Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World

“Whether you are an avid or occasional reader—a teacher, a bookseller, or a parent—there will be a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ Reader, Come Home.”—Joël Dicker, New York Times bestselling author of The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair

Updated with a new preface—a call to action and attention to all readers—this ambitious, lively, and deeply informative book from the author of the acclaimed Proust and the Squid considers the future of the reading brain and of our capacity for critical thinking, empathy, and reflection as we become increasingly dependent on digital technologies, including AI and beyond.

In her classic work Proust and the Squid, Maryanne Wolf revealed how the brain learned to read and how reading affects the way we think and feel. In Reader, Come Home, she conveys her concerns and hopes about what happens to the reading brain as we become more reliant—and addicted—to digital mediums, especially given the rapid evolution of AI. Eschewing the simple binary of print versus screen reading, she urges us to understand how each format nurtures or diminishes our quality of thought and the intellectual development of our young—and what is at stake with the loss of "deep reading."

Written as a series of letters to her beloved readers, Reader, Come Home raises difficult questions:

• Will the next generation, adept in multitasking and quick access to multiple sources of knowledge, fail to fully develop their own “slower,” more demanding, deep reading processes, such as critical reasoning and perspective-taking, leaving them vulnerable to false information?
• Will the seemingly continuous distractions on digital mediums change the nature of attention in our youth, and thus disrupt their ability to concentrate and consolidate new information into memory?
• Across every age will skimming become the “new norm” that short-circuits the time needed for inferential thinking, critical analysis, reflection, and empathy—core elements of a democracy?

Drawing on literature, philosophy, and neuroscience, Wolf uses down-to-earth examples and warm anecdotes to illuminate difficult ideas that culminate in her thought-provoking proposal for a biliterate reading brain capable of deep reading across mediums. Reader, Come Home presents an extraordinary clarion call to understand the complex impact of technology on the reading brain and what this could mean for our future.

A Timely Look at the Reading Brain: From the author of Proust and the Squid, this updated edition explores how digital technology and AI are transforming how we read, think, and reflect.

Urgent Questions for a Digital World: Examines how reliance on screens, social media, and AI may affect attention, memory, empathy, and the intellectual development of children and adults.

What Happens to Deep Reading?: Challenges readers to consider whether multitasking, skimming, and constant distraction weaken critical reasoning, perspective‑taking, and resistance to misinformation.

Accessible and Thoughtful Format: Written as a series of personal letters that blend neuroscience, philosophy, and literature with clear explanations, vivid examples, and warm storytelling.

A Hopeful Path Forward: Proposes a “biliterate” reading brain capable of deep reading across print and digital media—essential for democracy, empathy, and our collective future.