This course will use a single text, Mark Danielewski’s postmodern novel, House of Leaves, to consider the state of the book and of the various practices of reading at the present moment. House of Leaves is a novel that requires us to reconsider the material and social facts of the book—how it feels and looks, and how it functions as an object—along with the reading practices it both requires and complicates. How we have learned to read—the practices of reading books, websites, and others texts—and how reading has changed over time will require us to enter into the labyrinth of theory. We will spend time reading the novel and relevant essays about the history of the book and theoretical essays about the conceptual and practical issues connected to the practice(s) of reading. Requirements will include several short essays, a presentation, and a long final project.