On Pages - by James Mustich (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Bookseller, creator of the mail order book catalog A Common Reader, and author of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die, James Mustich considers what books mean in the age of AI.

This is a book about pages: the reading and writing that animates them, and what they in turn can bring to life. In a series of linked essays that are literary, historical, metaphorical, and anecdotal, James Mustich first considers how things get onto pages and what they do there, and how an indiscriminate use of generative AI threatens to change both. Ranging from prehistory through the rise of silent reading and the revolutionary ways of knowing it engendered, ultimately, through the words of Montaigne, Shakespeare, and Cervantes, and a consideration of the fiction of Charles Dickens and Ali Smith leads to reflections on writing in, and through, time.

Mustich then looks to the traffic in books, the trade in words, the destiny of books and bookstores, the avocations of booksellers and browsers, seeking to recollect, in this erasive age, the private reading and writing that has shaped his own small literary life, and to articulate lessons drawn from the life of letters writ large, even while the characters that inscribed it for centuries seem in danger of being overwritten in a single generation by the relentless chattering of machine outputs. And yet: if the onrushing present seems in thrall to the ghost of meaning, the past lives of letters know how to remember its substance; they are a history of proven spells.

Review Quotes

Praise for 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die

"If there's a heaven just for readers, this is it."
--O, The Oprah Magazine

"The ultimate literary bucket list . . . It's hard to imagine that such a massive compendium could have been done better or demonstrate a more supple and catholic taste."
--Michael Dirda, Washington Post

"If you've ever doubted that books were the greatest invention of all time, and that they carry within them our collective memories and dreams, as well as any semblance of intelligence we have as a species, pick up James Mustich's 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die and start reading."
--Ken Burns

"Mustich 'wanted to ensure it not only held books for all-time, but also books for the moment, books to be savored, or devoured in a night.' The end goal was 'a browser's version of paradise.' He succeeded. Organized alphabetically by author (with some occasional exceptions), it's equal fun to page through sequentially or dive in at random--a perfect mirroring of the browsing experience."
--John Warner, Chicago Tribune

"A treasure chest for book lovers everywhere."
--Library Journal (starred review)

"This compulsively readable reference work from Mustich, cofounder of the Common Reader book catalogs, is sure to send bibliophiles hopscotching through its pages . . . Mustich's informed appraisals will drive readers to the books they've yet to read, and stimulate discussion of those they have."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Every so often, a reference book appears that changes the landscape of its area of focus. In the case of reading and readers' advisory, this is one such book . . . lively, witty, insightful prose . . . It might be wise to invest in several copies of this wonderful meditation on life lived with and enhanced by the written word."
--Booklist (starred review)

About the Author

James Mustich has had a long career in the book trade as reader, bookseller, editor, and writer. In 1986, he co-founded the beloved catalog, A Common Reader, and was for two decades its guiding force. He subsequently worked as an editorial and product development executive, exploring the intersection of bookselling and technology in positions at Barnes & Noble and Apple. His first book, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die, was published to acclaim in 2018. He currently serves as senior advisor to the president of Iona University, and lives with his wife, Margot, in Connecticut.