I’ve been writing a bit lately on reading well. I’m mostly focused on reading Genesis well, but I did finish an unrelated (sort of) book about reading well in general. On Reading Well: Finding The Good Life Through Great Books is Karen Swallow Prior’s latest release and was my book of the week last week. By that I mean I read pretty much the whole thing over my morning cold brew at Starbucks. A fellow regular, and also a local pastor, recognized the cover while I was reading and asked if it was any good.
The short answer is yes.
On Reading Well takes readers on a journey of learning how to discover lessons on virtue in works of literature. The book covers three categories of virtues: cardinal, theological, and heavenly. Each virtue is is illustrated through analysis of a work of literature. This means that each chapter takes readers deeper into the selected work of literature and the nature of the virtue in question. Readers experience a vision of what the good life (in the classical philosophical sense) might look like by seeing it (or its opposite) in the works that Prior presents.
The introduction, which discusses reading virtuously, in the sense of looking for illustrated virtue and being a good reader, is worth the price of the book. There, Prior sets out a vision for what literature can not only be something we enjoy, but can be an aid to our growth and maturity. It is not too technical in terms of method, but lays out a clear philosophy of reading that is then demonstrated in the chapters that follow.
This is worth noting because readers might not initially grasp that the entire book is not a presentation of method. I saw a good bit of buzz about the book ahead of time, and am familiar with Prior’s writings elsewhere, so I knew what I was getting into. Honestly, if the entire book was about method, it might still be an enjoyable read if Prior wrote it. But, I much more enjoyed a short methodological overview that was then illustrated through use.
I just re-scanned the introduction because I couldn’t remember if Prior gave a rationale for why the specific 12 works of literature were chosen to illustrate the virtues that they did. I could imagine this same book with 12 different works of literature illustrating the same set of virtues. Meaning, the works she picks do a fine job of illustrating the virtues she matches them to, but it could have been a different set of 12 and still been on point. She could have chosen differently, but thinking as a teacher, I am imagining Prior picking a) books she enjoys and b) has had experience teaching for quite a while.
The end result is a book that will help show the depth of good literature. On Reading Well will help readers become better at the craft of reading and be an enjoyable foray into literature along the way. Prior is an excellent writer, and you can’t ask for more than an excellent writer thinking deeply and creatively about excellent writing.