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The Thrill of Owning

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The idea of collecting books in a personal library without reading them, just for the thrill of having it, paints books in a new light as objects instead of content to be read. According to Walter Benjamin in his book Illuminations it’s not about the books at all, it is about the thrill of acquiring them and the feeling of owning them. It always comes down to ownership and power. People feel powerful and more intelligent if they have many books in their possession. It’s the feeling of looking around in your gallery knowing that they are all yours even though most of the books sit unread, for example, “to quote the answer which Anatole France gave to philistine who admired his library and then finished with the standard question, ‘And you have read all these books, Monsieur France?’ “Not one tenth of them. I don’t suppose you use your Sévres china everyday?(Benjamin, 62)” This quote places books in the same category as fancy china that sits in a cabinet, only to be used for special occasions, or never at all. This is powerful because it argues that books are merely material objects to be collected. This deeply corresponds with the idea of bookishness and shows books to be material items, separating them from what they hold inside.
I remember the first day of class many classmates spoke of their book collections and how they hadn’t even read most of them, and I related to that. We collect books for the feel, smell, touch, look, and physicality. The thrill of acquiring. The feeling of power from owning them. This is all very human of us, our hunting and gathering nature. I strongly believe humans will never stop collecting books, even in a fully digital age. Books will always be a collectors item, an object, separate from its content. Humans love books as objects, even if we don’t even use them to get our knowledge. 

Bookishness – A Responce to a Culture in Transition.

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Wow, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first chapter of Jessica Pressman’s book Bookishness. I loved the words and all the wonderful pictures added for our viewing pleasure. It really helped to paint the picture of what bookishness truly is, a phenomenon of people fetishizing the look, feel, and idea of a book in the digital age, where we don’t need them anymore. Although the need might be gone, the want is still apparent. I loved how Pressman italicized these two words: Need and want. We dont need books anymore in our day-to-day lives, and this drastic change is what led to our even stronger want, desire, and fetishization for them.

It reminds me of why I love collecting CDs. I absolutely do not need my collection of CDs; I don’t even have a CD player in my car, and I can listen to all the same things on my iPhone, but it’s the physicality and the fetish of it. It feels more human to put in a CD or read a physical book.

These acts of going out of our way to use physical items such as books and CDs instead of relying on the digital feels nostalgic, and almost like a coping mechanism for how quickly our world became so digital. Pressman words it the best by saying, “Bookishness signals a culture in transition but also provides a solution to a dilemma of the contemporary literary age: how to maintain a commitment to the nearness, attachment, and affiliation that the book traditionally represented now that the use value of the book has so radically altered.” This quote is so verdant and robust with great language, such as the words; transition and radically altered. It honestly blew my mind reading this. That bookishness, in a way, acts as a response to a culture in transition, and this is so because the changes to the book have been so radically altered. Less than twenty years ago, books were the only means to read stories and novels. The first Amazon Kindle didn’t come out until 2007. Computers didn’t become necessary for school and home life until the 90’s and early 2000s. This all proves how shocking and quick our transition from physical to digital truly was, and we’re all still in shock and attempting to adjust. Bookishness is also, in a way, a fight and push back against the digital, our response to the attempted deletion of our beloved physical items. In all, I resonate with the term bookishness, and I will continue to be bookish as a way to push back against a fully digital age.

Archives… Who Decides What is Importaint?

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Before taking this class, I never considered how we take in and shape history. I now know this is all done through the collection, discovery, and donation of archives. However, if a scholar goes into collecting and writing about archives with a bias… this can become slippery territory. This leads me to question, who are these people, and why do they obtain so much power? They have the power in their hands to shape history and even, in some cases, dispose of it.

According to Katherine Bode and Roger Osborne, “Book history from the archival record” in The Cambridge Companion to the History of the Book, “The records that are retained or donated might reflect a hagiographical impulse or the sentimental feelings of an individual. When records are donated and transferred to a formal archive- whether a library, museum, public record office, or university- other processes will further shape the archive through selection and disposal of records, according to the archivists’ methods of valuation. (page, 224″)” This quote demonstrates that some personal feelings and biases shape the process an archive goes through. They can be either deemed important or unimportant and shoved away in a folder that may never be acknowledged. This reminds me of when we were in special collections, and Anna mentioned how much is stored in the SDSU archival collections that have never been touched or read before. This illustrates that there is so much untouched archival history that might have been deemed insignificant by somebody’s biases.

This perfectly aligns with a quote from the shadows archives excerpt, “Given the lack of institutions dedicated to the black experience, the novel became an alternative site of historical preservation, a means to ensure both individual legacy and group survival.” This quote reveals that because of the lack of dedication to the history of the black experience, archives were sitting in these institutions, waiting to be examined. This leads me to question the history we are taught in school and all the facts we do know. How many minority voices have been disposed of over all of these years? Who has the power to deem an archive important or unimportant? I look forward to learning more in our classes this week.

The 1979 Publication of Moby Dick is Not a Novel but an Art Piece

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PART 1: Biography of the physical descriptions of the book: Material

When you wander into the world that is the 1979 publication of Moby Dick by Herman Melville, you will first see a blue glossy cover representing the blue ocean with wave-like texture, similar to the waves that would have washed over the Pequod. On the spine, you will see Melville’s MOBY DICK Arion Press engraved on it, and when you finally open the book, you will see that the first page is a white blank page, thus representing the vast nothingness of the ocean and the whiteness of the whale. You can see it is one piece of paper, thus insinuating that this book is a folio.

You then turn through five blank white pages (showcasing the abundance of paper available in the late 1970s) before reaching the title page, which features a woodcut-stamped portrait of Herman Melville, his name, and the title printed in blue: MOBY DICK; or, The Whale and THE ARION PRESS: San Francisco, 1979. This book functions as both a reader response and a memorial, as the second page reads, “In token of my admiration for his genius, this book is inscribed to Nathaniel Hawthorne,” Melville’s pen pal for two years. Turning the next few pages, labeled iv–vii, you find the table of contents in Roman type, followed by a map of the world marking major whaling grounds and the inferred track of the Pequod. Finally, you arrive at the opening line of this great American novel, where the first word of the sentence appears large and blue, symbolizing the vast blue ocean and suggesting that, just as one can lose themselves at sea, one can also become immersed in the words on the page.

This fine press book was created for both enjoyment and aesthetic appreciation, and its large size not only represents the whale but also serves as a status symbol. I hypothesize that it would have been kept in a private library or displayed prominently by a Moby Dick enthusiast. Its thick, textured pages reveal slight lines and traces of acidity, and if you look closely under the light, you can see a whale-shaped watermark. Additionally, the pages are torn, serrated, and raw, suggesting that the entire sheet was used and intentionally left untrimmed.

The excess space on the page can be compared to the blubber of a whale and even to a picture frame, displaying the words on the page as art, not just content to be read, which is very fitting because this book is classified as an art book. The beautiful images were created from relief printing, specifically, woodcut stamps, and these scattered images are undeniably eye-catching. They help reframe and visualize the story and even create a new way to interpret the age-old tale that is Moby Dick.

My last comments about the physicality of this version of Moby Dick are that there is no marginalia, bookplate, or any imprints made by previous owners. This book has been extremely well kept over the years, and it feels almost brand new. There are also no signatures for binding, and the book was bound with blue thread. This beautiful codex contains 576 pages, ending with an epilogue and a colophon. To finish the book, you have to turn five more empty white pages to reach the end. When you reach the end, it is clear that the size, color choices, images, and textures added to the novel were purposeful and representative of its content. 

PART 2 ​​Scholarly Analysis: The aspect of this book that not only tremendously stood out to me but singlehandedly led me to choose it was the book’s size and the white space surrounding the text on the page. I found this to be incredibly interesting because I have read and studied Moby Dick before, in a small codex form, and bringing that experience with me when viewing the 1979 Arion Press publication opened my eyes to the fact that the two forms led to two completely different ways of reading the same story. This then led me to the idea that the excess white and vast space surrounding the words on the pages of the 1979 Arion Press publication of Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick was a thoughtful and purposeful act made by its creator to reframe the words of Moby Dick and alter the way we interpret the novel. The design choice acts as a reader response which presents the novel in a new light as not just literature but a peice of art, which, instead of being viewed independently, can be viewed with multiple people. This prompts a reevaluation of how we read the “great American novel,” demonstrating that form profoundly shapes our experience of content.

The first copy of Moby Dick by Herman Melville was published in 1851, bound in the standard codex form that made the book remarkably accessible and portable, allowing readers to carry it anywhere they wished to go. This condensed, compact format creates an intimate reading experience, making you feel as though you are confined aboard the Pequod alongside Ishmael, a sensation that deeply shapes how the story is read. The words are smaller and closer together, and the margins are minimal. This small codex was designed for independent, personal reading, something you wouldn’t necessarily share with another person.

In contrast, the 1979 Arion Press publication of Moby Dick invites a very different kind of engagement. When opening its vast white pages and bold blue cover, you feel as though you are stepping into a museum or art gallery. You are no longer reading Moby Dick privately but viewing it through an artful lens, perhaps alongside someone else, much like how large art installations are experienced by multiple viewers at once. This edition’s scale transforms the act of reading into a shared, visual experience.

This codex’s considerable size, extravagant images, and vast margins allow the reader’s eyes to drift leisurely across each page, transforming the act of reading into a visual experience. In contrast, most novels, especially small, portable codices, are not designed to be visual experiences, which is one reason this version is so unique. The large format alters our perception; it doesn’t simply feel like reading an ordinary book but rather like viewing a luxurious art piece. The five pages that open and close the novel can be compared to walking through a hallway before entering a museum or art gallery. To create separation, some museums use clean white walls between each artwork, and these pages evoke that same sense of quiet transition.

This adaptation of Moby Dick should not be viewed simply as a novel but as an art piece. The way it is framed mirrors that of a traditional artwork, largely due to the use of a white background. Placing artwork within a frame with a white mat serves not only to protect the piece but also to enhance its visual impact. This framing creates space and separation, offering a distraction-free way for viewers to focus on what is most important. Similarly, the white space surrounding the words and illustrations in the 1979 Arion Press publication of Moby Dick serves the same purpose: to draw our eyes to the art on the page. In this way, the design itself reinforces the argument that this adaptation of Moby Dick is not merely a novel, but a work of art.

This form of Moby Dick and its deliberate use of paper and space on each page was a purposeful choice made by its creator. I believe this book came to exist because someone was profoundly transformed by the “great American novel” and felt inspired to craft their own adaptation. The story of Moby Dick itself is deeply concerned with reading, education, power, and how we interpret the world around us. As a result, this work of literature has sparked countless reader responses due to its enlightening and life-changing nature. I think someone was so moved by the novel’s content that they felt compelled to create a new version, one that highlights how artful the text truly is. The novel’s interpretive nature invites endless hypotheses about its meaning, much like a work of art.

In all, this adaptation of Moby Dick’s large form changes the way we read and interpret the novel. With the white framing space encircling the words and pictures on the page, we are pushed to view this codex as art, not a novel. Traditionally, novels are typically small and bound in a way that makes it easy to take from one place to the next. This codex, in comparison, is big and heavy and would be very hard to lug around with you all day. This wouldn’t be a book read on the train on the way to work or shoved in a purse or bag. This codex would be stored in a library or on display, in the same way that art pieces are set on display. This codex was created as a reader response. Somebody wanted to reframe this novel as art and change where we read it and how we read it. We no longer have to imagine what the world of Moby Dick would have looked like because it is framed for us with pictures on the page. Moby Dick also becomes a shared experience, its grand scale allowing multiple people to view and engage with it at once. Altogether, this demonstrates how form transforms the way we absorb content, the spaces in which we read, and the people we read with.

Digital Literature’s Short Shelf Life

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Digital literature, hypertext, hyperlinks, and electronic literature are all extreamly new terms in my vocabulary. I have never thought about literature made on the computer made for reading on the computer. This is partly because I am incredibly digitally illiterate and try to focus more on physical books that I can feel and touch. However, stepping into this digital world of literature is more fascinating than I ever thought it could be. It is experimental and fresh, taking from the past and making it into the new. As seen in the text, Electronic Literature, “We encounter electronic literature as both a reading experience and an application, an artifact that may also encompass the tool used to produce it. (page, 173)” This short quote articulates that form and media directly affect the form and content. This then affects how a person will read it and how long it stays relevant in our ever-changing world. There are also connections to be made about how media forms from the past affect the media forms we practice and consume today. The past and present are constantly in communication; in the same way, there is always a feedback loop between the arts. I am learning that it is very important to understand this when studying literature and its history. Especially, if you are doing research in media archeology, looking at artifacts and archives. This quote directly speaks to this, touching on the fact that an artifact will encompass the tool used to produce it. Therefore, writing something on a typewriter will create a different product than writing on the computer or by hand. Also, the affordability of paper will influence how long something may be or if it is lengthy or condensed. The main idea here is that it is impossible to ignore the form used to produce media. We live in a purposeful, obsolete culture where media dies. This is why digital literature will have a very short shelf life. This literature is hard to archive; software is always adapting and changing. In contrast to a book, which takes a physical form and can be preserved and kept safe from damage. Anything digital is not safe and is susceptible to deletion. This is all so fascinating, and I am so excited to be learning this, especially since we live in such a digital age, and im trying to be less digitally illiterate.

The Machine is Here to Stay. Should We Expoid it?

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The world is constantly changing, adapting, and transforming in new ways daily. Philosopher Aldous Huxley argues that a person can either expend all their energy to stop it, or they can accept the changes and attempt to use them to their advantage. As seen in Philip Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, chapter 16 states, “It is obvious,” wrote Aldous Huxley in 1928, “that the machine is here to stay. Whole armies of William Morrises and Tolstoy could not now expel it.… Let us then exploit [it] to create beauty—a modern beauty, while we are about it.” (Meggs) This passage is extreamly robust and uses strong language and imagery. First, the phrase “the machine is here to stay.” This quote may have been stated in 1928, but it is just as or even more relevant to our society now. This immediately reminded me of AI technology and the example where schools have accepted that AI is not going away anytime soon, so they are endeavoring to use it to their advantage. Additionally, the word “exploit” was a very strong word used in this passage. Exploit meaning: to make full use of and derive benefit from. This begs the question: do we exploit technology, or is it exploiting us? We use it to our advantage, but to what cost? Do we exploit the machine at the cost of exploiting ourselves? Some other great quotes by Aldous Huxley that I found are, “People will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think,” and “Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.” These quotes are extreamly telling and have come into full fruition. Our smartphones and ChatGPT do, in fact, make humans less intelligent. Therefore, we are exploiting these machines while at the same time exploiting our own right to think on our own and think independently of the machine.

The Power of the Book – Book as Idea

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Throughout the novel The Book, by Amaranth Borsuk, we have been learning about the history of books, how they have been made, manufactured, commodified, and read, and the changes in form that these books have taken. However, this is the first time in this book where the power of the book has been explicated. Borsuk argues that the ultimate power of these books is, in fact, political, and how people were threatened by the mass spread of literacy and tried to gatekeep books for only the rich and powerful. For example, “The workman-like columns of the newspaper made text available and accessible on a scale that he felt threatened the power of the book. It also made language a tool of commerce and mass culture. (Borsuk, 127)” The spread of literacy and information to the mass population would be threatening to anyone who is in a position of power and control. It only makes sense that the power of the book would be gatekept by oppressors so that they can continue the harm they are inflicting. This is why we see banned books when we have corrupt people in office, authoritarians, and dictators. They don’t want the spread of certain information to keep the mass public uninformed and oppressed. Books hold so much power that they can heavily influence society and start political movements. The more accessible the knowledge is, the more people will understand, and the less abuse they will endure. That is why books are so powerful, because they are political and create real social change. The kind of change rich and powerful people don’t want to see.

The How.

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When working on our biography of a book midterm projects, the biggest inquiry at hand is how. How are these books made, and how does that lead us to the bigger picture? For instance, “Bibliography examines the artifactual value of texts – including books, manuscripts, and digital texts – and how they reflect the people and cultures that created, acquired, and exchanged them.” This quote helps make the idea of a bibliography clearer, especially since the term isn’t as well-known as one might think. The biggest point that stands out to me is the “how”. That is the biggest question that lies before us when examining these artifacts. How are these books crafted? How were the pages bound? How were the pictures printed? How does the font reflect the culture of the time? These are how questions then lead to the bigger ideas, the so what, which is really what is important. We are close reading these books in a new way, which most of us have never done before. We are used to opening up a book and reading its contents, then reading closely from there. But here we are reading the spine, the cover, what the pages are made out of, how the pictures were printed, the marginalia, the signatures, the bookplate, and ext. This analysis then helps us see how people read the book during its heyday. Does it have a hook on it? What is the size? If it’s small, we can assume it’s a personal book, but if it’s large, then we can picture it being used in a public space such as a church.

There are so many questions at hand, especially so many how questions. I am very much looking forward to jumping into this project and close reading a book for myself to see into its past and glimpse into the culture that it reflects.