"As academics we are expected to write and publish, but we are not supposed to waste our time reading." This remark by a colleague - as absurd as it is true - inspired me to start this blog. As an academic in the field of the Humanities I spend much of my time reading, and on this blog you can see how that works. If scholarly writing has any value at all, then the reading that precedes it deserves respect as an integral part of the creative process that leads to knowledge and understanding.