LEADER 04962nam 2200745 a 450 001 9910782458203321 005 20230207225834.0 010 $a1-281-96596-0 010 $a9786611965969 010 $a0-226-52592-9 024 7 $a10.7208/9780226525921 035 $a(CKB)1000000000578287 035 $a(EBL)408437 035 $a(OCoLC)436148430 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000235718 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11924771 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000235718 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10163325 035 $a(PQKB)11246778 035 $a(StDuBDS)EDZ0000119105 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC408437 035 $a(DE-B1597)523511 035 $a(OCoLC)781254515 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780226525921 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL408437 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10265953 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL196596 035 $a(OCoLC)646784231 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000578287 100 $a20050829d2006 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aReluctant capitalists$b[electronic resource] $ebookselling and the culture of consumption /$fLaura J. Miller 210 $aChicago $cUniversity of Chicago Press$d2006 215 $a1 online resource (328 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-226-52590-2 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 283-297) and index. 327 $aCommercial culture and its discontents -- From dry goods merchant to Internet mogul : bookselling through American history -- Providing for the sovereign consumer : selecting and recommending books -- Designing the bookstore for the standardized consumer -- Serving the entertained consumer : the multifunction bookstore -- Bargaining with the rational consumer : selling the low-cost book -- The revolt of the retailers : independent bookseller activism -- Pursuing the citizen-consumer : consumption as politics. 330 $aOver the past half-century, bookselling, like many retail industries, has evolved from an arena dominated by independent bookstores to one in which chain stores have significant market share. And as in other areas of retail, this transformation has often been a less-than-smooth process. This has been especially pronounced in bookselling, argues Laura J. Miller, because more than most other consumer goods, books are the focus of passionate debate. What drives that debate? And why do so many people believe that bookselling should be immune to questions of profit? In Reluctant Capitalists, Miller looks at a century of book retailing, demonstrating that the independent/chain dynamic is not entirely new. It began one hundred years ago when department stores began selling books, continued through the 1960's with the emergence of national chain stores, and exploded with the formation of "superstores" in the 1990's. The advent of the Internet has further spurred tremendous changes in how booksellers approach their business. All of these changes have met resistance from book professionals and readers who believe that the book business should somehow be "above" market forces and instead embrace more noble priorities. Miller uses interviews with bookstore customers and members of the book industry to explain why books evoke such distinct and heated reactions. She reveals why customers have such fierce loyalty to certain bookstores and why they identify so strongly with different types of books. In the process, she also teases out the meanings of retailing and consumption in American culture at large, underscoring her point that any type of consumer behavior is inevitably political, with consequences for communities as well as commercial institutions. 606 $aBooksellers and bookselling$zUnited States 606 $aBookstores$zUnited States 606 $aBooks$xPurchasing$zUnited States 606 $aBooks and reading$zUnited States 606 $aConsumption (Economics)$xSocial aspects$zUnited States 606 $aConsumer behavior$zUnited States 610 $abookselling, real, independent bookstores, chain stores, amazon, profit, capitalism, department, superstores, consumption, mass market, culture, literacy, reading for pleasure, purpose, ethics, nonfiction, history, american booksellers association, diversity, homogenization, art, aesthetics, commercialism, economics, emotion, consumer rationality, sentiment, singularity, commodification. 615 0$aBooksellers and bookselling 615 0$aBookstores 615 0$aBooks$xPurchasing 615 0$aBooks and reading 615 0$aConsumption (Economics)$xSocial aspects 615 0$aConsumer behavior 676 $a381/.45002/0973 700 $aMiller$b Laura J$01519177 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910782458203321 996 $aReluctant capitalists$93757139 997 $aUNINA