I've started reading more of "the classics" this year, and I've been wondering how people at the time in general talked about books. Every now and then I look up contemporary reviews of books, but I never really get a good feeling for what book culture was in general back then and how it developed. Does anyone know of any books etc. that talk about the history of book culture in general? — for example, were people sending their friends excited letters about twists in books? Or did magazine reviews of books ever cause scandal? How did people find out about new books? When did bookshops become a thing?
Today we have our own dramas such as review bombing, authors stabbing their friends in the back, book influencers, an absolute deluge of AI slop books flooding Amazon, and the modern problem of TikToks (AKA cheap periodicals) rotting the minds of impressionable youths — but given the persistence of human nature, it wouldn't surprise me if this type of thing happened back then as it does now.
I know of some specific scandals like The Sorrows of Young Werther being alleged to cause suicides and that there are always quibbles with novels, comics, periodicals, etc. supposedly poisoning the minds of youths. But nothing that gives me any idea about the general history of the culture around books, or how the average reader might have interacted with that culture. Any pointers to books etc. discussing this in detail would be much appreciated.
by zazzedcoffee
2 Comments
You had various governments having fun banning and censoring books in the mid 20th century.
Besides that, I suggest looking up how the 30s pulp community essentially created a pen pal network that influenced the genre.
It’s ever evolving, especially in regard to literacy rates and who was being taught to read.
I feel like the internet in general causes a boost to reading when it comes to widespread reviews and discussions of books.
I know TikTok is controversial but I think that has lead to a significant boost in books “trending” on a widespread level consistently and has pushed reading for fun.
Although prior to this there definitely were books that “trended” and got passed around. I remember in the 90s how Flowers in the Attic was being passed around and discussed due to its scandalous nature.