Notes of a Bibliophile: Why Books Have Power Over Us
14.99 €
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Notes of a Bibliophile: Why Books Have Power Over Us
14.99 €
In this incredibly engaging narrative, Oxford professor and Shakespeare specialist Emma Smith tells a centuries-old and fascinating history of books, focusing not on the familiar image of "archives of wisdom and knowledge" but on the material forms in which books have appeared and the different purposes they have sometimes served.
Presenting a fascinating and radical new history of the book in the hands of man, the author seeks to answer the questions of when and how the book gained power over us. Recounting the enormous role that books have played in people's lives for a millennium, Smith makes the surprising discovery that the distinctive and powerful magic of books is as much about form as it is about content. From the Diamond Sutra to a book made of cellophane-wrapped slices of cheese, this complex art object has for centuries accommodated and expanded relationships between readers, countries, ideologies, and cultures, and has done so in very decisive and unpredictable ways. "Any book promises transformation for the reader. The expectation of change enters into an invisible contract between books and their readers. In that sense, all books are books about helping ourselves. If we have no pleasure or connection with any book, then we are persistently shirking the responsibilities we should fulfill under our contract with it." Emma Smith
Presenting a fascinating and radical new history of the book in the hands of man, the author seeks to answer the questions of when and how the book gained power over us. Recounting the enormous role that books have played in people's lives for a millennium, Smith makes the surprising discovery that the distinctive and powerful magic of books is as much about form as it is about content. From the Diamond Sutra to a book made of cellophane-wrapped slices of cheese, this complex art object has for centuries accommodated and expanded relationships between readers, countries, ideologies, and cultures, and has done so in very decisive and unpredictable ways. "Any book promises transformation for the reader. The expectation of change enters into an invisible contract between books and their readers. In that sense, all books are books about helping ourselves. If we have no pleasure or connection with any book, then we are persistently shirking the responsibilities we should fulfill under our contract with it." Emma Smith
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