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

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158988003X From Publishers Weekly "The human race publishes a book every thirty seconds," writes Mexican author and consultant Zaid. How can the average reader keep up with even a ... fraction of the latest new releases, let alone the multitude of classics stretching all the way back to Homer and Plato? The prospect is daunting to even the greatest bibliophile; furthermore, Zaid argues, people seem more interested in writing books than reading them (a recent survey shows 81% of Americans feel they should write a book). Though frustrated by this state of affairs, Zaid takes a philosophical perspective on the state of book publishing today, claiming that the industry doesn't always recognize one of its greatest strengths: its overwhelming diversity. In the publishing industry, a book that appeals to just a few thousand readers stands a good chance of getting published, whereas the commercial film industry and other mass media must function almost exclusively on a mega-budget scale. He celebrates the small printings that a ... Read more Show Less

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2003 Paperback New 158988003X From Publishers Weekly "The human race publishes a book every thirty seconds, " writes Mexican author and consultant Zaid. How can the average ... reader keep up with even a fraction of the latest new releases, let alone the multitude of classics stretching all the way back to Homer and Plato? The prospect is daunting to even the greatest bibliophile; furthermore, Zaid argues, people seem more interested in writing books than reading them (a recent survey shows 81% of Americans feel they should write a book). Though frustrated by this state of affairs, Zaid takes a philosophical perspective on the state of book publishing today, claiming that the industry doesn't always recognize one of its greatest strengths: its overwhelming diversity. In the publishing industry, a book that appeals to just a few thousand readers stands a good chance of getting published, whereas the commercial film industry and other mass media must function almost exclusively on a mega-budget scale. He celeb Read more Show Less

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 2003 Mass Market Paperback Good 158988003X Good.

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Overview

"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.

"...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

 

 

Editorial Reviews

Enrique Krauze
A truly original book about books. Destined to be a classic!
—author of Mexico: Biography of Power and editor of Letras Libres
From The Critics
Genuinely exhilarating. . . . wise; and . . . delivered with extraordinary lucidity and charm. May So Many Books fall into so many hands.
— literary editor of the New Republic

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781589880030
  • Publisher: Dry, Paul Books, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 9/1/2003
  • Pages: 144
  • Product dimensions: 4.50 (w) x 7.00 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Gabriel Zaid's poetry, essays, social and cultural criticism, and business writings have been widely published throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In 2003, Paul Dry Books published his book "So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance." He lives in Mexico City with the artist Basia Batorska, her paintings, three cats, and ten thousand books. Natasha Wimmer is an editor and a translator in New York City. Her recent translations include "The Savage Detectives," by Roberto Bolano (FSG), "The Way to Paradise," by Mario Vargas Llosa (FSG), and "So Many Books," by Gabriel Zaid (Paul Dry Books).

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