I mention this duo to mention Joel Halldorf’s excellent history of the book, Reading Matters: A History for the Digital Age. Despite their historical proximity, Machiavelli and Montaigne read differently, a difference attributable to at least three interconnected developments: cultural, technological, and economic. I cover some of this ground in The Idea Machine, but Halldorf pays particular, close attention to changing reading habits. There were few books to read, and monks pored over them with scrutiny we have a hard time fathoming today. Reading habits change as the reading environment changes, always have, and in the moment we’re often wrong about what those changes mean.