On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books

by Karen Swallow Prior

Leland Ryken (Foreword)

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Book cover for On Reading Well

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Publishers Weekly starred review
A Best Book of 2018 in Religion,
Publishers Weekly

Reading great literature well has the power to cultivate virtue, says acclaimed author Karen Swallow Prior. In this book, she takes readers on a guided tour through works of great literature both ancient and modern, exploring twelve virtues that philosophers and theologians throughout history have identified as most essential for good character and the good life.

Covering authors from Henry Fielding to Cormac McCarthy, Jane Austen to George Saunders, and Flannery O'Connor to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Prior explores some of the most compelling universal themes found in the pages of classic books, helping readers learn to love life, literature, and God through their encounters with great writing. The book includes end-of-chapter reflection questions geared toward book club discussions, original artwork throughout, and a foreword by Leland Ryken. The hardcover edition was named a Best Book of 2018 in Religion by Publishers Weekly.

"[A] lively treatise on building character through books.'"--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
  • ISBN10 1587433966
  • ISBN13 9781587433962
  • Publish Date 4 September 2018
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 13 January 2022
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher Baker Publishing Group
  • Imprint Brazos Press, Div of Baker Publishing Group
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 272
  • Language English