The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Books  |  Comedy  |  Dance  |  Museum And Gallery  |  Theater
Nominate-best-2010

0912_readme_

Read Me: A Century of Classic American Book Advertisements | By Dwight Garner | Ecco | 288 pages | $26.99

Looking for that skyrocketing bestseller? For steamy sex between the sheets? Readers as far back as the 1900s were, too. In this odd but intriguing offshoot from his main calling of criticism, Garner, a former senior editor of The New York Times Book Review, gathers a century's worth of book advertising and notes its trends, decade by decade. During the Depression-era '30s, for example, readers were advised to "learn to relax" with "The Tired Business Man's Library of Adventure, Detective, and Mystery Novels," while the seemingly conformist '50s witnessed a slew of ads courting controversy (particularly in the case of Norman Mailer's Barbary Coast, for which, Garner notes, the majority of reviews were "scathing"). From the '80s on, Garner has a little trouble spotting clear trends; perhaps his own tenure as a critic has him a little too close to the subject. But it's those early ads that make this book shine. You might suspect "there's a thrill to the minute" in Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan of the Apes, but did you suspect "his strange wooing," touted in a 1914 ad? Or that in 1911 The Phantom of the Opera would be pitched as "The Best Selling Book in New York"? "This novel is one week old and famous the country over," bragged its ad in The New York Times Review of Books. Some things never change.

Clea Simon

<< first  ...< prev  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |   next >...  last >>

5 of 15 (results 15)
Related: , , , More more >
  Topics: Books , Entertainment, Entertainment, Altamont,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
HTML Prohibited
Add Comment

ARTICLES BY PHOENIX STAFF
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   PHOTOS: AMALGAM AND DIFFERENT KIND OF MONSTER AT THE BCA  |  January 26, 2010
    Images of the art exhibit Amalgam and Different Kind of Monster at the BCA as well as the 2010 DeCordova Biennial.
  •   HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF RESOURCE GUIDE  |  January 22, 2010
    As ever-more horrific dispatches from Haiti pour in, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the carnage. But even though Haiti requires an almost incomprehensible amount of relief aid to merely staunch the bleeding, there are myriad opportunities for you to help -- and every shred of effort counts.
  •   CONTINUING EDUCATION 2010  |  January 11, 2010
    A good girl, bad boy guide to continuing your education in 2010.
  •   PHOTOS: MOST POPULAR SLIDESHOWS OF 2009  |  December 22, 2009
    Our most popular slideshows from the last year: including Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Dale Bozzio's crazy cat house, and much more.
  •   2009: THE YEAR IN PHOENIX BLOG POSTS  |  December 21, 2009
    Our most popular blog posts from 2009

 See all articles by: PHOENIX STAFF

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2010 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group