Hobart author and philosopher Damon Young devoted his book The Art of Reading to these questions, and believed anyone had the potential to become a great reader - they just need to use their attention wisely.

"My book is about people who are literate, but who are not - and that includes all of us - ambitious enough about how they read," he said.

"It's not like it's a skill that you're just taught in school. It's more like it's a habit you need to cultivate yourself.

"No one can teach you in school how to be more brave, or more curious, or more patient. You need to develop these excellences yourself.

"I would say, you can't do it alone. That's what makes book groups so important."

BOOK WEEK IN NORTHERN TASMANIA:

The rapid rise of smartphones and on-demand entertainment could have rendered reading to the history books, but Dr Young saw differently.

"You can practice the art of reading on a smartphone. It's not really about the technology, it's about making the time to do something you think is important," he said.

"If you value reading, then get as much value from the book as you can.

"It's about attention and what you do with it."

Dr Young and partner Ruth Quibell, author of The Promise of Things, spoke at the National Book Council Tasmania's monthly meeting in Launceston this week where they were asked which books had the greatest effect on their lives.

For Dr Quibell, the answer lay close to home.

"It's actually a children's book, Little Bear's Little Boat," she said.

"I read it to my son and his immediate response was to be sad and sentimental.

"His character revealed itself at just the age of 2, it was wonderful."

The couple was forced to cull their substantial book collection when they relocated from Melbourne to Hobart, but it proved to be a blessing as Dr Quibell began to think deeply about possessions and what they mean.

Her book looks at life through the lens of our inanimate items - things we have around us all the time but rarely consider in depth.