Consuming Books: The Marketing and Consumption of Literature

by Stephen Brown (Editor)

The buying, selling, and writing of books is a colossal industry in which marketing looms large, yet there are very few books which deal with book marketing (how-to texts excepted) and fewer still on book consumption. This innovative text not only rectifies this, but also argues that far from being detached, the book business in fact epitomises today s Entertainment Economy (fast moving, hit driven, intense competition, rapid technological change, etc.).

Written by an impressive roster of renowned marketing authorities, many with experience of the book trade and all gifted writers in their own right, Consuming Books steps back from the practicalities of book marketing and takes a look at the industry from a broader consumer research perspective. Consisting of sixteen chapters, divided into four loose sections, this key text covers:

* a historical overview
* the often acrimonious marketing/literature interface
* the consumers of books (from book groups to bookcrossing)
* a consideration of the tensions that both literary types and marketers feel.

With something for everyone, Consuming Books not only complements the how-to genre but provides the depth that previous studies of book consumption conspicuously lack. "

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[MELTEM GULSOY · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book for my Phd thesis. It is not an academic text but full of ideas about why and how people read. Also very interesting parts about book clubs, bookcrossing, historical texts, etc.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of essays about the marketing of books was quite interesting. There were some chapters that I particularly enjoyed, namely those that focused on the consumption side of the story. For others, the link between marketing and literature was a bit tenuous or on the surface level only. However, I think that was part of the point of the collection - to take a flexible and relatively informal approach to the nexus between these two areas (this was reflected in the language used in some of the chapters, too). In this goal, I think it was successful. Worth looking at for people who are interested in this area, nonetheless.