Selected as one of Publishers Weekly's Top Ten Spring 2015 Literary Biographies, Essays & Criticism titles.

"In this lively collection of 37 essays, novelist and translator Parks, who is also one of the most eloquent and provocative critics, explores a range of topics in contemporary literature and publishing...As the character of the printed word and the nature of reading continue to change, Parks's essays probe the positive and negative effects of these changes for our reading lives." --Publishers Weekly

"Why do books matter? British novelist, essayist, translator, and critic Parks considers the current state of writing and reading in short, contemplative literary musings...'Do We Need Stories?' 'Why Finish Books?' 'What's Wrong with the Nobel?' 'Does Money Make Us Write Better?' Readers vexed by such questions will welcome Parks' thoughtful responses."-Kirkus

"Brilliantly skewers the pieties of the literary world." --Lionel Shriver, Prospect Magazine

"Quietly incendiary." --Tim Adams, The Observer

"He asks why people want to become writers and his wry and well-evidenced answers are ones that Dr. Johnson would have perfectly well recognized." --John Mullan, The Guardian

"If by its end you still feel writing is the career for you, then don't say you were not warned." --Alan Taylor, Herald Scotland