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2016 Issue No. 27 — Thing Theo y, Ma e ial Cul u e, and Objec -O ien ed
On ology
The Fo ms and Uses o Con empo a y Books: S udying he Book as a Mass
P oduced Commodi y and an In ima e Objec
By Hanna Kuusela
The mode n and con empo a y ins i u ions o li e a u e ha e been unques ionably s ongly ied
o one ma e ial objec o hing, he p in ed book. E en i ou imes a e domina ed by isual and
digi al cul u e and e en i echnological de elopmen s a e supposed o b ing changes o he ield,
he p in ed book has no disappea ed: he dominan mode o li e a u e is s ill ied o he book.
Fu he mo e, i is no only li e a u e which has o cen u ies es ed on he ma e iali y o he book,
bu h ough li e acy and educa ion, books ha e been closely ied o such mode n ideals as
eedom o exp ession and a ional a gumen a ion in he public sphe e. Acco ding o di e en
commen a o s, he book is an objec , which along wi h p in echnology has signi ican ly
con ibu ed o he eme gence o he s abilisa ion o se e al mode n ins i u ions, like na ion
(Ande son; Eisens ein), cons i u ions (Johns), science (Eisens ein) and he public sphe e
(Habe mas). Jason Eps ein goes as a as o say ha p in ing “ga e bi h o he Re o ma ion, he
Enligh enmen , he scien i ic and indus ial e olu ions, and he socie ies ha esul ed: in o he
wo ds, ou p esen wo ld wi h all i s wonde s and woes” (xi).
Despi e his in e wined his o y o li e a u e and books as ma e ial objec s, and he impo ance o
he p in ed book as a his o ical ac o , he me hods o li e a y s udies o sociology o li e a u e
ha e o en igno ed ma e ial aspec s o con empo a y li e a u e, o objec -o ien ed me hodologies,
un il now. The mains eam me hods o li e a y c i icism ha e highligh ed ex ual aspec s, o
al e na i ely, when ma e iali y has been discussed, i has usually been app oached as a
backg ound o base s uc u e ou o which he a o li e a u e g ows. Now, he si ua ion has,
howe e , s a ed o change. D awing inspi a ion bo h om (his o ical) book s udies and he so-
called ma e ial u n in social sciences, li e a y schola s ha e shown new in e es in he ma e iali y
o con empo a y books.
The p esen a icle discusses his u n and in oduces a amewo k o s udying con empo a y
li e a u e in i s ull ma e iali y. Taking an objec -o ien ed app oach o he book equi es
unde s anding i s un ixed na u e as a ma e ial objec . The book is bo h one o he i s mass-
p oduced commodi ies and a singula hing ha is in ima ely used and eused by i s eade s o
use s. In o de o ake his un ixed na u e o he book in o accoun , his a icle sugges s ha books
should be s udied bo h om he pe spec i e o hei o ms and o hei uses. D awing om li e a y
pos s uc u alis s and ma e ial cul u e s udies, i app oaches he p oduc ion and he ecep ion o
books as p ac ices ha lea e in es igable aces in he ma e ial objec s. Books change be ween
edi ions, and e en when hey a e eleased and ci cula ed in ens o housands o “iden ical”
copies, indi idual eade s egula ly lea e hei ma ks on books, hus, using o hei own ends he
ma e ial a o dances he books o e .
Ma e in Li e a u e
ISSN14443775
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Ques ions conce ning ma e and ma e iali y ha e ecen ly in e es ed schola s ac oss he
humani ies and social sciences, bo h in wha has been called ma e ial cul u e s udies and he pos -
human o new ma e ialis pa adigms. The a ious heo is s wo king wi hin hese pa adigms ha e
enabled ma e o appea as an on ologically and epis emologically una oidable opic o esea ch.
As a consequence, ma e now seems o be e e ywhe e.
These eme ging heo ies ange om he on ological conside a ions o pos -humanism and new
ma e ialism (see, o e.g., B aido i; Coole and F os ; J. Benne ; Ha away) o mo e empi ically
o ien ed app oaches (see, o e.g., Appadu ai; Kopy o ; Hicks and Beaud y; Law and Hassa d;
Callon e . al.). The common aim o he di e en heo ies has been o emphasise how appa en ly
inanima e hings ac on people, and a e ac ed upon by people (Woodwa d 3) and how hings
ha e he capaci y no only o impede he will o humans bu also o ac as o ces wi h ajec o ies,
p opensi ies o endencies o hei own (Benne , J. iii). The in e es in ma e iali y has been so
wide ha some ha e e en e e ed o a ma e ial u n (Hicks), and along wi h mo e heo e ical and
on ological conside a ions, se e al handbooks o ma e ial cul u e s udies ha e been eleased (see
Hicks and Beaud y; Buchli; Tilley; Woodwa d). The cu en special issue o T ans o ma ions is,
hus, only one example o he end.
Despi e hei o en di e en app oaches o he on ological ques ions, hese a ious s udies sha e
an in e es in objec s, hings, and ma e iali ies in e e yday si ua ions. Tu o-Kimmo Leh onen
w i es ha in con as o on ological, his o ical o e hical ma e ialism, in he new app oaches,
“a en ion is paid no only o he backg ound explana ions, bu also o he o eg ound: ac ion and
expe ience wi h ma e iali ies. Ma e is no behind pu e human in e ac ion. Ins ead, ma e iali y is
ega ded as aking pa in he in e ac ion. Human oge he ness implies being oge he wi h hings”
(281). Acco dingly, ma e ial objec s can signi y; hey can inco po a e, acili a e, assis and ca y
meanings.
Slowly, such insigh s ha e ound hei way o he esea ch on a and cul u e, and a g owing
numbe o isual-a and music schola s ha e app oached a as ma e ially suppo ed p ocesses
(e.g., Hennion Ba oque, Those Things, De No a; de la Fuen e). In he ield o li e a y s udies, ma e
and ma e iali y has adi ionally been on he agenda o he so-called book s udies o ex ual
schola ship, as some book his o ians ha e wo ked on he a ious physical edi ions, modi ica ions
and ou es o his o ical ex s (see, e.g., Mye s e al.), bu ecen ly also esea ch on con empo a y
books has s a ed o inco po a e ma e ial aspec s. In pa icula , ce ain niche gen es, such as a is
books, zines, and elec onic li e a u e, ha e been s udied in e ms o hei ma e iali y (see, e.g.,
Hayles; Thobu n; D ucke ; Mays and Thobu n), bu also he ma e iali y o con empo a y popula
books has s a ed o in e es schola s (Ma hews and Moody; Moylan and S iles; Mays and
Thobu n). Fo example, he au ho s o Reading Books: Essays on he Ma e ial Tex and Li e a u e in
Ame ica (1996), ha e a emp ed o “si ua e he ma e ial ex wi hin hose webs o p oduc ion,
dissemina ion, and consump ion ha cons i u e and de e mine meaning in any gi en place and
ime” (Moylan and S iles 3). In hei in oduc ion, he edi o s Michele Moylan and Lane S iles
w i e: “[W]hen we ead books, we eally ead books – ha is, we ead he physicali y o ma e iali y
o he book as well as and in ela ion o he ex i sel ” (2). Paul Duguid has made a simila
a gumen when sugges ing ha books a e no “dead hings” ca ying p e o med in o ma ion bu
a e, hemsel es, c ucial agen s and means o p oduc ion (79). Equally, o example Ailsa C aig has
no ed ha cul u al s udies would do well o pay mo e a en ion o he physicali y o objec s, like
books, which a e o en seen as condui s o meaning a he han as cons i u i e o meaning (49).
Finally, N. Ka he ine Hayles has no ed ha ocusing “on ma e iali y allows us o see he dynamic
in e ac i i y h ough which a li e a y wo k mobilizes i s physical embodimen in conjunc ion
wi h i s e bal signi ie s o cons uc meanings in ways ha implici ly cons uc he use / eade
as well” (131). Tex s a e always embodied in some ma e iali ies, and li e a u e is bes unde s ood
as he in e play be ween o m, con en and medium, as Hayles (31) sugges s.
Howe e , in o de o unde s and his in e play, we need o de ine mo e ho oughly wha he
ma e iali y o he book is – and how i can be seen, app oached and unde s ood.
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Book – A Fixed Objec o a Hyb id En i y?
Wha he hingness o he ma e iali y o he book means is, o cou se, no a s aigh o wa d
ques ion. The wo d “book” can e e bo h o a ma e ially angible pa allelepiped and a ex ual
mass o a ex ual con en ha can ha e di e en ma e ial embodimen s. A book can be bo h a
me aphysical imma e ial idea and a ma e ial copy o a manusc ip . “The same” book can be, and
o en is, eleased in di e en o ma s, in ha dco e s and pape backs, ac oss decades, and in
di e en ansla ions. E en when going h ough such mu a ions and ans o ma ions be ween
o ma s, he book is called a book; an audio book is a book, so is he e-book, al hough nei he o
hem has any hing o do wi h he p in ed book, made o ink and pape .
The i s ba ie o doing esea ch on he ma e ial cul u e o books is, hus, he common, and
o en echnology o ien ed pe cep ion ha books (o p in ed ex s) a e abo e all ixed and s able.
Fo example, Elizabe h Eisens ein – in he in luen ial book on he eme gence o p in cul u e, The
P in ing Re olu ion in Ea ly Mode n Eu ope – has named ixi y and s abili y as he essences o
p in ing and hence o p in ed p oduc s. Simila ly, Wal e Ong has sugges ed ha p in
“encou ages a sense o closu e, a sense ha wha is ound in a ex has been inalized, has eached
a s a e o comple ion” (132).
This is he commonplace s a ing poin o s udies on p in ed ex s: books a e aken as ei ied and
ixed objec s, and p in ed ex s a e seen as ixed en i ies. E en hose sociologis s who wo k wi h
such concep s as assemblages and hyb ids, and ha e an in e es in changes and mu a ions, ha e
emphasized he ixed na u e o p in ed ma e ial, a he han i s abili y o cul u al endency o
ans o m. Fo example, one o he key heo is s o ac o -ne wo k heo y and assemblages, John
Law has sugges ed ha he mos impo an elemen coming ou o he labo a o y is ex s, because
hey a e “du able and ex emely anspo able,” “ ep oducible and hus highly di usible,” and
because a ex “may ac in many places simul aneously” (Labo a o ies 49). He goes as a as o say:
“[p]eople may lie o us. Machines do no alk. Bu ex s, once insc ibed and di used, canno be
changed” (Law, Labo a o ies 50).
To a ce ain ex en all his is ue. P in ed ex s a e anspo able, i compa ed, o example, o
buildings; hey a e easily ep oducible when compa ed o diamonds; and hey a e du able when
se side by side wi h sc ip u e w i en in he sand. Howe e , his pe spec i e easily obscu es he
abili y and endency o p in ed ma e ials o ans o m. Books and p in ed ex s eac o hei
en i onmen s; hey a e in e p e ed, app op ia ed, modi ied and used in di e en ways. In a wo d:
hey change.
One can, hus, say ha he a o emen ioned pe spec i e lea es aside hose aspec s o p in ed
ma e ial ha canno be aken back o echnology, o a leas no o p in ing echnology. To
challenge some o hese p esump ions, we should no e how he making o a book does no end
when he book comes om he p in . The luxu y o ixi y and closu e can be enjoyed only o a
sho momen . Jus as any o he o ms o s abili y, also he ixi y o books needs o be main ained,
as Ad ian Johns has sugges ed. Fixi y o s abili y a e no essen ial i ues o p in ed ma e ial. A
book, so o speak, eaches ou side and beyond i s co e s in he o m o a web o ex s, discussions,
human eac ions, uses and p ac ices, which makes i p one o change.
This is wha li e a y pos s uc u alis s ha e sugges ed while concen a ing on he endless
p oduc ion o ex s. The ins abili y o ela ionali y o ex s and books inspi ed, o example,
Roland Ba hes who w o e ha he “ ex is he e y hea e o a p oduc ion whe e he p oduce
and eade o he ex mee ---. E en when w i en ( ixed), i does no s op wo king, main aining a
p ocess o p oduc ion” (36–37). Fo him, ex is “a mul i-dimensional space in which a a ie y o
w i ings, none o hem o iginal, blend and clash” (Ba hes 146). Ano he pos s uc u alis , Michel
Foucaul , on he o he hand, uses he wo d ne wo k o desc ibe he un ixed and ela ional na u e
o books. He poin s ou ha he “ on ie s o a book a e ne e clea -cu ”, because “i is caugh up
in a sys em o e e ences o o he books, o he ex s, o he sen ences: i is a node wi hin a ne wo k
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... [a] ne wo k o e e ences” (Foucaul , A chaeology 25–6). In doing so, Foucaul abandons he
uni y and he s abili y o he book:
The book is no simply he objec ha one holds in one’s hands; and i canno emain
wi hin he li le pa allelepiped ha con ains i : i s uni y is a iable and ela i e. As
soon as one ques ions ha uni y, i loses i s sel -e idence; i indica es i sel , cons uc s
i sel , only on he basis o a complex ield o discou se. (Foucaul , A chaeology 26)
How, hen, o s udy his complexi y, a iabili y and ela i i y o books? How o ind an empi ical
o m o he old insigh s o li e a y pos s uc u alis s? In he ollowing, his a icle d aws
inspi a ion om he ma e ially o ien ed app oaches ha highligh he changing biog aphies o
hings. One way o encoun e he empi ical eali y o he changing books is A jun Appadu ai’s
no ion o he social li e o hings, acco ding o which we “ha e o ollow he hings hemsel es, o
hei meanings a e insc ibed in hei o ms, hei uses, hei ajec o ies. I is only h ough he
analysis o hese ajec o ies ha we can in e p e he human ansac ions and calcula ions ha
enli en hings” (5). Simila ly, acco ding o B uno La ou , o de e mine he e iciency o a
mechanism we should no look o i s in insic quali ies bu a all he ans o ma ions i unde goes
la e in he hands o o he s (Science 258). In he same egis e , his a icle sugges s, ha o
de e mine he e iciency o he meanings o a book we should look a he ans o ma ions i
unde goes in he hands o i s publishe s, selle s, eade s and use s. As La ou w i es, we should
“conside bo h he succession o hands ha anspo a s a emen and he succession o
ans o ma ions unde gone by ha s a emen ” (Technology 106).
Following om he e, wha is in e es ing in a book o a ex is no only wha i o iginally s a es, o
wha he o iginal edi ion includes, bu a he how i ge s e-w i en, modi ied, eac ed and
commen ed on. How does he o iginal objec , he p in ed ex (mos likely be ween he co e s),
ans o m, and wha so s o in e p e a ions a e made o i ? How is used and alo ised, and wha
aces do hese uses lea e? In he ollowing, he a icle in oduces wo pe spec i es o he ma e ial
cul u e o con empo a y books. In line wi h Appadu ai’s no ion ha he meanings o hings a e
insc ibed in hei o ms, hei uses and hei ajec o ies, he a icle a gues ha books can and
should be in es iga ed bo h om he pe spec i e o hei o ms and o hei uses, in o de o be e
map hei biog aphies as hings (Kopy o ).
Fo ms o Books
The o m o a book seldom emains iden ical wi h i sel o he i s edi ion. Ins ead, he o ms o
books change a leas in h ee common ways. Fi s , he li e a y ex may go h ough changes
be ween edi ions and ansla ions, which also has an e ec on he book’s ma e ial appea ance.
Second, he same (o almos he same) ex ual con en is o en eleased in di e en o ma s o
mediums; a ha dco e book, o example, ans o ms in o pape back, audio book and e-book.
And hi d, he pa a ex s, such as co e s and o ewo ds, o en change be ween edi ions and
ansla ions, hus, changing he ma e ial a o dance o he book. In addi ion o such con en ional
changes, many con empo a y bes selle books also include di e en add-ons o ex as, such as
au ho in e iews, eading g oup guides, essays and ad e isemen s.
O en such changes ake place when he book becomes popula o when i mo es geog aphically
and ac oss linguis ic bo de s. Thus, he changes also e lec mo emen be ween places, and o e
he book as new, in a new place. Moylan and S iles emphasise he impo ance o such
ans o ma ions by sugges ing ha ep in ed ex s p esen ui ul case s udies, gi en ha how
and why he ex s ha e been epackaged can say much abou hei cul u al and social uses.
“E e y edi ion o a ex , e e y p in ing ha adop s a di e en se o ad e isemen s, e e y e sion
wi h a di e en co e is a di e en li e a y objec – a di e en con igu a ion o he o ces ha
shape meaning,” hey w i e (Moylan and S iles 6). Simila ly, acco ding o Gé a d Géne e, such
pa a ex s a e always h esholds o ce ain kinds o in e p e a ions. This ques ion o he h eshold
is demons a ed below by a small selec ion o di e se i les om di e en publishe s, yea s and
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coun ies.
Co e s and co e images a e pa icula ly s ong h esholds, because hey a e o en he i s
elemen s o a book ha a eade encoun e s and hey ha e a s ong ole in book ma ke ing. They
a e means o posi ion a book (some imes anew) o i s assumed and o en segmen ed a ge
audiences (Phillips). Jack Ke ouac’s On he Road, o example, in i es and encou ages a di e en
kind o eading (and di e en kind o eade s) when he co e po ays a pho og aph o he
au ho ( ig. 1) han when i po ays illus a ed, anonymous, agabonds ( ig. 2). James Joyce’s
Ulysses appea s di e en when he on co e includes a s a emen “Mode n Classics” ( ig. 3),
han when no ( ig. 4). Blu bs on he co e s ele a e a book’s cul u al alue, compa ed o hose
edi ions o he same ex ha do no include blu bs. Di e en back co e ex s o e “ he same”
book as di e en o i s eade s. Fu he mo e, he condi ions o in e p e a ion o meaning making
change o ake a d as ically new u n, when, o example, a o ewo d, an au ho in e iew o a
eading g oup guide is a ached o an edi ion. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Hal o a Yellow Sun
se s in o a new con ex when he English pape back edi ions include an “Au ho ’s no e” o he
essay “In he Shadow o Bia a.” Simila ly, he o ces ha shape he meanings o So i Oksanen’s
no el Pu ge change adically when he edi ion includes a eading g oup guide wi h a lis o
ecommended eadings: F anz Ka ka’s T ial, Khaled Hossein’s A Thousand Splendid Suns
andAleksand Solzheni syn’s The Gulag A chipelago. The book could be ead e y di e en ly, i he
lis included, o example, Maxim Go ky’s The Mo he o Vladimi Mayako sky’s poems.

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Figu e 1. Co e o Jack Ke ouac’s On he Road (Penguin Mode n Classics edi ion).
<h p://www.amazon.co.uk/On-Road-Penguin-Mode n-Classics/dp/0141182679> (Accessed
7.12.2015)
Figu e 2. Jack Ke ouac’s On he Road (Signe Comple e and Unab idged edi ion).
<h p:// la o wi e.com/490727/ he- ue-s o y-behind- he-le e - ha -inspi ed-ke ouacs-on- he-
oad> (Accessed 7.12.2015)
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Figu e 3. James Joyce’s Ulysses (Penguin Mode n Classics edi ion).
<h p://blogs.usyd.edu.au/ heo yandp ac ice/2014/02/james_joyce_ulysses_1921_1.h ml>
(Accessed 7.12.2015)
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Figu e 4. James Joyce’s Ulysses (Penguin). <h p://www.book-4u.com/book/de ails/id/13>
(Accessed 7.12.2015)
Doing esea ch on such di e en and ans o ming pa a ex s o a o dances o a book can help us
o in es iga e how he so-called eading o ma ions ge o ganised. A eading o ma ion, as
desc ibed by Tony Benne , is a se o discu si e de e mina ions ha o ganise he p ac ice o
eading, “connec ing ex s and eade s in speci ic ela ions o one ano he in cons i u ing eade s
as eading subjec s o pa icula ypes and ex s as objec s- o-be- ead in pa icula ways” (70).
Unde s anding he ole o he ma e ial a o dances o he changing o ms o books, such as
di e en co e s and ex as, in cons i u ing he eading o ma ions and he objec s- o-be- ead, is
one cen al unc ion o ma e ially o ien ed li e a y c i icism. Howe e , his does no mean ha he
ela ion be ween changes in he ma e ial embodimen o he book, and he new meanings o
in e p e a ions a ached o i , would be simple and s aigh o wa d: e en i he book o e s i sel
o he eade s in a new o m, and i s a o dances change, he meanings p oduced by he eade do
no necessa ily change in he same di ec ion. A changed pa a ex does no , in i sel , o e an
undispu able answe o he p oblem o in e p e a ion. Reade s may s ill ead he ex and i s
pa a ex s di e en ly om each o he . Bu when he condi ions, a o dances and he limi a ions o
he book as an objec change, in o he wo ds, when he ac o s o in e ac ion change, he ela ions
be ween he ac o s change acco dingly. This is wha ac o -ne wo k heo is s ha e sugges ed:
ac o s a e always dependen on each o he (Callon e al.; Law and Hassa d). A small change in
one ac o , such as a book co e , can ans o m he en i e ne wo k o human and non-human
ac o s, in Benne ’s wo ds, he eading o ma ion. Such changes also gi e aluable in o ma ion on
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he di e en in e p e a ions and alua ions o he p oduce s, such a publishe s, edi o s, and co e
designe s, along wi h he au ho s. Changing co e s e lec unde lying assump ions abou
consume s, as Angus Phillips has no ed in “Co e S o y: Co e Design in he Ma ke ing o
Fic ion”. When a book co e ans o ms o a eading g oup guide is a ached, he ans o ma ions
e lec changes in he ela ions a he p oducing end, o example be ween he ex and he co e
designe , o be ween he au ho and he publishe . Bu hese changes will also cons i u e new
e ec s and in luence he ecep ion in ways ha o ganise he u u e eadings o he book anew.
Uses o Books
The pe spec i e o o ms ocuses mainly on he changes a book goes h ough in he p oduc ion
p ocess, be o e i is p in ed o ep in ed. In es iga ing uses sheds mo e ligh on wha happens
a e a book has been p in ed and eleased.
In addi ion o being ead, a book can be used, o example, as a s a us symbol, unde a able’s leg
o as inde . I s uses a e a iable, and he same book, o di e en books wi h he same o m, can
ge used in di e en ways in di e en places and imes. A one poin , a speci ic book can be
capi al o a bookselle , a ano he poin a gi o a lo e . I can be bo h a cul u ally alued asse
and a commodi y o be sold (Mille ). Igo Kopy o and Appadu ai ha e been in e es ed in how
hings mo e in and ou o he commodi y s a e, and how hei social li es and biog aphies, hus,
change. Such mo emen is also isible in he con ex o books: books a e e y much commodi ies
ha a e p oduced o he ma ke and can be e-sold and bough in second-hand book s o es, bu
he common habi o dedica ing books, o a aching bookpla eson hem,sugges s ha he
adi ional book cul u e also encou ages o emo e books om hei commodi y s a e, o p i a ely
singula ise hem (Kopy o 74–77) and o u n hem in o in ima e objec s ha a e supposed o be
non-exchangeable. Such singula isa ion has aken place, o example, when a copy o Hen y
Da id Tho eau’s Walden has been dedica ed o someone named Ma i wi h he ollowing wo ds:
“To Ma i, my na u e / lo ing god-daugh e . / Fondly, / Liisa” ( ig. 5).
Figu e 5. Dedica ion in Hen y Da id Tho eau’s Walden, ound in a second-hand books o e in
Helsinki, Finland. Pho og aphed by Hanna Kuusela.
The a e o his pa icula Walden ha was ound in a second-hand books o e, and he la ge
amoun o dedica ed books in second-hand books o es, in gene al, howe e , sugges ha he
emo al om he commodi y s a e is o en only empo a y and can be sub e ed, so ha a once