The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-first Century

ONE OF LIT HUB'S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2023 • ESQUIRE's August 2023 Book Club Pick "If books are important to you because you're a reader or a writer, then how books are sold should be important to you as well. If it matters to you that your vegetables are organic, your clothes made without child labor, your beer brewed without a culture of misogyny, then it should matter how books are made and sold to you." With Amazon’s growing power in both bookselling and publishing, considering where and how we get our books is more important now than ever. The simple act of putting a book in a reader’s hands—what booksellers call handselling—becomes a catalyst for an exploration of the moral, financial, and political pressures all indie bookstores face. From the relationship between bookselling and white supremacy, to censorship and the spread of misinformation, to the consolidation of the publishing industry, veteran bookseller and writer Josh Cook turns a generous yet critical eye to an industry at the heart of American culture, sharing tips and techniques for becoming a better reader and, of course, recommending great books along the way.

About the Author :
Josh Cook is a bookseller and co-owner at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he has worked since 2004. He is also author of the critically acclaimed postmodern detective novel An Exaggerated Murder and his fiction, criticism, and poetry have appeared in numerous leading literary publications. He grew up in Lewiston, Maine and lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Review :
Praise for The Art of Libromancy "With clarity, urgency, and good humor, Cook excavates what it is to write, read, buy, and sell books right now." —Nina McLaughlin, Boston Globe "In the age of book banning, publishing industry consolidation, and the pandemic’s lingering aftershocks, Cook’s words ring with frightening truth." —Esquire "This collection of essays comes from an undeniable place of passion for and commitment to social justice and the betterment of a venerable profession that has had its fair share of hard times. It’s intelligent, in many ways practical, a must-read for booksellers and a should-read for bookstore customers." —Chicago Review of Books "If you want to really dive deeply into the world of bookselling, this is the exact book for you." —Greg Zimmerman, Chicago Review of Books "A treatise on the way commerce shapes what and how we read." —Chicago Tribune "The Veteran bookseller unpacks what’s at stake as Amazon’s monopolistic power threatens indie bookselling and the publishing industry." —Globe and Mail "Exceptionally well written, deftly organized, and impressively presented." —Midwest Book Review "He writes as a fan of thesis, antithesis, synthesis—looking for solutions." —Winnipeg Free Press "The Art of Libromancy, Josh Cook’s recent collection of essays, is necessary reading whether you work in an indie bookstore or not." —Lit Hub "In The Art of Libromancy, Josh Cook asks booksellers to live by their ideals. As a bookseller himself, at Porter Square Books in Massachusetts, he seeks to set an example for justice-based bookstores—justice for booksellers in their employment conditions, and justice as a motivation for bookselling." —Full Stop "In pulling back the curtain to show readers the nuts and bolts of what this entails, Cook has provided a valuable service." —That Shakespearean Rag Praise for Josh Cook “The writing throughout is so crystalline, the dialogue so acerbically funny and the characters so engaging as to make the pages seem as though they’re turning themselves.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “One of the most high-minded detective stories in years ... Meticulously planned and content-rich, this sophisticated, variegated study ... ranks with the best upmarket mysteries by Iain Pears and Umberto Eco.” —Bookslut “Bookseller and debut novelist Cook’s humorous take on various whodunit and noir tropes is ... spot-on.” —Library Journal "One of [my] favorite booksellers." —Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere