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A review by hfjarmer
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Friss paints a vivid and memorable picture of the historical context of the American bookshop (not, as he notes, bookstores). From Benjamin Franklin's Boston-based printing press/convenience store/bookshop/post office to modern day goliath's like Barnes and Noble and Amazon, Friss discusses the many notable bookshops in between which have shaped not only the way books are sold, but even what is printed and read today.
As Friss put it, "The power of the bookstore doesn't just emanate from the books, the architecture, and the staff. Customers also make the space. Neither home nor work, these 'third spaces' function as critical sites for intellectual, social, political, and cultural exchange. They nurture existing communities and foster new ones."
To be perfectly honest, I'd never really considered the bookshop to be an especially political place until I read this book. Sure reading can be political, but reading can so often be a solitary practice unless one goes out of their way to make it otherwise. I have long been an advocate for the idea of a bookshop being an important space in any community, a place for learning and comradery, but I'd never really stopped to consider that community building is inherently political. It makes a statement about the kind of community you want to live in, the values the shop and its patrons hold.
I learned so much about the important bookstores of our country's past which helped shape modern day - from Drum and Spear's work with the Civil Rights movement, to the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop which we have to thank for modern day Pride following the Stonewall Riots nearby.
If you are a reader (and I'm inclined to say you are if you're reading this review), I'd highly encourage you to read this book to gain access to the beauty surrounding the literary landscape in America. If nothing else, it will help you appreciate your local bookshop just that much more.
Also a note - the page count is 400+ pages, however the last 75+ pages are notes and such, so if you're nervous about reading that long of a nonfiction book, don't be.
As Friss put it, "The power of the bookstore doesn't just emanate from the books, the architecture, and the staff. Customers also make the space. Neither home nor work, these 'third spaces' function as critical sites for intellectual, social, political, and cultural exchange. They nurture existing communities and foster new ones."
To be perfectly honest, I'd never really considered the bookshop to be an especially political place until I read this book. Sure reading can be political, but reading can so often be a solitary practice unless one goes out of their way to make it otherwise. I have long been an advocate for the idea of a bookshop being an important space in any community, a place for learning and comradery, but I'd never really stopped to consider that community building is inherently political. It makes a statement about the kind of community you want to live in, the values the shop and its patrons hold.
I learned so much about the important bookstores of our country's past which helped shape modern day - from Drum and Spear's work with the Civil Rights movement, to the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop which we have to thank for modern day Pride following the Stonewall Riots nearby.
If you are a reader (and I'm inclined to say you are if you're reading this review), I'd highly encourage you to read this book to gain access to the beauty surrounding the literary landscape in America. If nothing else, it will help you appreciate your local bookshop just that much more.
Also a note - the page count is 400+ pages, however the last 75+ pages are notes and such, so if you're nervous about reading that long of a nonfiction book, don't be.