The Social Life of Books: Reading Together in the Eighteenth-Century Home | 
pickThe author uses diaries, library records, and other papers as well as elocution guides to reconstruct who was reading what in the 18th century and how. Reading was much more of a shared activity with people reading aloud to each other from newspapers, periodicals, non fiction, joke books, and religious works, and a good reading voice was essential.
pick(2017) We think of reading as a solitary activity, but in eighteenth century England, reading was also a social one: families read together in the evening, friends read to one other, readers formed clubs to read aloud from novels, histories, and plays. William's study discusses the why, where, who, how, and what of reading in company and it's a fascinating world with very different habits of literary consumption.
Interesting: the 18th century book market saw a demand for “miscellanies,“ collections of choice excerpts from longer works.
Some critics at the time were concerned about the ruin of culture due to the new generation's education through shallow excerpts instead of longer texts. Three hundred years later I share their concern, but maybe it's just history rhyming again.
1. Generally I will try to stop at the end of a chapter or another place that makes sense, but not always.
2. Both. During the work week, usually at night and sometimes at lunch. Weekends, any time I can.
3. Yes
#whenyouread
Fascinating. 1d