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Until recently, historians of reading have concentrated on book ownership and trying to map out a history of who read what. The reading experience has been a subject more difficult to research. As has been pointed out before, egodocuments can be valuable sources in this case. Following this lead, Literacy in Everyday Life focuses upon four early modern Dutch diaries in which readers document their daily life and in which they recount their reading. In the analysis, other ways in which these four readers communicated are also addressed, especially speech and writing. This book therefore provides an insight into the possible uses of literacy and the interaction between the printed, written and spoken word in the early modern Dutch Republic.
Price: $185.00
Pages: 426
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Egodocuments and History Series
Publication Date:
31 July 2009
ISBN: 9789004177406
Format: Hardcover
"Blaak illustrates not just what kind of books these people read - even listing the titles - but also how, why, and where they read them. He writes this book from the relatively new and refreshing angle of media history, especially examining the interaction between the printed, the written, and the spoken word. Literacy in Everyday Life is an entertaining and well-documented study, with some surprising conclusions.[...] Blaak places his study in a wider international context [...]. This makes his book very readable, as well as useful for the international researcher."
Mark Towsey, Dutch Crossing 34 (2010) 279-281
"Literacy in Everyday Life is an entertaining and well-documented study, with some surprising conclusions. By giving detailed information on these diarists' lives, their reading behaviour is placed into context, and is linked to everyday social practices. In this way, Blaak identifies how books dominated conversations, or how ideas influenced the readers' choice or, more importantly, the reception of books. He is able to nuance findings from traditional book historical research [...] Blaak places his study in a wider international context by referring to foreign studies, and especially to English research. This makes his book very readable, as well as useful for the international researcher."
Mirella Marini in Dutch Crossing vol. 34, no. 3, November 2010
Mark Towsey, Dutch Crossing 34 (2010) 279-281
"Literacy in Everyday Life is an entertaining and well-documented study, with some surprising conclusions. By giving detailed information on these diarists' lives, their reading behaviour is placed into context, and is linked to everyday social practices. In this way, Blaak identifies how books dominated conversations, or how ideas influenced the readers' choice or, more importantly, the reception of books. He is able to nuance findings from traditional book historical research [...] Blaak places his study in a wider international context by referring to foreign studies, and especially to English research. This makes his book very readable, as well as useful for the international researcher."
Mirella Marini in Dutch Crossing vol. 34, no. 3, November 2010
Jeroen Blaak is a member of the research group Egodocuments, Erasmus University Rotterdam. He has written on several early modern and modern Dutch diaries and autobiographies.