The Lost Art Of Reading Sasquatch Books

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 1, 2025, 12:29 AM

Reading is a revolutionary act, an act of engagement in a culture that wants us to disengage. In The Lost Art of Reading, David L. Ulin asks a number of timely questions – why is literature important? What does it offer, especially now? Blending commentary with memoir, Ulin addresses the importance of the simple act of reading in an increasingly digital culture. Reading a book, flipping through hard pages, or shuffling them on screen – it doesn’t matter.

The key is the act of reading, and it’s seriousness and depth. Ulin emphasizes the importance of reflection and pause allowed by stopping to read a book, and the accompanying focus required to let the mind run free in a world that is not one’s own. Are we willing to risk our collective interest in contemplation, nuanced thinking, and empathy? Far from preaching to the choir, The Lost Art of Reading is a call to arms, or rather, to pages. There is currently no bio information for this author. I am a reader who, during a few anxiety-driven years, found myself caught up in a dizzying attempt to be connected and “in the know”, leaving very little time for reflection.

I believe that Ulin is speaking to that kind of reader. His essay is an exhortation to inspire the distracted reader to remember what they once knew, as opposed to an argument to convert the resistant to a reading life.—The Everything of Books Based in Seattle for more than 30 years, Sasquatch Books, together with our children’s imprint Little Bigfoot, publish books by the most gifted writers, artists, chefs, naturalists, and thought leaders in the Pacific Northwest... The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time by David L. Ulin This page is available to subscribers.

Click here to sign in or get access. Seattle. Sasquatch. 2010. vi + 151 pages. $12.95.

isbn 978-1-57061- 670-9 We have all experienced it before: while attempting to read, our phone pings, alerting us to the arrival of a new text, email, Tweet, or status update. And try as we might to forget that it happened and continue reading, we simply cannot ignore the itching anxiety we feel at not knowing immediately what it says. We stop reading (oftentimes midsentence), put down the book, and check our phones, immersing ourselves in a technologically driven world that David Ulin calls "the buzz." In his newest book, The Lost Art of... This is not, however, a personal vendetta against technology; in fact, as he states in the book, Ulin himself is an avid user of such technologies as the iPod, the Blackberry, and various e-readers. And, as he so astutely points out, books also belong on the technological continuum: the invention of movable type radicalized the entire world and shaped the future of literacy.

Instead, the book serves to create a dialogue between print and technology, presenting both as viable ways to do what Ulin considers most important in today's changing world: reading. David L. Ulin The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time (Sasquatch Books, October 2010) Reading is a revolutionary act, an act of engagement in a culture that wants us to disengage. In The Lost Art of Reading, David L. Ulin asks a number of timely questions – why is literature important?

What does it offer, especially now? Blending commentary with memoir, Ulin addresses the importance of the simple act of reading in an increasingly digital culture. Reading a book, flipping through hard pages, or shuffling them on screen – it doesn’t matter. The key is the act of reading, and it’s seriousness and depth. Ulin emphasizes the importance of reflection and pause allowed by stopping to read a book, and the accompanying focus required to let the mind run free in a world that is not one’s own. Are we willing to risk our collective interest in contemplation, nuanced thinking, and empathy?

Far from preaching to the choir, The Lost Art of Reading is a call to arms, or rather, to pages. “Expanding on a 2009 essay, Ulin, former book review editor of the Los Angeles Times, addresses the act of reading and its place in our information overloaded age. Ulin relies mainly on his own experiences as a loyal reader–specifically a recent attempt to reread The Great Gatsby alongside his son Noah’s high school English class–which goes devastatingly wrong (‘You’d fail if you... Ulin uses this incident to frame the larger narrative, fluently addressing the art and craft of literature, the reader’s participation, the writer and the writing–and the act of rereading. He addresses in greater depth distractions from reading, specifically the ever-present seductions of technology, and the experience of reading on a screen. Moving toward an optimistic note, Ulin argues that technology can enlarge us, citing Rick Moody and Jennifer Egan as writers who embrace this ever-changing landscape.

Ulin’s short book not only puts forth a strong and passionate case for reading but also compiles a reading list of writers and critics (e.g., Anne Fadiman, Joan Didion, David Shields) who have influenced... “As the media focus on the business of e-books, ardent readers ponder the effects electronic devices are having on what and how we read and the viability of literary culture. Ulin, book critic at the Los Angeles Times, confesses to his own changed reading habits as he partakes of ‘the instant gratifications of the information stream’ in this thoughtful, candid, and gratifyingly balanced inquiry. He writes with surpassing eloquence and insight about what books have meant to him since childhood, his son’s reading of The Great Gatsby and his own rereading of Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, and how books ‘serve... And his closing vision of a ‘quiet revolution’ in which reading ‘is an act of resistance in a landscape of distraction’ is most inspiriting.” —Booklist "The new introduction and afterword bring fresh relevance to this insightful rumination on the act of reading--as a path to critical thinking, individual and political identity, civic engagement, and resistance.

The former LA Times book critic expands his short book, rich in ideas, on the consequence of reading to include the considerations of fake news, siloed information, and the connections between critical thinking as... Here is the case for reading as a political act in both public and private gestures, and for the ways it enlarges the world and our frames of reference, all the while keeping us... No Tags, Be the first to tag this record! Ulin, D. L. (2018).

The lost art of reading: books and resistance in a troubled time. Second edition. Sasquatch Books. Ulin, David L.. 2018. The Lost Art of Reading: Books and Resistance in a Troubled Time.

Sasquatch Books. Ulin, David L., The Lost Art of Reading: Books and Resistance in a Troubled Time. Sasquatch Books, 2018. The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Are So Important in a Distracted Time (Sasquatch Books) Los Angeles Times book critic David L. Ulin will discuss and sign his new boook on the importance of reading in a digital culture, The Lost Art of Reading.

Reading is a revolutionary act, an act of engagement in a culture that wants us to disengage. In The Lost Art of Reading, David L. Ulin asks a number of timely questions — why is literature important? What does it offer, especially now? Blending commentary with memoir, Ulin addresses the importance of the simple act of reading in an increasingly digital culture. Reading a book, flipping through hard pages, or shuffling them on screen — it doesn’t matter.

The key is the act of reading, the seriousness and depth. Ulin emphasizes the importance of reflection and pause allowed by stopping to read a book, and the focus required to let the mind run free in a world that is not one's own. Far from preaching to the choir, The Lost Art of Reading is a call to arms, or rather, pages. David L. Ulin was book editor of the Los Angeles Times from 2005–2010. He is the author of The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith (Viking, 2004; Penguin, 2005), selected as a Best Book of 2004 by the San...

He has edited two anthologies of Southern California literature: Another City: Writing from Los Angeles (City Lights, 2001), a Los Angeles Times Book Review Best Book of 2001; and Writing Los Angeles: A Literary... He has written for The Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, The New York Times Book Review, LA Weekly, Los Angeles, and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered; his essay "The Half-Birthday of the Apocalypse" was... For the 2008–2009 academic year, he was a visiting professor in the MFA in creative writing program at the California Institute of the Arts. Currently, he teaches in USC's Masters of Professional Writing program, and in the low residency MFA in creative writing program at the University of California, Riverside's Palm Desert Graduate Center. audio of discussion with author https://www.ciispod.com/view-more-1#/david-ulin/ The former LA Times book critic expands his short book, rich in ideas, on the consequence of reading to include the considerations of fake news, siloed information, and the connections between critical thinking as...

Here is the case for reading as a political act in both public and private gestures, and for the ways it enlarges the world and our frames of reference, all the while keeping us... Copy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help? Uploaded by station60.cebu on January 21, 2021 In celebration of Native American Heritage Month this November, Penguin Random House Education is highlighting books that explore Native American culture, history, and experiences. Browse our collection here: Books for Native American Heritage Month

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