Abstract
Is it still possible to read ? In France, Europe and beyond, the most recent surveys reveal a decline in the number of readers and reading time in the general population, and particularly among young people, to the benefit of screens, which monopolize most of the time available. These same surveys also show that we read more if we read as children, and if we grew up in a family where reading and books occupied an important place. We read because we remember reading. Reading for children and teenagers is therefore a major challenge for book policies.
In adulthood, as in childhood, the joy of reading corresponds to a moment of suspension in an invisible reality. A sixth sense is created, enhancing perceptions without, unlike screens, abolishing the other senses that connect you to the real world. This experience is unparalleled, and you need to have experienced it to keep coming back to reading : an experience similar to certain kinds of madness, such as that of Don Quixote. The experience of reading is that of an enriched or augmented reality, like music, hence the historical competition between the two arts, particularly during the Symbolist period. As Montaigne forcefully reminds us at , if children experience the joy of reading, they will be immune to " the hatred of books ", so widespread after the school years.
