So Many Books, 2nd Edition - by Gabriel Zaid (Paperback)

About the Book

"In So Many Books, Gabriel Zaid offers his observations on the literary condition: a highly original analysis of the predicament that readers, authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and teachers find themselves in today--when there are simply more books than any of us can contemplate. This slim volume is above all a book about vastness; about oceanic tides of language, about the feelings they produce, for writer and reader alike. About how words work in the marketplace, and how they fail to work, too. About books and the internet and culture itself.""--

Book Synopsis

A charming new edition of a much-loved book about books

"A playful celebrant of literary proliferation."--New Yorker

In So Many Books, Gabriel Zaid offers his observations on the literary condition: a highly original analysis of the predicament that readers, authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and teachers find themselves in today--when there are simply more books than any of us can contemplate.

Translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer, this second edition includes a new introduction by Robin Sloan and delightful illustrations by Grant Silverstein. Robin Sloan writes in his introduction, "This slim volume is above all a book about vastness; about oceanic tides of language, about the feelings they produce, for writer and reader alike. About how words work in the marketplace, and how they fail to work, too. About books and the internet and culture itself."

Review Quotes

"Zaid traces the preoccupation with reading back through Dr. Johnson, Seneca, and even the Bible ('Of making many books there is no end'). He emerges as a playful celebrant of literary proliferation, noting that there is a new book published every thirty seconds, and optimistically points out that publishers who moan about low sales 'see as a failure what is actually a blessing: The book business, unlike newspapers, films, or television, is viable on a small scale.' Zaid, who claims to own more than ten thousand books, says he has sometimes thought that 'a chastity glove for authors who can't contain themselves' would be a good idea. Nonetheless, he cheerfully opines that 'the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.'"

--New Yorker

"One of the pleasures of So Many Books is that its content and form are perfectly synchronized. Zaid makes his points in a vivid, concise way; his text is a compactly designed 144 pages. Each chapter could be a separate essay, but there is a clear overview; So Many Books is a whole with an air of improvisation."
--Margo Jefferson, New York Times

"Lively, cosmopolitan, and piquant, Zaid's treatise will engage every serious reader."

--Booklist

"Highly recommending . . . An obscure and brilliant treatise for anyone who buys, sells, or publishes books in the 'Age of Abundance.' Gabriel Zaid writes about the relationship between commerce and aesthetic value in the world of books, our sometimes absurd and fathomless market. If you're looking for your next tattoo, consider this line from Zaid: 'To be angry because a book isn't where you want it to be is to be angry at the randomness of fate.'"
--Third Place Books, Seattle

"This small book is a gem: an absorbing conversation about the whole point of reading, the surplus of titles, and our own lack of time."
--Sunday Telegraph

"With cascades of books pouring down on him from every direction, how can the twenty-first-century reader keep his head above water? Gabriel Zaid answers that question in a variety of surprising ways, many of them witty, all of them provocative."
--Anne Fadiman, Author of Ex-Libris

"A truly original book about books. Destined to be a classic!"
--Enrique Krauze, author of Mexico: Biography of Power, Editor of Letras Libres

"Gabriel Zaid's small gem of a book manages to be both delectable and useful, like chocolate fortified with vitamins. His rare blend of wisdom and savvy practical sense should make essential and heartening reading for anyone who cares about the future of books and the life of the mind."
--Lynne Sharon Schwartz, Author of Ruined by Reading: A Life in Books

About the Author

Gabriel Zaid's poetry, essays, and social and cultural criticism have been widely published throughout the Spanish-speaking world. He lives in Mexico City with the artist Basia Batorska, her paintings, three cats, and ten thousand books.

Natasha Wimmer is an editor and a translator in New York City. Her translations include The Savage Detectives and 2666 by Roberto Bolaño and You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue.

Robin Sloan is the author of the novels Moonbound, Sourdough, and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. He splits his time between the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley of California.

Grant Silverstein specializes in etchings of a narrative character and in studies of figures, landscapes, and animals. He has illustrated several Paul Dry Books titles including Girlatee and The Battle Between the Frogs and the Mice. Silverstein lives in rural Pennsylvania.