Why do we read? What happens to our imaginations when we read? To our knowledge? What creative forces are unleashed? What are the wider implications of all of this?In a truly engaging and accessible style, The Future of Reading looks at the very experience of reading; not just the consumption and interpretation of texts, but also reading as an artistic process that demands creative freedom and unfolds from deep in the soul. Rather than analysing or critiquing texts, this book examines what happens to us when we read: the complex human experience which frees us from certain boundaries and constraints, and then looks at how we can use this freedom of mind to creatively tackle much larger issues in the world. Eric Purchase argues that creative reading enables us to generate answers for complex, real-world problems that cut across fields of knowledge and, therefore, defy solution by experts.Enjoyable, challenging, unique, and astute, this book will open up the reading experience for students and all readers interested in using literature and reading as a positive force in their lives and the world.