Slow Reading in a Hurried Age (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 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.

Author: David Mikics
ISBN-10: 0674724720
ISBN-13: 9780674724723
Publisher: Belknap Press
Language: English
Published: 10/08/2013
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 1.30d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2013
Publishers Weekly 08/05/2013
Booklist 09/15/2013 pg. 9
Chronicle of Higher Education 10/11/2013 pg. 5
Choice 04/01/2014