Publication

1999-08-18 - The University of North Carolina Press

Language

English

Word Count

112,000 words, Guess

Page Count

448 pages

Physical Format

Paperback

Identifiers

and 3 more
  • Better World Books9780807848302
  • Better World BooksO8-DGE-958
  • Open LibraryOL7972656M

Classifications

  • LCC96-52037 [Z]
  • DDC028/.9/0973
  • LCCZ1003.2 .R33 1997

Description

A Feeling for Books is at once a fascinating study of an influential cultural institution and a profoundly personal meditation on the love of books and the experience of reading. Deftly melding cultural history, literary criticism, and autobiographical reflection, Janice Radway traces the history of the Book-of-the-Month Club from its controversial founding in 1926 through its evolution into an organization uniquely successful in blending commerce and culture. Working, as an ethnographer would, from interviews with club employees and with records left by the club's founders and original judges, Radway reconstructs the standards and ethos as well as the tastes and passions that drove club officials. In the process, she provides an insightful look at the attractions of middlebrow culture and an intriguing account of middle-class Americans' desire to display the tasteful signs of learning and education.

First Sentence

It may have been simple anxiety.

Excerpt

It may have been simple anxiety.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • A Feeling for BooksPaperbackThe University of North Carolina Press1999-08-18

Similar Books

Reader Reviews

No reviews yet for this book.

Be the first to share your thoughts!