In this candid and concise volume, Kyle Conway, author of The Art of Communication in a Polarized World, considers how we can open ourselves to others and to ideas that scare us by reading difficult texts. Conway argues that because we resist ideas we don't understand, we must embrace confusion as a constitutive part of understanding and meaningful exchange, whether between a reader and a text or between two people.
Building on the work of hermeneutics scholar Paul Ricoeur, Conway evaluates the recurring paradox of miscommunication that results in deeper understanding and proposes strategies for reading that will allow individuals give up the illusion of certainty. In elegant and compelling prose, Conway introduces readers to the idea that it is through uncertainty that we can gain access to new and meaningful worlds-those of texts and other people. Preface: How to Read this Book
Introduction: What Is Reading?
Chapter 1: To Read Is to Feel Lost
Chapter 2: To Read Is to Wander
Chapter 3: To Read Is to Feel Love
Chapter 4: To Read Is to Be Free
Conclusion: To Read Is to Live with Other PeopleReferences "To read like you mean it is to find ways to live with other people, exploring their worlds as they explore yours." "A compelling book about the heart of reading. Conway affirms the primordial relationship between the word and the world and helps us read anything, including ourselves, with seriousness and care." In elegant and compelling prose, How to Read Like You Mean It introduces readers to the idea that it is through ambiguity that we can gain access to new, profound worlds-those of texts and other people. This candid, concise volume explores how we can open ourselves up to the ideas and people that scare us by reading difficult texts.
