Stop What You're Doing and Read This!

"And imaginary though it was -- a world invented by poets and novelists -- it was as real to her as the world from which she was escaping. In fact, the books were less a wall than a ladder. By reading them, and learning from them, and then flourishing academically at school, she climbed up and away to freedom." -Blake Morrison

Stop What You're Doing and Read This! is an wonderfully composed collection of essays on the importance of reading. Ten intriguing literary minds each hash out what exactly is so great about reading, why we need stories, and why literature is such a great foundation for a healthy society.

Crafting their ideas with a literary expertise I found both stunning and intellectually stimulating, each of these writers gives explicit reasoning on why reading is such a great opportunity and why, in a world rife with technology, it's sometimes better to just sit down and read a book for a few hours.

As an avid reader and aspiring author, I found each new essay truly inspiring. Never have I been so excited not only to read, but to write as well. I've known, for as long as I can remember, that reading was important. It's always been a huge part of my life and the way I live it, but I have never heard it explained quite so eloquently as each of these essays did.

I would recommend it to anyone who values reading or wants to realize its full value. You should absolutely Stop What You're Doing and Read This!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

"Reading is primarily a symptom. Of a healthy imagination, of our interest in this and other worlds, of our ability to be still and quiet, of our ability to dream during daylight." -Mark Haddon