Reading provides a unique kind of pleasure and no-one should live without it. This title tells us about the experience of reading, why access to books should never be taken for granted, how reading transforms our brains, and how literature can save lives.

Tying in with Vintage's 21st anniversary, this book is a mission statement about the importance of reading and how access to books should never be taken for granted. Includes 10 essays from 10 authors: Mark Haddon, Michael Rosen, Zadie Smith, Carmen Callil, Jeanette Winterson, Tim Parks, Blake Morrison, Maryanne Wolf, Nicholas Carr and Jane Davis.