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A History of Books and Their Readers
by Emma Smith
Book Reviewed by:A history of one of humankind's most resilient and influential technologies over the past millennium—the book.
Stephen King once said that books are "a uniquely portable magic." Here, Emma Smith takes readers on a literary adventure that spans centuries and circles the globe to uncover the reasons behind our obsession with this captivating object.
From disrupting the Western myth that the Gutenberg Press was the original printing project, to the decorative gift books that radicalized women to join the anti-slavery movement, to paperbacks being weaponized during World War II, to a book made entirely of plastic-wrapped slices of American cheese, Portable Magic explores how, when, and why books became so iconic. It's not just the content within a book that compels; it's the physical material itself, what Smith calls "bookhood": the smell, the feel of the pages, the margins to scribble in, the illustrations on the jacket, its solid heft. Every book is designed to influence our reading experience—to enchant, enrage, delight, and disturb us—and our longstanding love affair with books in turn has had direct, momentous consequences across time.
Revelatory and entertaining in equal measure, Portable Magic will charm and challenge literature lovers of all kinds as it illuminates the transformative power and eternal appeal of the written word.
Introduction:
Magic books
There was once a very learned man in the north-country who knew all the languages under the sun, and who was acquainted with all the mysteries of creation. He had one big book bound in black calf and clasped with iron, and with iron corners, and chained to a table which was made fast to the floor; and when he read out of this book, he unlocked it with an iron key, and none but he read from it, for it contained all the secrets of the spiritual world.
This is the opening to the folktale "The Master and His Pupil," first printed in English at the end of the nineteenth century but circulating long before. Even though you probably haven't read it, it may well seem familiar (that's pretty much the definition of a folktale). And when you read the start of the next paragraph— "Now the master had a pupil who was but a foolish lad"— it is probably clear already what will happen. This is a version of the sorcerer's apprentice tale, and the pupil will take his ...
Maintaining a razor-sharp focus on the materiality of the book — more precisely, the "undersung inseparability of book form and book content," which she terms "bookhood" — Smith explores familiar as well as new topics and themes. She brings scholarly vigor to issues around the reading, publication and usage of books and sets them in geographical, temporal and historical contexts. All this is done with a conversational levity that is both beguiling and surprising: I did not expect to be laughing out loud at this book. Smith situates each main idea in a bookish anecdote, then brings in interesting twists and turns of events with journalistic flair. You can almost imagine her speaking to a hushed and rapt audience...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Tasneem Pocketwala).
Perhaps it's a quirk of readers, but it seems almost natural to be drawn to other people's books — whether in images on social media or in someone's home. Books offer a snapshot of who a person is, presenting a quick glimpse of what influences them, what they might think about and what holds lasting meaning for them.
So it isn't surprising when people are mindful of the appearance of their very visible bookshelves. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and many businesses shifted work online over Zoom calls, some used their bookcases as their backgrounds. It seemed a neutral, formal-looking choice, but it was also in some instances a way to implicitly suggest erudition.
Colloquially termed "shelfies," personal images of (often ...
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