{"product_id":"pleasures-of-reading-in-an-age-of-distraction-9780199747498","title":"Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction","description":"In recent years, cultural commentators have sounded the alarm about the dire state of reading in America. Americans are not reading enough, they say, or reading the right books, in the right way. \u003cbr\u003eIn this book, Alan Jacobs argues that, contrary to the doomsayers, reading is alive and well in America. There are millions of devoted readers supporting hundreds of enormous bookstores and online booksellers. Oprah's Book Club is hugely influential, and a recent NEA survey reveals an actual uptick in the reading of literary fiction. Jacobs's interactions with his students and the readers of his own books, however, suggest that many readers lack confidence; they wonder whether they are reading well, with proper focus and attentiveness, with due discretion and discernment. Many have absorbed the puritanical message that reading is, first and foremost, good for you--the intellectual equivalent of eating your Brussels sprouts. For such people, indeed for all readers, Jacobs offers some simple, powerful, and much needed advice: read at whim, read what gives you delight, and do so without shame, whether it be Stephen King or the King James Version of the Bible. In contrast to the more methodical approach of Mortimer Adler's classic \u003cem\u003eHow to Read a Book\u003c\/em\u003e (1940), Jacobs offers an insightful, accessible, and playfully irreverent guide for aspiring readers. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of approaching literary fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and the book explores everything from the invention of silent reading, reading responsively, rereading, and reading on electronic devices. \u003cbr\u003eInvitingly written, with equal measures of wit and erudition, \u003cem\u003eThe Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction\u003c\/em\u003e will appeal to all readers, whether they be novices looking for direction or old hands seeking to recapture the pleasures of reading they first experienced as children.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alan Jacobs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/26\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.70w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780199747498\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Century\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/17\/2011 pg. 42\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2011 pg. 92\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/11\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/15\/2011 pg. 4\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristianity Today\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2011 pg. 72\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooks \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/27\/2011 pg. 11\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlan Jacobs\u003c\/strong\u003e is Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Baylor University. His books include \u003cem\u003eThe Narnian\u003c\/em\u003e, a biography of C.S. Lewis, \u003cem\u003eOriginal Sin: A Cultural History\u003c\/em\u003e, and a \u003cem\u003eTheology of Reading\u003c\/em\u003e. His literary and cultural criticism has appeared in the \u003cem\u003eBoston Globe, The American Scholar\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003eOxford American\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Alan Jacobs \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":48230697664669,"sku":"9780199747498","price":28.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_519bf133-ba8e-4408-a6db-fb361d82cccb.jpg?v=1778577228","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/pleasures-of-reading-in-an-age-of-distraction-9780199747498","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}