Reed, Shannon, author.

Why we read : on bookworms, libraries and just one more page before lights out / Shannon Reed.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada : Hanover Square Press, [2024].

©2024.

329 pages ; 22 cm.

"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." -- Description provided by publisher.

Reed, Shannon.

Books and reading -- Anecdotes.

Women teachers -- Biography.

Essays.

Preface: why I read -- To get to go to the library -- How I choose a book: a thirteen-step guide -- Because there was always another page -- To finish a series -- Calmed-down classics of American literature for the anxiety-ridden -- Because we had to -- To break the rules -- Signs you may be a femail character in a work of historical fiction -- To learn about (and from) the past -- For love -- Signs you may be a character in a popular childern's book -- To make us cry -- Because I wanted free pizza -- To find the main point -- Because failure is most definitely an option -- But now Shakespeare! -- Signs you may be a character in a Shakespearean play -- To feel less alone -- To see ourselves across time -- Signs you may be an adult character in a YA novel -- To taste -- Questions I use to evaluate a new recipe -- Because someone gave me a book -- For comfort -- To feel superior -- To be shocked -- Town summer festival kickoff declared "success" -- To learn there's more than a single story -- Because it's fun -- To save my life -- To shake up your perspective -- The five peope you meet when you work in a bookstore -- Because someone is paying you to teach a class about vampires -- To learn how to die (and how to live) -- Because once more was enough -- To try again -- To motivate us -- To make us cry (II) -- Because we are what we read -- List of books and works mentioned.

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9781335007964

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