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Read Me: A Century of Classic American Book Advertisements
“A Century of Classic American Book Advertisements,” Read Me is a fascinating collection of more than 300 surprising and strange, beautiful and funny vintage book ads that together reveal the hidden history of America’s literary culture over the past 100 years. Dwight Garner, daily book critic for the New York Times , has gathered hundreds of examples of original publishers’ ads that offer fresh, sometimes startlingly different looks at some of America’s greatest writers—from Hemingway and Fitzgerald to Kerouac, Updike, and Mailer, to Susan Sontag, Toni Morrison, and Hunter S. Thompson. An edifying and eye-opening delight, Dwight Garner’s Read Me is an indispensable slice of Americana.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2009
102 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 6, 2012
Dwight Garner's
Read Me: A Century of Classic American Book Advertisements
is a treasure trove of an area of publishing that's normally overlooked by many: book advertisements. Inside you'll find over 300 vintage book advertisements, many for titles that are celebrated, some infamous, and some that are quite obscure. Starting with ads for "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Huckleberry Finn" the author explains, "Together these random advertisements tell a story - a kind of secret history, narrated in public - about America's literary culture over the past century of more."
The author is a literary critic for The New York Times, and for this book, he delved into the archives of his own paper and other periodicals. The ads themselves often expose uneven printing, the results of ink rubbing off paper, and even the shade of a fold here and there.
Garner's commentary is tied to each decade, and helps provide us with a chronicle about the changes in book advertising over the years. The ads usually appeared in the book sections of newspapers, and many of them brought back warm memories of favorite titles over the years, along with some from earlier eras. The black & white reproduced images are by and large quite clear, but the need of putting more than one on a page results in print can be sometime a bit small and somewhat difficult to read without glasses.
With over 300 advertisements, there are too many to list, but some can be comical of you know the book. One of the best of these is a two-page instruction manual published in The Saturday Review of Literature on February 10, 1934 on how to enjoy James Joyce's Ulysses. This included a diagram of Dublin, a list of characters complete with their counterparts in Homer's Odyssey, and the chapter summaries. This ad was introduced with the following hopeful words:
Remember that Joyce's highly regarded novel was banned as being obscene in the U.S. until the historic 'United States v. One Book Called Ulysses' trial in 1933, where it was ruled that the book was not pornographic and therefore could not be obscene.
Garner reminds us that advertising is really about placing a book into "a potential reader's line of sight." The examples used in this book show us which ones had successful results, and a few that did not.
Fans of the Mad Men television series might really enjoy this as there are some book ads from that era that are truly excellent, but I'm not dropping any spoilers here. At 9 ½ x 7 ½ x 0.9 inches this is no pretentious coffee table book, but one to be read and enjoyed by anyone with an interest in books, authors or advertising. It does homage to a bygone era.
6/6/2012
The author is a literary critic for The New York Times, and for this book, he delved into the archives of his own paper and other periodicals. The ads themselves often expose uneven printing, the results of ink rubbing off paper, and even the shade of a fold here and there.
Garner's commentary is tied to each decade, and helps provide us with a chronicle about the changes in book advertising over the years. The ads usually appeared in the book sections of newspapers, and many of them brought back warm memories of favorite titles over the years, along with some from earlier eras. The black & white reproduced images are by and large quite clear, but the need of putting more than one on a page results in print can be sometime a bit small and somewhat difficult to read without glasses.
With over 300 advertisements, there are too many to list, but some can be comical of you know the book. One of the best of these is a two-page instruction manual published in The Saturday Review of Literature on February 10, 1934 on how to enjoy James Joyce's Ulysses. This included a diagram of Dublin, a list of characters complete with their counterparts in Homer's Odyssey, and the chapter summaries. This ad was introduced with the following hopeful words:
"For those who are already engrossed in the reading of Ulysses as well as for those who hesitate to begin it because they fear that it is obscure, the publishers offer this simple clue to what the critical fuss is all about. Ulysses is no harder to 'understand' than say any other great classic. It is essentially a story and can be enjoyed as such. Do not let the critics confuse you."
Remember that Joyce's highly regarded novel was banned as being obscene in the U.S. until the historic 'United States v. One Book Called Ulysses' trial in 1933, where it was ruled that the book was not pornographic and therefore could not be obscene.
Garner reminds us that advertising is really about placing a book into "a potential reader's line of sight." The examples used in this book show us which ones had successful results, and a few that did not.
Fans of the Mad Men television series might really enjoy this as there are some book ads from that era that are truly excellent, but I'm not dropping any spoilers here. At 9 ½ x 7 ½ x 0.9 inches this is no pretentious coffee table book, but one to be read and enjoyed by anyone with an interest in books, authors or advertising. It does homage to a bygone era.
6/6/2012
July 29, 2023
This book made me add a ton to my TBR 🙄
February 20, 2014
just accidentally reread this. don't remember the first time, same rating though.
something i learned, gatsby was sold as a satire. david halberstam wrote an expose of the viet nam war in 1965, "the making of a quagmire"
w/300 plus ads only two books stand out as must have/read. "my enemy the motor, a tale in 8 honks and one crash" julian street 1908 and winnie-the-pooh "large paper edition, limited to 200 copies signed by mr. milne and mr. shepard" what a book that would be!
disappointing that the book starts in 1901,(it IS subtitled "a century of classic ads") there are a couple ads from before then. last week i was reading an old issue of the local newspaper and it was advertising the new book by louisa may alcott, little men, and last month i saw an ad for a bio of lieut. gen. grant in an 1865 edition of the paper. i'd love to have seen more of those.
something i learned, gatsby was sold as a satire. david halberstam wrote an expose of the viet nam war in 1965, "the making of a quagmire"
w/300 plus ads only two books stand out as must have/read. "my enemy the motor, a tale in 8 honks and one crash" julian street 1908 and winnie-the-pooh "large paper edition, limited to 200 copies signed by mr. milne and mr. shepard" what a book that would be!
disappointing that the book starts in 1901,(it IS subtitled "a century of classic ads") there are a couple ads from before then. last week i was reading an old issue of the local newspaper and it was advertising the new book by louisa may alcott, little men, and last month i saw an ad for a bio of lieut. gen. grant in an 1865 edition of the paper. i'd love to have seen more of those.
May 7, 2012
I found this book in a used book store, and it's a surprise treasure for book lovers. It is simply a compilation of 100 years of advertisements for books, many famous, some notorious, some obscure. Dwight Garner provides a useful commentary in each chapter about the changes in book advertising over the years. The advertisements typically appeared in the book sections of newspapers, and many brought back fond memories; as such sections in newspapers vanish, this is a look at a vanishing advertising format (will social media lend itself to similar compilation?). The black and white reproductions are generally quite clear, but the necessity of putting more than one on a page means the print is sometime quite small and difficult to read. This is, no doubt, for specialized tastes. Recommended for its insights into the publishing industry and popular culture.
April 24, 2010
Really enjoyed this so much!
Read my review at SLJ
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/a...
Read my review at SLJ
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/a...
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January 8, 2010Suggested from The Savvy Librarian’s Night Table: Ten amazing titles guaranteed to bring you peace, prosperity, and happiness -- January 2010
February 17, 2013
What a wonderful adjunct to my collection of postcards that advertise books.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews