I have a hard time enjoying a book about reading that isn't, itself, a pleasure to read. This is pseudo-philosophy, pseudo-literary criticism, pseudo-pedagogy. Better writers have written far better books on this topic. Not worth the time it took to read it.

Wise and just real nice to read.

In the age of speed and plenty, this is a good push-back.

I like a good philosophical edge, and this book has it covered.

There are many things I appreciate about this book -- and some things I'm not so sure about. He talks about how even silent reading is auditory. I think it depends on your learning modalities. I do NOT 'hear' myself read, even when I slow down to read more deliberately...but that's about the only place I deviate from his message.

Slow, deliberate, real reading. Why are we all about speed? Why are reading tests timed? How does that cripple our kids? And what could we be doing instead?

Newkirk gives concrete ideas and practical suggestions for the classroom teacher. He makes an important case for reading slowly for pleasure, and reading slowly when we're reading for information. He encourages teachers to do 'cold' readings of works with students -- if students ONLY ever see us teaching works we've studied and prepared, they'll never really know what an experienced reader does when faced with a new piece. I really like that idea, and wish I could do that.

Close reading, but aesthetic reading too...he honors them all.

Newkirk never disappoints me. As a newer teacher, I used to think of myself as challenging tradition. This book challenged that, as it gets to the heart, the tradition, of why and how we truly read.