Why We Read

On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER*
*A WGN Radio Best Book of 2024*
*A Good Housekeeping Reads pick*

A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a "beloved and wonderful writer" (George Saunders), teacher, bibliophile, and Thurber Prize Semifinalist

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, featuring fan-favorite classics to contemporary works and more:

• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
• The Wizard of Oz
• Gone Girl
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Little Fires Everywhere
• The Diary of Anne Frank
• Jane Eyre
• …and more!

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