In the 20th century, books became accessible in a way they had never been, and reading as well as book ownership and presentation became visible hallmarks of a successful middle class existence. One major contributor to mainstream book ownership and changing reading habits was the book sales club, whose history opens new perspectives on transnational print culture studies and global book history.

This talk by Prof. Dr. Corinna Norrick-Rühl (Universität Münster) revisits Don F. McKenzie's thinking around the sociology of the text and the book's frisky, elusive forms to examine 20th-century mail-order book culture, giving special attention to the role of book sales clubs in "moving books": from the publisher to (millions of) readers, from warehouses to mailboxes, from peripheries to centers.

Lecture will be followed by a Q&A.

Part of the 2024-25 lecture series Moving Books supported by DFG-GRK Literatur- und Wissensgeschichte kleiner Formen.