Book Review: Reading at University: How to Improve Your Focus and Be More Critical. Jamie Q Roberts and Caitlin Hamilton

Abstract

Writing this review during the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 lockdown, I am reminded of George Orwell’s essay ‘Confessions of a Book Reviewer’, “In a cold but stuffy bed-sitting room littered with cigarette ends and half-empty cups of tea, a man in a moth-eaten dressing-gown sits at a rickety table”. Although neither male nor a smoker, but certainly a tea drinker in need of a new dressing gown, what better time to read about reading? The terminology ‘reading’ for a degree has been replaced in everyday speech by ‘studying’, yet this archaic usage of reading put the importance of this activity front and centre of what was expected of students for success at university. While this focus in the everyday language has been removed, the skills of reading are no less vital to student success. Reading at University aims to dispel assumptions around academic reading and help students become more critical and productive in their reading. It is another addition to the study skills shelf and there is a lot of competition out there, so it really needs to be offering something different to compete.