The Empathy and Engagement of Reading

Bibliophiles everywhere know the sweet feeling of getting lost in a book. And like all good literary snobs, we tend to think that full immersion requires a distraction-free relationship between reader and text. But was it always so? After examining early modern French literature, Geoffrey Turnovsky (Reading Typographically: Immersed in Print in Early Modern France) thinks that the answer might not be so simple. In this episode, Jacke and Geoffrey discuss the stereotypes and myths centering around the act of reading a print-based book - and what insights they might deliver to readers in an age of digitization. PLUS Liz Rosenberg (A Strange Life: Selected Essays of Louisa May Alcott) stops by to discuss her choice for the last book she will ever read.

Enjoy this episode? Looking for something else? Try these from our archives:

• 625 Louisa May Alcott - The Essays (with Liz Rosenberg)
• 355 Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• 609 Swimming in Paris (with Colombe Schneck)

The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at gabrielruizbernal.com.

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