The Lost Art of Reading
Books and Resistance in a Troubled Time
Reading is a revolutionary act, an act of engagement in a culture that wants us to disengage. In The Lost Art of Reading, David L. Ulin asks a number of timely questions – why is literature important? What does it offer, especially now? Blending commentary with memoir, Ulin addresses the importance of the simple act of reading in an increasingly digital culture. Reading a book, flipping through hard pages, or shuffling them on screen – it doesn’t matter. The key is the act of reading, and it’s seriousness and depth. Ulin emphasizes the importance of reflection and pause allowed by stopping to read a book, and the accompanying focus required to let the mind run free in a world that is not one’s own. Are we willing to risk our collective interest in contemplation, nuanced thinking, and empathy? Far from preaching to the choir, The Lost Art of Reading is a call to arms, or rather, to pages.
Sep 04, 2018 | Price: $16.95
A book editor for the Los Angeles Times, David L. Ulin has also written for The Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, The New York Times Book Review, and LA Weekly. He lives in Los Angeles.
Details
- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Sasquatch Books
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781632171948
- ISBN Hyphenated: 978-1-63217-194-8
- Dimensions: 4-1/2 x 7
- Weight: 8 ounces
Book Categories
Adult Education, Arts & Literature, books about books, Classics, Communication, Curriculum and Instruction, Education, essays, Essays & Literary Collections, Humanities & Social Sciences, Introduction to Mass Communication, Literary Collections, Literary Collections - Asian - Indic, Literary Collections - Essays, Literary Criticism, Literary Criticism - Ancient & Classical, Literary Criticism - Books & Reading, literature, Mass Communication, Non-fiction, Nonfiction, Political Science, Political Science - Civil Rights, Political Science - Essays, Politics, Politics & Law, technologyYou might also enjoy
I am a reader who, during a few anxiety-driven years, found myself caught up in a dizzying attempt to be connected and “in the know”, leaving very little time for reflection. I believe that Ulin is speaking to that kind of reader. His essay is an exhortation to inspire the distracted reader to remember what they once knew, as opposed to an argument to convert the resistant to a reading life.
—The Everything of Books