The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-first Century

(Paperback)

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Description

The essays inThe Art of Libromancyexplore the politics, philosophies, technologies, emotional experience, and craft of selling books in the twenty-first century.

In a society filled with misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and propaganda, true storytelling and story-reading are more important than ever. But with Amazon continuing to increase its power in bookselling and publishing and the publishing industry consolidating into even fewer houses, telling important stories and getting those stories to readers is increasingly difficult.

From the relationship between bookselling and white supremacy, to the economics of bookselling in contemporary hyper-capitalism, to a new philosophy of good taste, to the craft and art of handselling, veteran bookseller and writer Josh Cook turns a generous yet critical eye to an industry at the heart of American culture, sharing tips and techniques for becoming a better reader and, of course, recommending great books along the way.

Reviews

Praise for Josh Cook

The writing throughout is so crystalline, the dialogue so acerbically funny and the characters so engaging as to make the pages seem as though theyre turning themselves.
Kirkus Reviews, starred review

One of the most high-minded detective stories in years ... Meticulously planned and content-rich, this sophisticated, variegated study ... ranks with the best upmarket mysteries by Iain Pears and Umberto Eco.
Bookslut

Bookseller and debut novelist Cooks humorous take on various whodunit and noir tropes is ... spot-on.
Library Journal

"One of [my] favorite booksellers."
Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere

Author Bio

Josh Cook is a bookseller and co-owner at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he has worked since 2004. He is also author of the critically acclaimed postmodern detective novel An Exaggerated Murder and his fiction, criticism, and poetry have appeared in numerous leading literary publications. He grew up in Lewiston, Maine and lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.