the moralists ask us how we can justify our love of reading, we can make use of some such excuse as this. But if we are honest, we know that no such excuse is needed. It is true that we get nothing whatsoever except pleasure from reading; it is true that the wisest of us is unable to say what that pleasure may be. But that pleasureâmysterious,... See more
In Alan Bennettâs The History Boys, the profoundly human (i.e., imperfect) teacher, Hector, reminds his students that âThe best moments in reading are when you come across somethingâa thought, a feeling, a way of looking at thingsâthat youâd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person youâve never met,... See more
Reading is alluring. It has a nameless quality beyond satisfying desires for information and pleasure. Despite more colorful and interactive media, reading text somehow remains more refined, more seductive.