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Loading... So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundanceby Gabriel Zaid
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. anterastilis | Feb 24, 2009 |   This is an important book that examines how extremely large-scale publishing is destroying the publishing industry in the developed world and harming the literary culture of the developing world. It's a small book and quirkily written, but it speaks with great insight about the collision between print culture and the excesses of capitalism. (  )laVermeer | Aug 27, 2008 | 1  I learned a lot of stuff about the publishing industry through this book. Sometimes I had to re-read a sentence or two because I found it confusing, but I think this might be because this book is a translation. But I'm glad I read it. It was interesting and made me think twice about my dream to become a writer!! ( )amwmsw04 | Aug 25, 2008 | 1 Well, I have read the first chapter and I'm thinking I want to have a reading party to sit around the fireplace and absorb this one with a glass of red. Never had a party like that before. But then again, never read a book like this before either. ( )amandaellis | Jul 14, 2006 | 1 A fantastic look at the publishing business and what it means for writing. ( )jimmydare | Nov 17, 2005 | 0.050 seconds to build listing
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0954221788, Hardcover)"Reading liberates the reader and transports him from his book to a reading of himself and all of life. It leads him to participate in conversations, and in some cases to arrange them . . . It could even be said that to publish a book is to insert it into the middle of a conversation." (from So Many Books) "...Zaid traces the preoccupation with reading back through Dr. Johnson, Seneca, and even the Bible ('Of making many books there is no end'). He emerges as a playful celebrant of literary proliferation, noting that there is a new book published every thirty seconds, and optimistically points out that publishers who moan about low sales 'see as a failure what is actually a blessing: The book business, unlike newspapers, films, or television, is viable on a small scale.' Zaid, who claims to own more than ten thousand books, says he has sometimes thought that 'a chastity glove for authors who can't contain themselves' would be a good idea. Nonetheless, he cheerfully opines that 'the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.'"--The New Yorker (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:01 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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I had a hard time deciding whether or not to include this on my list, because it borders textbook. Upon further thought, I decided to include it because although we used it as a text in class, it wasn't meant for that purpose, and I'd suggest it to anyone who is into genre fiction. Booksellers, librarians, readers, whatever. It's a little book about the history of genre fiction and how the publishing industry works, how to choose books, etc. it really set my mind at ease and helped relieve me of the guilt I sometimes feel when i pick up two Victoria Holt romance novels in a row. (