As a non-fiction reader at heart, I was looking to forward to reading Portable Magic but, at the time of writing this review, have yet to receive a copy of the book as promised by Readers First.
I hope it arrives soon though as, going by the first 30-40 pages which I had access to via the Readers First website, the title lives up to its billing as a biography of books. It starts off with an introductory section which provides some context as to why books were seen as a powerful disruptor of social hierarchies - as well as an offering an insight into the author's interest in the subject and arguing why the book as an object holds agency rather than the words within it - before charting key milestones with dedicated chapters on Gutenberg and tracing different patterns of book production and use via various case studies.
Although there were times when one wished the author would break up some of the chunky paragraphs, this book is organised by theme rather than chronological events so the chapters can be read in any order you wish.
I hope it arrives soon though as, going by the first 30-40 pages which I had access to via the Readers First website, the title lives up to its billing as a biography of books. It starts off with an introductory section which provides some context as to why books were seen as a powerful disruptor of social hierarchies - as well as an offering an insight into the author's interest in the subject and arguing why the book as an object holds agency rather than the words within it - before charting key milestones with dedicated chapters on Gutenberg and tracing different patterns of book production and use via various case studies.
Although there were times when one wished the author would break up some of the chunky paragraphs, this book is organised by theme rather than chronological events so the chapters can be read in any order you wish.