Edited by Scott E. Casper (NHC Fellow, 2005–06), Jeffrey D. Groves, Stephen W. Nissenbaum, and Michael Winship Volume 3 of A History of the Book in America narrates the emergence of a national book trade in the nineteenth century, as changes in manufacturing, distribution, and publishing conditioned, and were conditioned by, the evolving practices of authors and … Continued
Edited by Matthew Rubery (NHC Fellow, 2018–19) and Leah Price What does reading mean in the twenty-first century? As other disciplines challenge literary criticism’s authority to answer this question, English professors are defining new alternatives to close reading and to interpretation more generally. Further Reading brings together thirty essays drawing on approaches as different as formalism, historicism, … Continued
The death of the book and the decline of literary reading have been threatened for over two decades now. How can the humble novel compete with the latest social media apps to capture our attention and connect us to others? And yet the experience of imaginative, immersive, literary reading endures and remains one of humanity’s … Continued
As a librarian, I am always reading, usually two to three books per week. During this time of social distancing and online learning, I have more time for reading at home and am gravitating toward longer Young Adult novels and more non-fiction. Encountering characters from a story and reading about historical events are social activities … Continued
I was always an avid reader as a child. As a matter of fact, I read a majority of the Harry Potter books when I was in elementary school. These books meant so much to me, it explored my sense of wonder and magic that my young soul craved. As a matter of fact, after … Continued
I was born and grew up in rural Southern Appalachia. Books and stories were my pathway out of the holler and into a world of hope and possibility. As a child and teen, I read and listened voraciously, and those stories found in books helped to save my life. Without them, I am not sure … Continued
A single book forever changed the way young Bill Carbone thought not only about drumming, but the world. Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart’s Drumming at the Edge of Magic illuminated the connections between spirituality and music. It also introduced Carbone to the world of ethnomusicology, or the study of music and cultures.
Luis Rodriguez, Poet Laureate of Los Angeles in 2014, explains how his love for books and libraries rescued him from a life of trouble. He notes that through books, he discovered more about people and their lives, which encouraged his interest in writing about injustice and activism. To celebrate its 40th year anniversary of grant … Continued
David Denby discusses works of literature that influenced his thinking as a child and as a teenager. Looking back, these books transformed the reader that he is today.