We are so distracted by and engulfed by the technologies we’ve created and by the constant barrage of so-called information that comes our way, that more than ever to immerse yourself in an involving book seems socially useful. . . . The place of stillness that you have to go to write,19 but also to read seriously, is the point where you can actually make responsible decisions, where you can actually engage productively with an otherwise scary and unmanageable world. . . . —Jonathan Franzen
