"This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning."
"Challenge has become a dirty word in literary circles, Robert Rubsam wrote recently: "This era of declining literacy and unsteady sales has led publishers to seek out writing that is summarizable, adaptable." But books that demand effort, Rubsam argues, can help us encounter new possibilities in both literature and life. "Whatever the limitations of the marketplace, great writing remains as capable as ever of breaking open your sense of the world and your place in it," Rubsam writes. Today's newsletter rounds up some of our recommendations for books that will challenge you and grab your attention."
"I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. "Walking near my house in Seattle on a rainy fall day, I saw a number of leaves stuck to the sidewalk with rain beaded on them. This one was my favorite," Dave B., 65, writes. I'll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks."
A curated selection of book recommendations encourages readers to choose demanding literature that challenges and expands perspective. Market pressures favor writing that is easily summarizable and adaptable, reducing risk for publishers and shaping what reaches readers. Works that require effort can open new possibilities in both literature and life and can break open a reader’s sense of the world and place within it. Recommendations vary: some exercise different intellectual reading muscles, while others aim to seize attention and interrupt phone habits. Reader contributions that capture everyday awe are featured and will continue to be showcased.
Read at The Atlantic
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