So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance

by GABRIEL ZAID | Nonfiction |
ISBN: 158988003x Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingjeniwrenwing of Pambula, New South Wales Australia on 3/7/2015
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4 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingjeniwrenwing from Pambula, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, March 7, 2015
"Gabriel Zaid's defense of books is genuinely exhilarating. It is not pious, it is wise; and its wisdom is delivered with extraordinary lucidity and charm. This is how Montaigne would have written about the dizzy and increasingly dolorous age of the Internet. May So Many Books fall into so many hands."—Leon Wieseltier

"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

Join the conversation! In So Many Books, Gabriel Zaid offers his observations on the literary condition: a highly original analysis of the predicament that readers, authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and teachers find themselves in today—when there are simply more books than any of us can contemplate.

My thoughts: This was a little dry for my taste but there are a few great quotes in the first few chapters that made me rate this one favourably.

Registered for the Australasia Wishlist Tag Game and reserved for crimson-tide.

Journal Entry 2 by wingjeniwrenwing at Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Monday, March 30, 2015

Released 9 yrs ago (3/19/2015 UTC) at Balingup, Western Australia Australia

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For crimson-tide and another wishlisted book just for you. Enjoy :)

Journal Entry 3 by wingcrimson-tidewing at Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Thanks very much jeniwren, it looks interesting.
And thanks for the RABCK too! :D

Journal Entry 4 by wingcrimson-tidewing at Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Monday, February 5, 2018
Unfortunately I also found his style to be a bit dry and academic, but the book does contain some interesting ideas and discussions. As it was written in 2003, some of the discussions around distribution and readers finding the 'right' book (which were quite valid at the time) are of course now outdated. He does mention ebooks and Amazon, but since then we have seen an explosion of online bookstores, a huge rise in ebook publishing, and the birth, rise and all pervasive influence of social media.

It also contains one of my all time favourite quotes:
“The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books
without losing their composure or their desire for more.”

Now off to a new reader. :-)

Journal Entry 5 by wingcrimson-tidewing at Balingup, Western Australia Australia on Monday, February 5, 2018

Released 6 yrs ago (2/5/2018 UTC) at Balingup, Western Australia Australia

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Travelling companion as there was room in the bag. :-)

Journal Entry 6 by wingEdwardstreetwing at Wellington City, Wellington Province New Zealand on Sunday, February 25, 2018
This looks interesting thank you

Countdown Johnsonville

Journal Entry 8 by Elvis2012 at Johnsonville, Wellington Province New Zealand on Thursday, November 17, 2022
Looking forward to reading this ... Has been sitting in my 'to read' pile for a while now!

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