How Long to Read Used Books

By William H. Sherman

How Long Does it Take to Read Used Books?

It takes the average reader 4 hours and 46 minutes to read Used Books by William H. Sherman

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

In a recent sale catalog, one bookseller apologized for the condition of a sixteenth-century volume as "rather soiled by use." When the book was displayed the next year, the exhibition catalogue described it as "well and piously used [with] marginal notations in an Elizabethan hand [that] bring to life an early and earnest owner"; and the book's buyer, for his part, considered it to be "enlivened by the marginal notes and comments." For this collector, as for an increasing number of cultural historians and historians of the book, a marked-up copy was more interesting than one in pristine condition. William H. Sherman recovers a culture that took the phrase "mark my words" quite literally. Books from the first two centuries of printing are full of marginalia and other signs of engagement and use, such as customized bindings, traces of food and drink, penmanship exercises, and doodles. These marks offer a vast archive of information about the lives of books and their place in the lives of their readers. Based on a survey of thousands of early printed books, Used Books describes what readers wrote in and around their books and what we can learn from these marks by using the tools of archaeologists as well as historians and literary critics. The chapters address the place of book-marking in schools and churches, the use of the "manicule" (the ubiquitous hand-with-pointing-finger symbol), the role played by women in information management, the extraordinary commonplace book used for nearly sixty years by Renaissance England's greatest lawyer-statesman, and the attitudes toward annotated books among collectors and librarians from the Middle Ages to the present. This wide-ranging, learned, and often surprising book will make the marks of Renaissance readers more visible and legible to scholars, collectors, and bibliophiles.

How long is Used Books?

Used Books by William H. Sherman is 283 pages long, and a total of 71,599 words.

This makes it 96% the length of the average book. It also has 88% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Used Books Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 6 hours and 31 minutes to read Used Books aloud.

What Reading Level is Used Books?

Used Books is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Used Books?

Used Books by William H. Sherman is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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