Reader's Block

Matthew Rubery is Professor of Modern Literature at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of The Untold Story of the Talking Book (2016) and co-editor of Further Reading (2020).

Introduction: The Unideal Reader 1. Dyslexia 2. Hyperlexia 3. Alexia 4. Synesthesia 5. Hallucinations 6. Dementia Epilogue

"By constructing a detailed map of mis-reading, Rubery argues for the value of non-normative reading experiences. Some differences are disabling, he recognizes, but others make visible aspects of reading that go unnoticed and unappreciated when they function smoothly."-Paul Armstrong, author of Stories and the Brain "Rubery uncovers the hidden history of neurodiverse reading (and non-reading). Drawing upon everything from clinical studies to life writing, this is a brilliant and remarkably original work that challenges and subverts a whole set of received wisdoms about how readers engage with books. After Reader's Block, you will never again make cozy assumptions about how and why people read."-Shafquat Towheed, coeditor of The History of Reading "An inclusive, beautifully formulated invitation to think of reading as a cluster of practices as prolific as the minds and the texts nourished in their combination. Rubery is one of the most sensitive and original scholars working with literature today."-Christina Lupton, author of Love and the Novel "This is a fascinating, innovative, and skillful book which presents its deep research and learning fluently and lightly. Thought-provoking, timely, and moving, Reader's Block is essential reading for those interested in disability studies and the history of the book."-Sophie Ratcliffe, author of The Lost Properties of Love "A thoughtful and timely survey of neuro-divergent readers' singular, complex, sometimes fraught relationship with the written word."-Daniel Tammet, author of Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing "Rubery gives us fresh eyes to grasp the semi-miraculous nature of the reading act in all its complexity and potential for transforming the life of every reader and the species itself."-Maryanne Wolf, author of Reader, Come Home "By its very nature, Reader's Block is designed for casual reading-and particularly for people interested in science, history, literature and neurodiversity."-Matthew Rozsa, Salon "Thinking about reading in terms of the different reading behaviors these essays about atypical readers document can help one achieve a broader, more inclusive understanding of what read actually means.... Recommended."-J. F. Andrews, CHOICE "Matthew Rubery's... remarkably well-researched catalogue of neurodivergent reading experiences reveals how many different ways brains can engage with texts, demonstrating that this seemingly quotidian activity is neither unitary nor widely understood."-Timothy Aubry, American Literary History