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Why We Read

On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out

by Shannon Reed

Narrator Paige McKinney

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Length 8 hours 54 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“I am obsessed with this book! Told with humor, care and love, Reeds takes you through the story of her life and relationship to books to understand why reading is so important. She makes the pitch that whoever you are, you should read more, of any kind of book. From Amish romances to thrillers to literary masterpieces and everything in between, she explores the joys and comforts of each and why branching out is good but also everything you're reading is great too! Perfect for anyone who loves to read, those who wish they read more, and even the person who thinks that maybe someday they should really pick up a book again. I've forced everyone in my life to read a few of her bite sized essays, and every one of them has giggled and wanted more. Check it out!”
— Jax • Bookshop Santa Cruz

Summary
About the author

A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a teacher, bibliophile, and Thurber Prize Semifinalist

We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human.

Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (Gone Girl, Their Eyes Were Watching God) to the ones she didn’t (Tess of the d’Urbervilles), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the ways in which literature can transform us for the better.

Biography & Memoir Humor Essays Nonfiction Literary Criticism

Shannon Reed is a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh and a contributor to The New Yorker's “Shouts & Murmurs” pieces. Her work has also appeared in Real Simple, The Paris Review, Slate, LitHub, Longreads, The Guardian, AFAR, The Washington Post, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and most notably, McSweeney's. She holds an MA in Educational Theatre and Teaching Secondary English, and an MFA in Creative Writing.