Emma Smith
Portable Magic : A History of Books and their Readers Paperback
“Refund was approved and back in my account the same day.” - Deliver+ customer
A fascinating journey into our relationship with the physical book...I lost count of the times I exclaimed with delight when I read a nugget of information I hadnt encountered before Val McDermid, The TimesMost of what we say about books is really about the words inside them the rosy nostalgic glow for childhood reading, the lifetime companionship of a muchloved novel. But books are things as well as words, objects in our lives as well as worlds in our heads. And just as we crack their spines, loosen their leaves and write in their margins, so they disrupt and disorder us in turn. All books are, as Stephen King put it, a uniquely portable magic. Here, Emma Smith shows us why.Portable Magic unfurls an exciting and iconoclastic new story of the book in human hands, exploring when, why and how it acquired its particular hold over us. Gathering together a millenniums worth of pivotal encounters with volumes big and small, Smith reveals that, as much as their contents, it is books physical form their bookhood that lends them their distinctive and sometimes dangerous magic. From the Diamond Sutra to Jilly Coopers Riders, to a book made of wrapped slices of cheese, this composite artisanal object has, for centuries, embodied and extended relationships between readers, nations, ideologies and cultures, in significant and unpredictable ways. Exploring the unexpected and unseen consequences of our love affair with books, Portable Magic hails the rise of the massmarket paperback,...
Binding: Paperback;352 pages; Publisher: TBS-Penguin Random House Wholesale; Classification: DSA; Weight: 374 g; Dimensions: 130 x 197 x 22
Extended returns Orders placed after 29th October 2026 can be returned until 5th January 2027
Something not quite right? You have 21 days from the day you receive it, to send something back. When you purchase Debenhams Deliver+, you will have an extra 14 days on top of our standard 21-day window to initate a return.
Please note, we cannot offer refunds on fashion face masks, cosmetics, pierced jewellery, adult toys, and swimwear or lingerie if the hygiene seal is not in place or has been broken.
Items of footwear and/or clothing must be unworn and unwashed with the original labels attached. Also, footwear must be tried on indoors. Items of homeware including bedlinen, mattresses, and toppers, and pillows must be unused and in their original unopened packaging. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Click here to view our full Returns Policy.
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A fascinating journey into our relationship with the physical book...I lost count of the times I exclaimed with delight when I read a nugget of information I hadnt encountered before Val McDermid, The TimesMost of what we say about books is really about the words inside them the rosy nostalgic glow for childhood reading, the lifetime companionship of a muchloved novel. But books are things as well as words, objects in our lives as well as worlds in our heads. And just as we crack their spines, loosen their leaves and write in their margins, so they disrupt and disorder us in turn. All books are, as Stephen King put it, a uniquely portable magic. Here, Emma Smith shows us why.Portable Magic unfurls an exciting and iconoclastic new story of the book in human hands, exploring when, why and how it acquired its particular hold over us. Gathering together a millenniums worth of pivotal encounters with volumes big and small, Smith reveals that, as much as their contents, it is books physical form their bookhood that lends them their distinctive and sometimes dangerous magic. From the Diamond Sutra to Jilly Coopers Riders, to a book made of wrapped slices of cheese, this composite artisanal object has, for centuries, embodied and extended relationships between readers, nations, ideologies and cultures, in significant and unpredictable ways. Exploring the unexpected and unseen consequences of our love affair with books, Portable Magic hails the rise of the massmarket paperback,...
Binding: Paperback;352 pages; Publisher: TBS-Penguin Random House Wholesale; Classification: DSA; Weight: 374 g; Dimensions: 130 x 197 x 22
Extended returns Orders placed after 29th October 2026 can be returned until 5th January 2027
Something not quite right? You have 21 days from the day you receive it, to send something back. When you purchase Debenhams Deliver+, you will have an extra 14 days on top of our standard 21-day window to initate a return.
Please note, we cannot offer refunds on fashion face masks, cosmetics, pierced jewellery, adult toys, and swimwear or lingerie if the hygiene seal is not in place or has been broken.
Items of footwear and/or clothing must be unworn and unwashed with the original labels attached. Also, footwear must be tried on indoors. Items of homeware including bedlinen, mattresses, and toppers, and pillows must be unused and in their original unopened packaging. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Click here to view our full Returns Policy.
Emma Smith
Portable Magic : A History of Books and their Readers Paperback
“Refund was approved and back in my account the same day.” - Deliver+ customer
We Think You'll Like
Sponsored Products
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