In a survival environment dominated by rationality, the training we receive in language increasingly gravitates toward utilitarian purposes, both in writing and in reading. Hardware and tools arranged into textual forms serve as a metaphor: living in contemporary life as social beings, most of the formal writing we undertake is driven by profit and utility, while reading is likewise shaped by the expectation of “learning for use.” Writing and reading pursued aimlessly or for pure enjoyment have become a spiritual luxury, while books that promise success in life have secured their place as regulars on bestseller lists.

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