Chris Masters

10 Inalienable Rights of the Reader

In its preface, the book by Daniel Pennac called Comme un roman (Paris: Editions Gallimard/Folio, 1992), begs its reader not to use the book as an “instrument de torture pedagogique.” Pennac enumerates 10 Inalienable Rights of the Reader:

1. The right to not read,

2. The right to skip pages,

3. The right to not finish a book,

4. The right to reread,

5. The right to read anything,

6. The right to “Bovary-ism,” a textually-transmitted disease,

7. The right to read anywhere,

8. The right to sample and steal (“grappiller”)

9. The right to read out-loud, and,

10. The right to be silent.