"A Study of Reading Habits" was published in Philip Larkin's popular third collection, The Whitsun Weddings (1964). The poem's speaker describes how reading once offered him an escape and seemed to promise a different kind of life (e.g., getting back at the school bullies!). Now that he's older, books no longer work their magic on him—and, even more painfully, he's come to see himself in their lesser characters. The disillusioned speaker thus concludes that "Books are a load of crap."
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When getting my ...
... still keep cool,
And deal out ...
... twice my size.
Later, with inch-thick ...
... up like meringues.
Don't read much ...
... far too familiar.
Get stewed: ...
... load of crap.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
The Poem Out Loud — "A Study of Reading Habits" read by Larkin himself.
Larkin's Life and Work — A short radio documentary about Larkin produced by the BBC.
The Paris Review Interview — Check out Philip Larkin's interview with The Paris Review, which was published in 1982 as part of the magazine's "The Art of Poetry" series.
Interview with the Poet — Watch poet John Betjeman interview Philip Larkin in 1964.
More Poems and a Biography — Further resources on Larkin from the Poetry Foundation.
Portrait of the Artist — Browse the six portraits of Philip Larkin collected in the National Portrait Gallery's online archive.