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: Paperback / softback
Length: 142 pages
Publication date: 25 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This extensive, comparative, and interdisciplinary 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. By examining American and European case studies, encompassing bourgeois and middle-class households, 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 the home. The volume combines insights from book history, material culture studies, anthropology, and sociology of the home to shed light on the conceptions and representations of domesticity, the materiality of reading, and the library as a cherished space. Through these multidisciplinary approaches, the volume offers a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted relationship between books, reading, and the creation of a sense of belonging and comfort within the confines of one's home.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367689162