This is a really interesting collection of thoughts and essays on why we read (specifically non-fiction). A nice mix of well-known names and those who were new to me. I was particularly pleased to see Esme Weijun Wang and Hilton Als included!

I liked the premise but with 70 views it sort of never really gets going. There's a few gems in here, but I guess there's really only so many reasons we read, and so some points repeat. I think fewer authors and more depth on differing perspectives would have been a better read.

I thought this book would be interesting and thought-provoking, but I was wrong. I found it rather dull and repetitive, with nothing very new or insightful. It would have made a mildly interesting two-page magazine article, but it really didn't work as a book. I wouldn't recommend it.

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

Why we read by Josephine greywoode

⭐️⭐️ (sadly a 2.5 and a DNF)

Well I haven’t had a DNF on here for a long time, I always try to persevere with a book to see where it’s going but with this one I can sadly see where it’s going and I think it’s going to be much of the same.

I was provided this through @netgalley and it sounded like a great concept. 70 authors each delving into a straight forward question ‘why do we read?’ But it did not end up to be what I expected.

Maybe I should have heard warning bells at my main issue 70 authors. Whilst I still think the concept behind this book is great I just think it has been poorly executed . Firstly i think 70 is too many contributors , when I started this book I was full of intrigue and was highlighting quotes and tabbing like crazy but then I started to realise just as some authors had proposed interesting theories that I wanted to explore more the next authors essay would begin .
The main problem can be fixed in a very simple way . It needs streamlining , less authors and more from the authors that do make it to the book . Instead I found that a lot of what I was reading was repetitive and I began to feel a bit frustrated with the book.
Lots of promise but sadly not for me

Why We Read is a compilation of short essays from seventy writers on their experiences of and reasons for reading non-fiction. The essays range from a few paragraphs to a few pages in length, so this is a good book for dipping into when you have a couple of minutes, and it would appeal to anyone who likes hearing authors talk about their reading and writing habits at book events.

Some of the essays cover ground which could apply to reading either fiction or non-fiction, while some are grounded in specific non-fiction topics of interest to the writer. Some tackle the importance of the written word itself and its reliability in a sea of more ephemeral content, or the notion of reading as a key to understanding the experiences and thoughts of others.

I read this book this morning . I started it and I had no idea what to expect but I carried on with the book and enjoyed it, I felt I learned something which is why I read books. So thank you I had an informative few hours and I will be recommending this book to others. 5 stars I loved the cover and also the book. Thank you to Josephine Greywoode for writing this wonderful book and Netgalley for allowing me to review it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was remarkable that there seem to be as many different reasons to read nonfiction as there are to read fiction. Some read nonfiction mainly for work whereas others read it with a sense of wonder at discovering new information. Fascinating to read the reasons why.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this collection of essays (some short some longer) all about thinking why we read non fiction books.

As someone reads a lot of non fiction I enjoyed thinking about why I do this, and what I want from these books. As will all books that are collections of essays etc not everything appeals and this is a book to dip in and out of rather than reading cover to cover in one go.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a handy little book of essays on reading non-fiction penned by just about every bestselling non-fic author of the last decade you can think of. A good primer, or perhaps even a coffee table book, this book has a lot more breadth than depth, taking in disciplines ranging from religious studies to the sciences. This book is probably best read by dipping into it to seek out your favourite thinkers, or maybe to find something new to read elsewhere - university staff might also find it useful to set a few of these as required reading for students in any discipline to really drive home the importance of reading alongside study.

This book is, at its strongest, a manifesto for the enfranchising power of reading. At it's weakest, it's a lot of writers driving home the same points over and over. It seems that there has been no differentiation between authors with the prompt given - why do you read? So, really, many of them have had the same ideas. The best ones are the essays that have taken the time and space to really consider the importance of reading - Priya Satia and Sofi Thanhauser's pieces stand out in this regard. It seems that what this has come down to is sheer quantity over quality. I think ultimately 10-15 writers going in depth might have worked better for me.

Ultimately, a fun one to dip into, or a good starting off point for wider reading.

A collection of opinions from non fiction authors on why they read nonfiction. That's it.

First of all, I'm a fiction reader and I tend to seek non fiction only when the topic interest me, and I do tend to lean towards memoirs or essay collections. So this book might not be it for me but maybe it could motivate me to pick up more nonfiction books.

But some of these opinions were condescending and pretentious that I find it difficult to continue forward with the rest and there are a lot of repetitive opinions here. I feel like this book was also not structured well, like they just collected essays from authors and published it into one book, which made it hard for me to read because there are either some repetitive ones repeatedly or some that feels so contrast to the previous one that I found it hard to read.

This is a collection of 70 pieces of writing on the topic of reading non-fiction. Many of the writers chosen speak about reading quite broadly, and some seem outright confused about the assignment, talking largely about fiction. In retrospect, I shouldn’t be surprised that the responses are largely predictable, with some authors discussing their personal need to read (often sounding ridiculously pretentious as they do so) and others talking about how reading elevates people, or even the entire human race. Some make sure to add a soupçon of contempt for those who don’t read, or at least hasten to make it clear that the illiterate are utterly impoverished, morally deficient, and overall doomed.

Why do I read non-fiction? I’m curious. That’s it. I don’t expect enlightenment, and I’m not seeking it. I just want to know things, and crave the moment where I can excitedly turn to someone else and share what I just read in tones of unbelief.

I suppose I also seek out non-fiction in specific moods, when I’m anxious or restless and I can’t bear to live in other people’s emotions too much. So I read non-fiction in much the same way as I read fiction, just in a different mood: to escape.

There. Now I’ve contributed.

Why We Read is a book about books - a vast collection of essays from writers all trying to explain and analyse why we read non-fiction and what we gain from it.

The definition of a mixed-bag, we hear the most clear-cut answers about the scientific reasons, about the knowledge we obtain, to musings and ponderings about why we as humans feel compelled to read and write and the cerebral, emotional desires to surround ourselves with words.

Of course, nobody is going to like every submission, especially one with 70 contributors - and I definitely found some of these a bit impassionate and mildly pretentious but I would still definitely recommend any book lover to pick this up and think about why you read.

A fascinating read from 70 writers exploring why they choose to read non-fiction. I was curious to read this, as I am a person who almost exclusively reads fiction, for both work and pleasure. Each writer muses on their passion and I was surprised by the range of reasons that they shared, some found that fiction was untrustworthy, others that non-fiction gave them new lenses to view the world and make sense of our planet, or that it gave their brain a workout. The range of non-fiction they mentioned included biographies, letters and essays, historical tomes and general knowledge. I had never before considered reading the letters and musings of someone from the past as a way of getting to know them and understand their perspective better. Perhaps now I will.

As an avid reader of non fiction and biographies I was intrigued by the concept of this book. Unfortunately I found it to be a bit boring and quite repetitive so I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

I requested this book because I thought it was about reading nonfiction but a lot of the essays were about fiction, plays, etc. There was also no introduction and no editorial material - no about the author or explanation of the themes or why particular authors were approached to take part. I found it a bit repetitive and it wasn't what I'd expected it to be - I'm a big non-fiction reader so that aspect had particularly appealed to me.

I struggled to enjoy this book as I found much of it dull. Around 70 authors write a short piece on ' Why We Read'. Some take it very literally and talk about brain functions and connecting neurons, others refer to books they have enjoyed a lot. Many felt pretentious as though instead of simply saying sometime like 'because it gives me great joy and I lard a lot from reading' they feel they have to come up with some cerebral response which is often just dull and can feel like an academic treatise.

Not quite what I thought it was,
I think I was hoping for something easier.... Books recommended by the authors and why they liked them, but this wasn't.
It had some interesting points, but maybe a bit deeper then I expected!
Thank you netgalley.

Ponder The Thoughts…
Writers and readers give their reasoning on why it is we read. Seventy pieces here to ponder their thoughts and, in turn, our own. It’s an interesting and readable collection, both thought provoking and engaging.

It's an interesting collection, hearing the thoughts of many renouned writers on why we read. I'm always fascinated by the many different reasons people are drawn to writing and telling stories. That said, this felt quite devoid of heart. A few passages felt like they hit on the right thing but a lot of it seemed more surface or analytical rather than the depth of the why. This might be me bringing my own persepctive to it but it meant there was little of the joy I was hoping from the initial question. The pieces that hit home are well worth reading but I didn't find enough that engaged me.