Peter Batten celebrates the art of reading . . .

We can never know beforehand what will change us or indeed what kinds of change we want. A book can speak to us and never answer back; it can conjure up the past and the voices of the dead. But we never  tell a book a story. Why have an analysis when you can read?

Adam Phillips 

I began to be able to read at about age three. My grandmother was living in our flat, with lots of time on her hands, and she decided to teach me. Sadly, she did not live long enough to watch me become obsessed with books and then with ‘literature’. I owe her a great debt. Continue reading Why have an analysis when you can read? →