Challenged me not to feel so superior about my reading and not to be mad when others act even more superior to me! Quote: "Every once in a while, a patron will tell me that they loved the book I'd suggested, and I feel a particular pleasure: I've introduced a friend to a friend." Reed was working as a library page at the time.

I didn’t expect that a book about reading would be this laugh‑out‑loud funny and thought provoking all at the same time. Why We Read is a collection of essays on topics that range from the author’s own experiences as a reader and a creative writing instructor to the reasons, as it says in the title, why we read. Those reasons include: ‘Because We Had To' (assigned reading), 'Because I Wanted Free Pizza' (Pizza Hut's Book It! program), ‘For Comfort’, ‘To Be Shocked’, 'To Shake up Your Perspective', ‘Because it’s Fun’, and many more. The essays flow smoothly from one to the next although they don't need to be read in any particular order and a number of them are good enough to read more than once. ( )

purposeful book if a bit corny at times - glad to read it ( )

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher for promotional purposes.

What a wonderful collection of essays on reading!

This book is a collection of personal essays on the impact of books and reading on the author’s life. As a lifelong reader myself, I found many of the essays relatable. One of my favorites was “To Break The Rules” (pg. 65) which discusses how there is no right way to be a “Good Reader.” We should read how and what we want. I wholeheartedly agree!

The book is well organized. It is organized in rough chronological order of the author’s life, which made the essays flow logically. The earlier essays focused on her childhood, while the later ones focused on her teaching career. There are also short and humorous list-like essays (for example, “Calmed-Down Classics of American Literature for the Anxiety-Ridden” and “Signs You May Be a Female Character in a Work of Historical Fiction”) dispersed throughout which helped break up the monotony of essays.

The author’s writing style is easy, accessible, and often humorous. Despite talking a lot about teaching, it’s never pretentious or overly academic.

My one critique is that some of the essays started losing steam at the end. I found some of the later essays not as impactful as the earlier ones.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to all my fellow bookworms! ( )

A memoir about books and reading. Like a warm hug of reflections on and insights into reading (and teaching reading/literature). Exactly the kind of book I like to read every once in a while--affirming rather than challenging and providing a lot of chances to nod along in recognition. ( )