The Gifts of Reading - Softcover

Macfarlane, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0241257344 ISBN 13: 9780241257340

Publisher: Penguin, 2016

Synopsis

Every book is a kind of gift to its reader, and the act of giving books is charged with a special emotional resonance. It is a meeting of three minds (the giver, the author, the recipient), an exchange of intellectual and psychological currency, that leaves both participants the richer. Here Robert Macfarlane recounts the story of a book he was given as a young man, and how he managed eventually to return the favour, though never repay the debt.

Commissioned in celebration of Independent Bookshop Week, this is a beautiful and moving 5,000 word essay on the power, beauty and value of the given book.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert Macfarlane is the author of Mountains of the Mind, The Wild Places, The Old Ways and Landmarks. Mountains of the Mind won the Guardian First Book Award and the Somerset Maugham Award and The Wild Places won the Boardman-Tasker Award. Both books have been adapted for television by the BBC. He is a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and writes on environmentalism, literature and travel for publications including the Guardian, the Sunday Times and The New York Times. His most recent book is The Lost Words, a spell-book for adults and children alike, illustrated by Jackie Morris.

From the Back Cover:

'This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. That gift, like so many gifts, was a book...'

In this luminous essay, Robert Macfarlane reflects on the unique emotional resonance of books given and received - and how such gifts have shaped his own life.

All proceeds from the sale of The Gifts of Reading will be donated to Migrant Offshore Aid Station.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0241257344
• ISBN 13: 9780241257340
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48