It is often assumed that reading aloud is only for children, but the practice was once a common pleasure for adults too. To Read Aloud consists of 75 extracts of an average 1000 words each, from writers ranging from Cicero to Lewis Carroll to Robert Macfarlane (alongside less familiar names). It is arranged under ten thematic chapters: Love, Loss, Lightness, Pleasure, Work, Illness, Nature, Change, Chaos and Wonder. Reading a story to another person creates a bond between two people.