Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
White, a professor of English at the University of Alabama, theorizes in her discerning debut that reading without any particular aim is the surest way to achieve imaginative freedom. "Our reading is best when it is promiscuous," she writes, and urges that reading should "drift all over the place" as books do. The core of White's argument unfolds over three chapters that cover the fundamentals of reading promiscuously. In "Play," White asserts that reading is a game that can deliver a "perennial surprise," which becomes "the most joyful part." "Transgression" is an analysis of reading as an act of rebellion and defiance: "To read is to step outside the carefully patrolled boundaries of one's assigned sphere." "Insight" offers a look at reading as soul-work, in which readers can move between the worlds of the page, other experiences, and back to reality. Along the way, she offers close readings of Walt Whitman (on the self and other) and Jane Austen (on "social skirmishes"), among others. White's prose style tends toward the academic, and given the sometimes abstract subject matter, can be difficult follow. Such density, however, doesn't conceal White's triumphant conviction that reading should stay "wild." Literary-minded readers will appreciate this fresh approach. (July)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In this work, poetry editor White proposes that reading should be viewed as an experience and should be enjoyed as such. The book is divided into five parts: "Propositions," "Play," "Transgression," "Insight," and "Conclusions." "Propositions" is composed of 22 ideas about reading, taken from widely published works and writers. It flows almost like poetry and draws the reader into the experience of reading, and at the same time informs a perspective of reading. "Play," "Transgression," and "Insight" switch to a more traditional prose format, but still draw heavily on other authors' notions of reading, and use examples from literature to remind us that reading is an experience that shapes perspectives and ideas. In these sections, White cites literary techniques and the consequences of the act of reading, as examples of how books can make us view and experience reading as play, transgression, and insight, and lead to personal growth. She masterfully weaves these techniques and ideas through her own work, making this book as enjoyable as it is informative. VERDICT This book is a good reminder that reading is meant to be enjoyed; it is itself a refreshing, freeing, and inspiring read. Recommended for public libraries.--Sarah Mazur, Noel Memorial Lib., LA
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A book that encourages the reading of other books, preferably with abandon. In this meditation, White, an English professor who has edited several collections of Marianne Moore's poetry, urges those inclined toward a literary life to fully embrace that inclination. Devoted readers know how books can expand consciousness, but how many start their days with them? Rather than an activity to engage in after we crawl into bed (if we have the energy), the author suggests an unabashed approach. The problem is that many of us were taught to make reading another task to tackle. "Reading without purpose is playful," writes White, "and play is not easy for adults." While it's correct to infer from the title that the author believes in guilt-free reading trysts, she seems less inclined toward romps with books lowbrow as well as high. Her arguments draw mostly on literary titans, as she quotes frequently from the likes of Emily Dickinson, Don DeLillo, and Don Quixote. Only some of the quotes are attributed in the body of the text. While White makes a note of this structural element, discerning readers may tire of flipping to the back pages. Meanwhile, the language at times strains to be lofty: "Alert, relaxed, keen, and unguarded, the reading self easily occupies an otherwise elusive and fleeting state of awareness in which no answer need be final, no one moment need be decisive. In that fluid medium insight is free to gather and effloresce." Throughout, White seems less interested in making new readers than emboldening the already well-read. Herein lies its strength, including when the author takes up counterarguments. For example, reading has downsides--when we outsourced our memory onto the pages of books, we began to remember stories less vividly--and it's not for everyone. Yes, everyone deserves the right to literacy, but not all souls hunger for Middlemarch. So don't look down your noses at nonreaders. A mixed bag that will end up in the book sacks of the literature-inclined--not unintentionally. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
