Through a series of short essays, Readings traces the consideration given to the act of close reading in literary criticism and theory over the last thirty years. Focusing on short passages from a number of critical works, including those by Foucault, Barthes, Lacan, Derrida, Kristeva, Cixous, de Man, and Miller amongst others, the essays enact close readings of the trope of reading -- its movements and performances in each of the passages in question -- so as to offer a more detailed comprehension of the nature of reading and the ways in which critical thinking has transformed our understanding of what it means to read. Readings addresses in a lively and engaging manner the varying rhythms and articulations made possible through the careful tracing of the process of critical reading which literary theory has made available.