Ioan Marc Jones’s article resonated with me (I devoured classic novels as a teenager. In a world of distractions, can I relearn how to read them?, 2 June). He is so right that we read as much or more as we ever did, but in small packets and often with no depth.
I have tried to read Middlemarch three times this year, giving up each time because I have found the long sentences and descriptions affect my concentration. I am a retired headteacher and believe myself to be literate but, like everyone else, I have become prey to short articles and numerous emails.
I was so pleased to see Jones state that we cannot be snobbish about audiobooks. I am presently on chapter 3 of Middlemarch, read brilliantly by Juliet Stevenson, and hope to finally reach the end.
After this I can try a few more classics on the Guardian’s list.
Malcolm Bellamy
Market Deeping, Lincolnshire
• Laurence Sterne would surely have been thrilled by Ioan Marc Jones’s description of Tristram Shandy as “inexcusable”. A tip for readers wanting to get into this wildly funny book: do not attempt to read it continuously. There are hundreds of chapters; read one, and only one, chapter each night before sleep. Within a few days you will enter the bizarre and bountiful world of Shandy Hall and life will never seem the same.
Roger Osborne
Snainton, North Yorkshire
• I was sorry to read of Ioan Marc Jones’s difficulty with Dickens’s novels. I belong to the Dickens Fellowship, and each year our group votes for a Dickens novel which we read out loud together, with different members taking on each character. The many benefits of this include better concentration, new insights and a huge amount of fun.
Roz Connery
West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire
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