Speakers: Swapan Chakravorty; Shirley Dent; Philip Hensher; Nicolette Jones; Honor Wilson-Fletcher Chair: Angus Kennedy More people are literate than ever before, buying books hand over fist, while circulations of magazines and newspapers are up too. People join book clubs in droves, Richard and Judy and Oprah promote new books on TV, and new technology is apparently about to Kindle a new love affair with e-books. So do we really need a National Year of Reading sponsored by the government and a host of other organisations? At the same time as we celebrate books and reading, however, we wonder if we are reading the right things, with celebrity chefs and Harry Potter topping the bestseller lists. Are we making enough time for Cervantes, Milton and Joyce? Is it elitist to distinguish between good and bad literature, or have we simply lost the confidence to tell the difference? Meanwhile, some observers worry that while women can't get enough, young men have little interest in reading, and debates still rage about the right age to get children started. What is at stake in debates about reading today?
