Reading Circles, Novels and Adult Reading Development

Sam Duncan is Lecturer in Education in the Department of Continuing and Professional Education at the Institute of Education, London, UK. She has previously taught adult literacy, English as a foreign language and poetry, film and drama on adult return to study programmes.

Given the detail and depth of the text, the target audience of this book is college students, particularly upper level and graduate students, faculty and researchers. The first five chapters will also appeal to anyone interested in the history of reading and literacy. Duncan’s book accomplishes its objectives well. Her bibliographic section is very detailed. Her research is thorough, referencing the most significant authors in the field […] As such, Duncan’s text represents a good resource for anyone exploring alternative and sound pedagogical approaches.

• Introduction; 1. The Charted Waters of Reading: How Reading is Claimed, Researched and Defined by Different Fields; 2. Reading and Adult Life; 3. How We Learnt to Read; 4. Literature and Literacy Development; 5. Reading Circles; 6. Researching a Reading Circle: What We Did; 7. Researching a Reading Circle: What We Found; 8. Reading as Experience; 9. Reading Circles as 'Ideal Pedagogy'; 10. The Individual and the Communal; 11. The Pleasures and Politics of Novel Reading and Reading Circles; Conclusion; Glossary; Index.