Read Carefully!

Conceptualizing Reading as Care in The Book of Form & Emptiness and My Salinger Year

Abstract

Reading and care are two concepts which inspire extensive discussions in current research, especially because both of them are perceived to be in crisis and, as a result, reconsidered and re-conceptualized. Despite this fact and despite conceptual overlaps in areas such as attention, affect and attachment, reading and care have not been contextualized or studied in relationship to each other comprehensively. Delving deeper into intersections of reading and care, this article inquires which concepts of reading emerge when it is viewed through the lens of care. Studying the two contemporary American works My Salinger Year and The Book of Form & Emptiness, the _Article analyzes how reading can constitute acts of caring about, caring for, and self-care. This introduces new perspectives on reading as a practice embedded in broader socio-cultural issues it mirrors and participates in, highlighting functions ascribed to reading.