods of slow reading can provide a more immersive, fulfilling experience. He begins with fourteen preliminary rules for slow reading and shows us how to apply them. The rules are followed by excursions into key genres, including short stories, novels, poems, plays, and essays.
Reading, Mikics says, should not be drudgery, and not mere escape either, but a way to live life at a higher pitch. A good book is a pathway to finding ourselves, by getting lost in the words and works of others.
