So Many Books!: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance by Gabriel Zaid, Natasha Wimmer (Translator)

From the Publisher

"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

The New Yorker

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading, by Sara Nelson, takes as its title the exasperated cry of literary professionals everywhere, a cry that is echoed by the nearly simultaneous publication of the almost identically titled So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance, translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer (Paul Dry Books). Nelson describes herself as an insomniac who is “ravenous for books,” and she structures her own book as a record of a single year’s reading, during which time she devours everything from J. M. Coetzee to Somerset Maugham to Mary Higgins Clark to a dictionary of hipster slang. From this starting point, Nelson examines phenomena that will make many readers smile with recognition: the false importance of an overhyped book, the recommendation from a friend that makes you think less of your friend, and, most dreaded of all, the book you feel guilty for not having read.

Where Nelson’s approach is personal, 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.”

author of Mexico: Biography of Power and editor of Letras Libres - Enrique Krauze

A truly original book about books. Destined to be a classic!

author of Ex Libris - Anne Fadiman

"[H]ow can the twenty-first-century reader keep his head above water? Gabriel Zaid answers that question in surprising [and witty] ways."

literary editor of the New Republic - Leon Wieseltier

Genuinely exhilarating. . . . wise; and . . . delivered with extraordinary lucidity and charm. May So Many Books fall into so many hands.

author of Ruined by Reading: A Life in Books - Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Delectable and useful . . . make[s] essential and heartening reading for anyone who cares about the future of books.

author of Terror and Liberalism - Paul Berman

Gabriel Zaid is a marvelously elegant and playful writer-a cosmopolitan critic with sound judgment and a light touch.

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 appeal to segmented clienteles, specialized niches, and members of different clubs of enthusiasts because "just a few thousand copies, read by the right people, are enough to change the course of conversation, the boundaries of literature, and our intellectual life." Not a groundbreaking book, but an appealing, meditative collection of thoughts and observations on the book industry and the state of literature in the early 21st century. (Sept.) Forecast: Book lovers of all stripes will enjoy this light piece of cultural criticism. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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