On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books

Karen Swallow Prior

Dec 2018 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Lisa Larsen

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8 hr 46 min

Unabridged

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About this audiobook

Reading great literature well has the power to cultivate virtue. Great literature increases knowledge of and desire for the good life by showing readers what virtue looks like and where vice leads. It is not just what one reads but how one reads that cultivates virtue. Reading good literature well requires one to practice numerous virtues, such as patience, diligence, and prudence. And learning to judge wisely a character in a book, in turn, forms the reader's own character. Acclaimed author Karen Swallow Prior takes readers on a guided tour through works of great literature both ancient and modern, exploring twelve virtues that philosophers and theologians throughout history have identified as most essential for good character and the good life. In reintroducing ancient virtues that are as relevant and essential today as ever, Prior draws on the best classical and Christian thinkers, including Aristotle, Aquinas, and Augustine. Covering authors from Henry Fielding to Cormac McCarthy, Jane Austen to George Saunders, and Flannery O'Connor to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Prior explores some of the most compelling universal themes found in the pages of classic books, helping readers learn to love life, literature, and God through their encounters with great writing. In examining works by these authors and more, Prior shows why virtues such as prudence, temperance, humility, and patience are still necessary for human flourishing and civil society.

About the author

Karen Swallow Prior is Research Professor of English and Christianity & Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is an award-winning author and one of today's leading evangelical writers and commentators. Her book On Reading Well was recognized as a Publishers Weekly Book of the Year in Religion in 2018.

After earning a degree in musical theater and spending several years hustling on the business side of the film industry, Lisa Larsen has found her way back to her first love: performing. When she's not narrating, she's devoting time to her daughters, baking healthy treats, or enjoying a DIY project with her husband.

Leland Ryken, PhD, is professor of English at Wheaton College in Illinois, where he has twice received the "teacher of the year" award.

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