“Dixon makes an important methodological contribution to the field of literary studies. . . . A theoretically fortified but impractical mode of inquiry has caused critics and scholars to doubt any possibility of gaining intimacy with authors via their written works. If we put aside such methodological reservations and the impossible Olympian truth criteria upon which they rely, we can recognize that we do in fact get to know authors in an everyday sense, and that a belief in reading as a way of achieving friendship with the author can be a source of great satisfaction and insight.”—Timothy Aubry, author, Guilty Aesthetic Pleasures

“Dan Dixon’s book is a breath of fresh air: well written, lively, and consistently interesting. What would happen, Dixon asks, if we try to think of reading a literary text as entering into a conversation with a friend? Is it possible to think of reading as a kind of social relation? In his investigations, Dixon turns to American essays and autofiction. Drawing on Stanley Cavell’s philosophy, he brings out what it might mean to think of a text as a voice placing claims on us. Reading Relations is an important contribution to the ongoing reading debates in literary studies.”—Toril Moi, Duke University