Creaking open the pages of a heavy hardback, or bending the spine of a poetry book over your knee on the train; squinting over curled-up pages by the light of a candle, or scribbling notes in the margins in the corner of a sprawling library. There are many who read as if for life; many for whom, as David Dickinson explores, reading does not just feed the mind but also the soul. Reading as if for Life takes us beyond the spirituality of sacred texts, and into the spiritual possibilities of 'secular' literature: the opportunity to find or empty oneself, the chance to engage in silent conversation with an absent other, the appreciation of beauty and art, the possibility of enlightenment. From Augustine of Hippo to Thomas Hardy, Iris Murdoch, the poetry of R.S. Thomas, Duffy and Donne, and many other literary works, David Dickinson explores how writers throughout the centuries have understood and experienced their own spirituality of reading. For Dickinson, these myriad journeys all bring us closer to an encounter with God, dreaming ourselves into a world beyond. This book invites its readers to see reading as a valuable spiritual exercise.



by David Dickinson



Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. The Beginnings of a Spirituality of Reading 3. Reading Charitably 4. Circling the Text 5. Self-Identity and Reading 6. Silent Conversation with the Absent Other 7. Giving Texts Holy Attention 8. The Beauty of Books 9. Contemplative Reading 10. Escaping the Net Bibliography