Virtual: Author Shannon Reed Discusses "Why We Read"

**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email.**

Join us as we chat with author Shannon Reed about her book, "Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One Page Before Lights Out". Why DO we read? What compels us to? What holds our attention? How many of us remember reading by a flashlight after hours? Shannon will have the scoop and will be answering lots of our questions! 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

This event is hosted by the Ashland Public Library and generously shared with us to offer to our patrons.

About the book:

Shannon Reed makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny collection, she shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature. 

About Shannon:

Shannon Reed is a writer and professor living in a small town just outside Pittsburgh.

Shannon grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and lived in Brooklyn for 14 years, where she taught high school English and Theatre. In 2012, she began studying with the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh, where she completed an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) in 2015. She joined the faculty shortly thereafter, and is now the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Writing Program in the University of Pittsburgh, as well as a Teaching Associate Professor, specializing in fiction and humor writing courses.

Shannon’s first book, Why Did I Get a B?: And Other Mysteries We’re Discussing in the Faculty Lounge, was a semi-finalist for the Thurber Prize in American Humor. Her second, Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out, publishes on February 6, 2024. It’s a Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Pick and will be featured in George Saunders’ Substack newsletter, Office Hours.

Shannon’s writing has been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency (where one of her pieces was the most-read article in 2018, and another was in the Top Three for 2023), The Paris Review, The Washington Post, Slate, Buzzfeed, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and many other publications.

Please register for this event and you'll receive the link in the confirmation and reminder emails - make sure to check your spam folder for them, the email will be coming from Zoom.