The Pleasures of Reading

For one who has been drawn to lists of great books, various reading plans, and Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren's How To Read a Book, Alan Jacobs' new book is a fun and challenging read.  As a sort of rejoinder to How to Read a Book, Jacobs extols reading by Whim and serendipity, while at the same time offering some practical approaches to the practice of reading.  His approach reminds me George Grant's idea of "following the footnote trail" of your favorite books or even John Granger's approach to Harry Potter in Harry Potter's Bookshelf.  If you like books or books about books you'll probably enjoy The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction.