---
product_id: 8511797
title: "The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction"
brand: "alan jacobs"
price: "€ 47.63"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.fr/products/8511797-the-pleasures-of-reading-in-an-age-of-distraction
store_origin: FR
region: France
---

# The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

**Brand:** alan jacobs
**Price:** € 47.63
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- **What is this?** The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by alan jacobs
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## Description

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    In short, is a pleasure – if you love to read.
  

*by G***Y on Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2021*

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distractionby Alan Jacobs (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 162 pp., hard $19.95.The Pleasures of Reading, in short, is a pleasure – if you love to read. Alan Jacobs is a professor of English at Wheaton College, and this book obviously flows out of his passion for literature, but he takes a different approach to reading from that of many others. Where Mortimer Adler, in his classic How to Read a Book, offers a methodical method of reading and provides a list of “must read” books, and Nicholas Carr’s more recent The Shallows laments that few are reading books and even he is losing his ability to do so (p. 104), Jacobs breaks stride and suggests reading at “whim.” Rather than agonizing over reading the classics or reading quickly, or reading for information and out of necessity, he suggests we read what we want to read—that which gives us pleasure and joy (pp. 13-25). The overarching principle for reading is “Whim”— read for delight (p. 23). But the author goes further and distinguishes whim from Whim.  He defines whim as “thoughtless, directionless preference that almost invariably leads to boredom or frustration or both. But Whim is something very different: it can guide us because it is based in self-knowledge” (p. 41). With Whim the books that delight others need not delight us, nor should we feel obligated to be delighted. Instead, based on our own interest, we are free to enjoy the literature that we appreciate.Jacobs acknowledges that not everyone has the ability for deep attention reading, which has always been a minority pursuit (p. 106). The extreme reader, he writes, is a rare bird—born, not made (p. 107). He is uncertain that an adult who has never practiced deep attention can learn how. But he is confident that anyone who once had this faculty can recover it (p. 116). It is for such people that he writes this The Pleasures of Reading (p. 108).Along the way, Jacobs offers excellent advice for reading at Whim. While reading, as such, does not make anyone a better person (pp. 52-53), it provides many benefits when done according to Whim. Start by reading slowly and disregard speed reading (pp. 67-78). Mark most books (not novels) to foster retention and for reference (pp. 57-61). Since people have always struggled with distractions and the ability to concentrate (p. 90) he recommends seeking out solitude and developing a cone of silence (p. 117). Using other devices such as a Kindle (pp. 61-67, 81-82) might also reduce distractions. Since leisure activity is largely a retreat to the imagination, reading becomes the perfect leisure activity (p. 122), partly because “the point of books is to combat loneliness” (p. 135). Also, the act of read to others is associated with being loved, especially by children (p. 146).The Pleasures of Reading is creatively structured. There are no table of contents, no chapters (just highlighted subpoints), no normal footnotes (but references in “An Essay on Sources” that concludes the book), and no indexes of any kind. And while this is creative, it is frustrating if the reader is trying to return to a particular subject. I found this design more distracting than helpful.On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, probably because I resonate with these words, “…when the reason for our raptness is sheer and unmotivated delight. This is what makes ‘readers’ as opposed to ‘people who read.’ To be lost in a book is genuinely addictive: someone who has had it a few times wants it again.”Reviewed by Gary E. Gilley, Pastor-teacher at Southern View Chapel

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A Delightful Celebration of Reading
  

*by S***S on Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2013*

I serendipitously stumbled across this book as I was shopping on Amazon's Kindle Store.  I thought to myself, "A book about why reading is awesome? Sounds like fun!"  So I fell prey to that diabolical temptation, the "Buy with One Click" button.  That was yesterday.  Despite the fact that I have three books open right now, I thought, "I'll read the first couple of pages."  And here I am today, and the book is done.  It's short and exceedingly readable, but so wonderful in a lot of ways.  As a 40-something person, I'm at that place in life where I think about all the books I've yet to read, and that if I'm lucky I'm halfway through my lifespan.  Still, it has occurred to me that I'd best get a whole lot more serious about reading books that are important for me to read!  So I've been planning out which books I need to tackle.In waltzes Prof. Jacobs and urgently begs me to forget about any such madness.It's a rare and amazing thing that a Professor of English Literature would give me this crucial advice: Read at Whim! Read at Whim!  He argues that if reading becomes a duty or a thing to get over with, it becomes soul-killing and empty.  I keep unconsciously relating "important books" with my educational career: Hurry up! Get these things read now, before someone finds out what a hack you are!  You need to be able to tell people you've read these books, or you'll be an intellectual laughingstock!Jacobs' playful (and I think more than half-serious) suggestion: LIE!  Find enough information on these "important" books from the internet that you can evince some basic level of familiarity with them, throw in a couple of knowing comments to your friends....and get back to spending the bulk of your leisure time reading books in which you can truly delight.  Get lost in them, experiencing the matchless pleasure that comes with it!  This is because in order to truly benefit from any book, you have to take it on its own terms and truly love it for its own sake.By no means should this be taken to construe that Prof. Jacobs advocates reading nothing but brain-candy novels (though he staunchly defends the worth of such reading!). Remember: he's a literature professor, after all.  He is driving at the point that you can get the full benefit of a book only when you are ready to receive what it has for you.  If you're not ready to receive Tolstoy right now, revel in J.K. Rowling! (though Rowling isn't my cup of tea, personally). As you learn to delight in reading, you will find yourself ready to receive more of the "important" books, and in not in the manner of flogging yourself until you march through a torturous tome.  Instead, you will increasingly be able to identify the truly delightful elements of a book that you have never seen before.What seems to lie at the heart of all this is to develop one's capacity for "deep attention."  This is a way of reading that is rare indeed...all the more endangered by a world driven to insane levels of A.D.D. by digital, social media, and musical distractions.  Deep reading is the sort practiced by medieval monks: reading slowly, deliberately...meditating and ruminating on the wise counsel brought to you by excellent books.  It takes discipline over time to develop the silence and focused attention that such excellent works require.  Obviously, it doesn't take great mental discipline to read a Tom Clancy novel (now THERE'S an author who is right up my alley)...but the good news is that any form of enjoyable long-form reading can help you develop the focused attention over time that will make bring you to the place where you ARE ready to receive the riches in a truly "great" piece of literature.Jacobs discusses so many intriguing topics in this little book, including the radical idea that our current educational system does NOT provide fertile opportunities to develop this essential "deep attention."  Instead it is structured to foster "hyper attention," which is quick scanning to gather information.  Ironically, even literature classes do little to develop a deep love of books, because they are time-limited and require exams, essays and papers.  In other words, they cannot help but to turn reading into an information-compiling exercise.  Now, Jacobs acknowledges the validity of "hyper attention" (quick reading for information-- and indeed many pursuits require just that skill.  However, it is impossible to experience the true joys of reading until we discipline our minds to be silent, block out interruptions, slow down, and soak in excellent books.  The good news is, those different modes of thinking need not be mutually exclusive!I got a great deal out of this little book.  I cannot help but believe that we would benefit as a society I rich ways by Jacobs' exhortations to silence, solitude, meditation, focus.  We needn't become Luddites, throwing way our iPads and smart phones.  However, truly great ideas come out of minds that can focus attention and think deeply!

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Flawed pleasure
  

*by M***H on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2020*

He deserves five stars for the passionate and lucid defence of the *pleasure* of reading in the opening pages. But there are several  arguments that don't hold water for me,  some so bad they barely deserve a star. So my three stars reflect a text that goes up and down the star rating like a roller coaster,. And, like a roller coaster, the book is an enjoyable ride and a pleasure to read..He has some scathing things to say about Bloom, Van Doren, Fadiman, et. al. for turning the pleasure of reading into a dour muscle building programme. This really hits the mark, as does his defence of J.K. Rowling against the attacks of Bloom. (Personally I quickly gave up on Harry Potter, but I see no reason to dismiss her when she is loved by so many children. And, as Jacobs points out, even his fellow "literature is hard graft" expert Van Doren includes her on his (mostly) weighty list of 200 books you must read, so Bloom is out on a limb here and reveals himself as another flawed critic. Aren't they all!)Jacobs (rightly) recommends pleasure as the touchstone for reading, but is on dodgy ground when he suggests that the choice of what to read should be made by Whim. He capitalises whim to indicate that this should not truly be by whim... otherwise people might see  "Jane Austen with Vampires" in a book shop and buy it for no other reason than liking vampires, Jane Austen. and pop art covers. He suggests there should be some considered appraisal to moderate whim - having run out of Jane Austen novels one might go upstream and read what she read, and therefore, for example, read David Hume... I've tried reading David Hume, and gave up very quickly. Having a penchant for popular philosophy, I've encountered David Hume's ideas and enjoyed them greatly, but the original is far too dry and difficult to generate any pleasure for me.Even Bloom doesn't have Hume on his list of weighty books to read, indeed includes hardly any philosophers because (rightly,  I think) they don't provide enough aesthetic delight (i.e., are not just hard but are no pleasure to read...) I think the reader would be much better consulting Bloom's list of novels from the same era, that certainly worked for me (Walter Scott! Thanks Harold...)Jacobs also suggests going downstream is a mistake because the works are not going to be challenging enough. But downstream from Austen is Dickens, and Jacobs (rightly) earlier praises Dickens to the heights. So he is contradicting himself.The main problem with this book might be that Jacobs is a professor. He has to find some reason for his students to read Hume,and other set texts. Hume's Treatise, Machiavelli's Prince, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight might yield some pleasures, alongside a lot of hard, very non-pleasurable graft, but why should the general reader seek them out? They would be better going downstream to Dickens and P.G. Wodehouse to find  pleasure in reading.

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*Last updated: 2026-01-26*