Reading

Why do we read and have we always read in the same way? <i>Reading: A cultural practice</i> uses a rich variety of literary and visual sources to explore how reading has changed and continues to change in response to new technologies and shifting social pressures. Drawing on medieval illustrations classic fiction the art and literature of the Bloomsbury Group and contemporary e-culture the book shows that there is no single unchanging thing called 'reading'-instead it is something that mutates over time. Throughout history ways of reading and theories of reading have been shaped by religious and educational institutions. This continues to be true but current approaches to reading are also conditioned by debates over digital culture and social media use. <i>Reading: A cultural practice</i> re-frames these contemporary preoccupations by offering a long view on how our notions of books and reading alter according to social and historical context.