Commodification of Literature

Image via CrunchBase

Today in my Latin American Literature class, we discussed the history of the American book industry. In retrospect, we've come a long way since the very decentralized printing industry of pre-Civil War America. Without transportation or commercial presses, the printing, marketing, sale, and distribution of books was pretty non-existant.

However, after the Civil War (after the construction of the railroad and the revitalization of many American cities), the book industry was quickly centralized. The desire to unite the country through literature was apparent as books of all sorts, whether about manners, politics, or romance, found their way into the homes of American men and women.

This commodification of books was beneficial to society because it provided a more regular and faster exchange of ideas and thoughts. The better availability and accessibility of books to people of all classes and races democratized this exchange-- something previously monopolized by American genteel.

Since then, the book industry has become even more centralized. The genteel may no longer have a monopoly on ideas, but the book industry sure does. The major bookstores have completely standardized the experience of buying and reading books. Think about the last time you stepped into a Borders or Barnes and Noble. The stores are arranged in the same manner, right down to the sort-of nice furniture, the trendy coffee drinks, and the background music.

What does this mean for such companies? Profit. They have book selling down to a science; the lack of guesswork means fewer economic losses. It also means customer loyalty: shoppers enjoy the familiarity of these mega-book stores.

Theses stores certainly cater to the needs of the customer, an idea explored in Everything is Miscellaneous's discussion of Staples. But isn't this kind of shopping boring and predictable?

Sure, it's advantageous for the shopper to be able to get in and out of a busy store... but isn't there a certain appeal to "window shopping" and discovering new and great things?

Maybe this is why I like to shop at small bookstores, ones that carry special editions and rare finds. I'm not crazy though, I'm guilty of shopping at these superstores myself. After all, they are more affordable... I'm a college student, let's be real here.