The Broadview Introduction to Book History by Michelle Levy and Tom Mole begins by explaining the origins of the book. Known as a codex, they were pages bound together along a spine with a cover. It took some time for them to become the predominant tool for sharing written information over the scroll, but religions, particularly Christianity, helped popularize the codex. The chapter continues with a brief description of book history as a subject of study. Different cultures and groups of people all found different ways to study the book. In France, the beginning of book history studies focused on the circulation of books and their effect on large historical events. In Germany, the focus was on the history of how books were published and distributed. Literary students looked at the book in a different way than a historian, or information studies students, or an art historian, or an economist. And now, digital humanities and media studies scholars are again, looking at the book in a new perspective.

After reading this section, I thought about everything that goes into a book. Sure, the content, author, and cover are important, but I’ve realized that I haven’t spent too much time pondering all of the other aspects of a book. How did this information become a physical object in my hands? Trees were grown with the intention of becoming paper, and that paper has been dyed a certain color, cut to a certain size, and text, that someone decided to write and someone else decided that the public would benefit from having said information, was printed on said paper. The font was picked, the font size was picked, the font color was picked. And not without careful thought and consideration, they were specifically chosen by people who believed that the specific typeface would enhance the text. Hardcover or paperback, or both, or neither. Artists designed the cover to be appealing, but different types of books are appealing for different reasons. Designers made covers for both a romance novel and a self-help book. And once the book has been designed it still needs to be produced and distributed throughout the world. It has to be priced, high enough to pay all of the people involved in the process, but low enough for people to buy.

I’ve thought about the politics of books. How could I not? With calls of censorship and book banning I’ve always viewed the politics of books strictly through the lens of the content of the book. But politics doesn’t just mean culture wars. Everything that exists is political, and political is not a negative term. I look forward to beginning my studies on book history!