Author Interview: Alan Jacobs on The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

Posted on December 29, 2015 by PLT Staff

Interview with Alan Jacobs on his book, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Jacobs discusses his motivation for writing this book and the connection between reading and lived theology, emphasizing the need for individuals to view reading as a joy rather than an expectation.

Excerpt: “I meet and talk to and hear from many readers: I regularly get emails and letters from readers of my previous books, and those readers seem to cover a remarkably broad spectrum of education and experience. These are usually limited sorts of conversations, of course, but when I get to talk more fully with readers I discover that for all their enthusiasm they often lack confidence: they wonder whether they are reading well, with focus and attentiveness, with discretion and discernment… I wrote my book in order to try to convince such people that they needn’t be discouraged, that the habit of reading, the love is reading, is something that even in our distracted age can be cultivated and nourished.”

  • Interview Information
  • Interviewee: Alan Jacobs
  • Interviewer: PLT staff
  • Date of Interview: December 27, 2012
  • PDF: Download File »
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