Reading Home Cultures Through Books

This collection explores the significance of books in creating the idea of home, combining case studies from America and Europe to examine the relationship between books, reading, and domesticity in bourgeois, middle-class, working-class, and immigrant families and communities.

Format: Hardback
Length: 142 pages
Publication date: 28 February 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This extensive, comparative, and multidisciplinary collection delves into the profound significance of books in shaping the concept of home. The chapters present compelling cases that unveil the emotional and sensory aspects of books and reading in the daily lives of individuals, communities, and society as a whole. Through American and European case studies encompassing bourgeois and middle-class homes, as well as working-class and immigrant families and communities with limited access to reading, the volume explores the intricate interplay between books, reading, and home. By integrating concepts and representations of domesticity, the materiality of reading, and the library as a place, the volume draws upon insights from book history, material culture studies, anthropology, and sociology of the home. This comprehensive exploration offers a rich tapestry of perspectives, shedding light on the multifaceted ways in which books contribute to the creation and nurturing of a sense of belonging and identity within homes.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367689131