The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs (English) Hardc

Description: The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs Alan Jacobs offers a witty, literate, and accessible guide for aspiring readers, offering tips on what to read and how to get the most out of it. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of approaching literary fiction or poetry or even the Bible, from reading responsively, to rereading, to reading on electronic devices. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher 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. In 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. Oprahs Book Club is hugely influential, and a recent NEA survey reveals an actual uptick in the reading of literary fiction. Jacobss 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 Adlers classic How to Read a Book (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. Invitingly written, with equal measures of wit and erudition, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction 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. Author Biography Alan Jacobs is Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Baylor University. His books include The Narnian, a biography of C.S. Lewis, Original Sin: A Cultural History, and a Theology of Reading. His literary and cultural criticism has appeared in the Boston Globe, The American Scholar, and the Oxford American. Table of Contents Yes, we can Whim All in your head Aspirations Upstream Responsiveness Kindling Slowly, slowly True confessions Lost Abbot Hughs advice The triumphant return of Adler and Van Doren Plastic attention Getting schooled Quiet, please One more, with feeling Judge, Jury, Executioner In solitude, for company Serendip How it all started Review "Delightful...appealing and convincing." --The Wall Street Journal"As so many recent studies have suggested, the activity of readingitself is seriously threatened in this digital age. But Alan Jacobs --bless him -- has an approach that will warm the hearts of seriousreaders and lead many prospective readers into the deeply satisfyingswells of good prose. Reading should be a pleasure, and Jacobs shows ushow to make sure we take delight in this work, which is not work at all.This is a witty and reader-friendly book, and its one I would happilygive to any potential reader, young or old." -- Jay Parini, author of The Passages of H.M. and The Last Station"A vigorous and friendly exhortation to get back into the kind ofreading that made you a reader in the first place." - Library Journal"Jacobs little, witty ode to pleasure found between hardcovers is a useful reminder of the joy of text." --Dan Kois, NPR"Jacobs gives us the best entry to date in the flurry of recentattempts to augur and meditate upon the fate of reading in our time."--John Wilson, Christianity Today"It seems a rare accomplishment that a book on the pleasures ofreading could actually pull off being pleasurable itself. But AlanJacobs newest book, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction,does just that. It is a marvelous manifesto of sanity in an age ofjeremiads about the modern predicament of attention loss on one hand,and those proud champions of distraction singing the hallelujah chorusof a world devoid of long-form books on the other." --Trevor Logan, First Things"A passionate call to indulge ones readerly passions in thepursuit of centeredness and growth, this book just might change the wayyou think about reading." --Brendan Driscoll, Booklist"Alan Jacobs bright, broad paean to reading is a sort of secularprayer book. It instructs, exhorts, laments, reveres; it has great faithandnullbest of allnullshows the Way. Or a way at leastnullfor authorJacobs, a college English professor, warns well that the road to readingNirvana is a highly personal one." --Joseph Mackin, New York Journal of Books"wonderful" --Micah Mattix, The Weekly Standard Promotional An engaging alternative to Mortimer Adlers classic How to Read a Book argues that whim should guide our reading and delight should be our goal Long 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. In 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. Oprahs Book Club is hugely influential, and a recent NEA survey reveals an actual uptick in the reading of literary fiction. Jacobss 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 Adlers classic How to Read a Book (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. Invitingly written, with equal measures of wit and erudition, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction 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. Review Text "Delightful...appealing and convincing." --The Wall Street Journal "As so many recent studies have suggested, the activity of reading itself is seriously threatened in this digital age. But Alan Jacobs -- bless him -- has an approach that will warm the hearts of serious readers and lead many prospective readers into the deeply satisfying swells of good prose. Reading should be a pleasure, and Jacobs shows us how to make sure we take delight in this work, which is not work at all. This is a witty and reader-friendly book, and its one I would happily give to any potential reader, young or old." -- Jay Parini, author of The Passages of H.M. and The Last Station "A vigorous and friendly exhortation to get back into the kind of reading that made you a reader in the first place." - Library Journal "Jacobs little, witty ode to pleasure found between hardcovers is a useful reminder of the joy of text." --Dan Kois, NPR "Jacobs gives us the best entry to date in the flurry of recent attempts to augur and meditate upon the fate of reading in our time." --John Wilson, Christianity Today "It seems a rare accomplishment that a book on the pleasures of reading could actually pull off being pleasurable itself. But Alan Jacobs newest book, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, does just that. It is a marvelous manifesto of sanity in an age of jeremiads about the modern predicament of attention loss on one hand, and those proud champions of distraction singing the hallelujah chorus of a world devoid of long-form books on the other." --Trevor Logan, First Things "A passionate call to indulge ones readerly passions in the pursuit of centeredness and growth, this book just might change the way you think about reading." --Brendan Driscoll, Booklist "Alan Jacobs bright, broad paean to reading is a sort of secular prayer book. It instructs, exhorts, laments, reveres; it has great faith andnullbest of allnullshows the Way. Or a way at leastnullfor author Jacobs, a college English professor, warns well that the road to reading Nirvana is a highly personal one." --Joseph Mackin, New York Journal of Books "wonderful" --Micah Mattix, The Weekly Standard Review Quote what could be nicer to read than a book about how nice reading is? Feature Selling point: A contemporary companion to Mortimer Adlers 1940 classic "How to Read a Book" New Feature Yes, we can Whim All in your head Aspirations Upstream Responsiveness Kindling Slowly, slowly True confessions Lost Abbot Hughs advice The triumphant return of Adler and Van Doren Plastic attention Getting schooled Quiet, please One more, with feeling Judge, Jury, Executioner In solitude, for company Serendip How it all started Details ISBN0199747490 Author Alan Jacobs Short Title PLEASURES OF READING IN AN AGE Language English ISBN-10 0199747490 ISBN-13 9780199747498 Media Book Format Hardcover Year 2011 Imprint Oxford University Press Inc Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States UK Release Date 2011-07-21 NZ Release Date 2011-07-21 US Release Date 2011-07-21 Edited by Julian Little Birth 1875 Death 1955 Affiliation Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Baylor University Position Distinguished Professor of the Humanities Qualifications MD, PhD Pages 176 Publisher Oxford University Press Inc Publication Date 2011-07-21 DEWEY 028.8 Audience General AU Release Date 2011-07-20 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:36809097;

Price: 47.63 AUD

Location: Melbourne

End Time: 2025-01-15T02:06:22.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 AUD