“We want to believe we are more than our brains. Are we? One of the reasons we continue to enjoy reading contemporary novels is that this is one of many compelling questions that they explore, because certain kinds of reading are above all a stimulus for our own minds. There is a tension or at least a spectrum associated with reading today. On the one hand there is a desire for the soundbite, for the meaningful fragment that conveys a great deal as economically as possible. On the other is the resilience of the literary text in all its richness and ambiguity.”
To celebrate the release of its 600th title in the Very Short Introduction Series, Oxford University Press has published Reading: A Very Short Introduction. Author Belinda Jack tells the story of reading, ranging from the ancient world to digital texts, erotica to book burnings, and digital firewalls to Harry Potter, in a bid to uncover why reading is such an important part of our lives.
For much of human history reading was the preserve of the elite, and most reading meant being read to. Innovations in printing, paper-making, and transport, combined with the rise of public education from the late eighteenth century on, brought a dramatic rise in literacy in many parts of the world. Established links between a nation’s levels of literacy and its economy led to the promotion of reading for political ends.
But, equally, reading has been associated with subversive ideas, leading to censorship through multiple channels: denying access to education, controlling publishing, destroying libraries, and even the burning of authors and their works. Indeed, the works of Voltaire were so often burned that an enterprising Parisian publisher produced a fire-proof edition, decorated with a phoenix.
But, reading is a collaborative act between an author and a reader, and one which can never be wholly controlled.
Commissioning editor Andrea Keegan said the topic of reading was a natural choice to celebrate the milestone of the 600th title in the VSI series.
“Reading is vastly important in this increasingly digitized world. It can expand imagination, reduce stress, improve memory, help with communication and increase knowledge – and if the VSI series can make even a small contribution to this, then I think it is a worthwhile endeavour.”
The Very Short Introductions series contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area, including War and Technology, Economics, Modern India, Poverty, Shakespeare’s Tragedies, Fairy Tale and Genomics. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Keegan said she was thrilled about the success of the series that she enjoys creating.
“When I wrote a blog post around the publication of the 400th VSI, I described my job as the best commissioning job in the world. Two hundred VSIs on, and I am pleased to say that I still feel the same way! I cannot quite believe that back in 2009 we were deciding which VSI should be the 200th (in the end it was on Free Speech), and ten years later here we are, publishing the 600th book in this incredible series. There are many things I love about working on the VSIs, but the variety of topics and the number of talented, passionate authors I get to work with are the main reasons that I have been the series’ editor for 15 years.”
Leave a Reply