Tagreading

When to Give Up on a Book

How many pages of a book should you read before deciding it’s not worth your time? We’ve talked before about this question, but now there’s a new formula to help with that decision based on your age. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...

The True Alchemists

In his collection of essays, A Temple of Texts, writer William Gass observed: “The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The True Alchemists” The great...

James Baldwin Quote

In 1963, the writer James Baldwin was the subject of a profile in LIFE magazine, in which he observed, “You think your pain and heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” This is part of a complete episode...