The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

by Alan Jacobs

Why should they be read? The first reason—the first sequentially in the story that follows but also the first in order of importance—is that reading books can be intensely pleasurable. Reading is one of the great human delights.

my commitment to one dominant, overarching, nearly definitive principle for reading: Read at Whim.

Read what gives you delight—at least most of the time—and do so without shame.

“For an adult reader, the possible verdicts are five: I can see this is good and I like it; I can see this is good but I don’t like it; I can see this is good, and, though at present I don’t like it, I believe with perseverance I shall come to like it; I can see that this is trash but I like it; I can see that this is trash and I don’t like it.”