Includes appendix.

C. S. Lewis, bestselling author of classics like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, is one of the literary greats of the twentienth century. Now, collected for the first time are Lewis's own writings on the transformative practice of reading - a practice, he thought, that gives us joy as well as a moral compass in our daily lives.

Cultivated from his many essays, articles, letters, as well as his classic works, The Reading Life includes his writings on the wisdom of "reading two old books for every new one," and why children's books aren't just for children, and why reading "for fun" is the whole point of choosing what to read - plus much more. In the end, this collection from one of our wisest and most enduring teachers reveals not only why we should love the written word, but how literature transforms and inspires us.