Days of Reading collects two essays on the experience of reading, originally written as prefaces. The first, often titled On Reading, recalls childhood afternoons spent absorbed in a book, and the rooms, light and sounds that became part of those memories. The second reflects on Ruskin and the nature of reading as a conversation with a mind that is not our own. Proust argues that books do not replace our own thinking but awaken it. The essays are short, gentle and lyrical, and are a fine introduction to his style and ideas.