A new blog on reading, literature, and the book industry, by Julie Wilson, auhtor and novelist

An introduction.

On my way to work, I see people reading. In coffee shops, on transit. Standing at a stoplight, a reader will cross my path, book wide open. Because, by nature, I’m curious; because, by profession, I work in publishing; and, because, by compulsion, I want to understand the cult of readership — this card carrying, freak flag flying international membership that exists at once alone in bed, in groups, and in flourishing online communities — I watch you read.

8:45 a.m. on a weekday morning. There are no fewer than 20-30 reader sightings on my commute into downtown Toronto. As we inch our way aboard the Red Rocket, you sit beside me. You’re reading Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews. You’re very close, so I know you’re on page 87. While we ride, I learn other things about you. Some are obvious. That you’re a man or woman is without question. But that ring is interesting, or the scar above your left eyebrow. You continue to read.

The intersection between reader and a precise piece of text fascinates me. This reader may have started the book the night before in one location, to pick it up again in another. In between, the world has changed a little, or a lot. So has she. What words, right then, I can’t help but wonder, are revealing themselves for the first time? (The tenth time?) How do they traverse the divide between constructed narrative and lived experience? I go to the bookstore, into the stacks, and pull the title from the shelves. (more…)

Tags: Chapter and Verse, publishing, reading
Posted in Re: Reading  •  No Comments