On the Commerce of Thinking : Of Books and Bookstores

Jean-Luc Nancy's On the Commerce of Thinking concerns the particular communication of thoughts that takes place by means of the business of writing, producing, and selling books. His reflection is born out of his relation to the bookstore, in the first place his neighborhood one, but beyond that any such "perfumery, rotisserie, patisserie," as he calls them, dispensaries "of scents and flavors through which something like a fragrance or bouquet of the book is divined, presumed, sensed." On the Commerce of Thinking is thus not only something of a semiology of the specific cultural practice that begins with the unique character of the writer's voice and culminates in a customer crossing the bookstore threshold, package under arm, on the way home to a comfortable chair, but also an understated yet persuasive plea in favor of an endangered species. In evoking the peddler who, in times past, plied the streets with books and pamphlets literally hanging off him, Nancy emphasizes the sensuality of this commerce and reminds us that this form of consumerism is like no other, one that ends in an experience-reading-that is the beginning of a limitless dispersion, metamorphosis, and dissemination of ideas. Making, selling, and buying books has all the elements of the exchange economy that Marx analyzed--from commodification to fetishism--yet each book retains throughout an absolute and unique value, that of its subject. With reading, it gets repeatedly reprinted and rebound. For Nancy, the book thus functions only if it remains at the same time open and shut, like some Moebius strip. Closed, it represents the Idea and takes its place in a canon by means of its monumental form and the title and author's name displayed on its spine. But it also opens itself to us, indeed consents to being shaken to its core, in being read each time anew. "This book by one of France's leading contemporary philosophers celebrates the particular communication of thoughts that takes place by means of the business of writing, producing, and selling books. Nancy's reflection is born out of his relation to the bookstore, in the first place his neighborhood one, but beyond that any such "perfumery, rotisserie, patisserie," as he calls them, dispensaries "of scents and flavors through which something like a fragrance or bouquet of the book is divined, presumed, sensed."" "On the Commerce of Thinking is a brilliant semiology of the cultural practice that begins with the unique character of the writer's voice and culminates in a customer's crossing the bookstore threshold, package under arm, on the way home to a comfortable chair. It's also an understated yet persuasive plea in favor of an endangered species."--Jacket This engaging book by one of France's leading contemporary philosophers celebrates the particular communication of thoughts that takes place by means of the business of writing, producing, and selling books. Nancy's reflection is born out of his relation to the bookstore, in the first place his neighborhood one, but beyond that any such 'perfumery, rotisserie, patisserie', as he calls them, dispensaries 'of scents and flavors through which something like a fragrance or bouquet of the book is divined, presumed, sensed'."On the Commerce of Thinking" is a brilliant semiology of the cultural practice that begins with the unique character of the writer's voice and culminates in a customer's crossing the bookstore threshold, package under arm, on the way home to a comfortable chair. It's also an understated yet persuasive plea in favor of an endangered species The Idea And Character Of The Book -- The Book's End In Itself -- The People Of The Book -- Interminable Reading -- The Publication Of The Umpublished -- Book Open And Closed -- The Scents Of The Bookstore -- The Commerce Of Thinking -- The Matter Of Books -- Electronic Supplement, Binary Reprise, Digital Conterpoint. Jean-luc Nancy ; Translated By David Wills. Translated From The French. Includes Bibliographical References.