The weight of paper books. A conversation with Lisa Kuitert

Abstract

ABSTRACT This inter(re)view is a conversation with book historian and Professor Lisa Kuitert on the occasion of the publication of her book The Book and the Bathwater. Why Paper Books Matter (Het boek en het badwater. De betekenis van papieren boeken) by Amsterdam University Press. The dialogue starts with a central question: what is the future of the paper book? Kuitert responds by discussing, from a historical perspective, the unique qualities and meaning of paper books (in contradistinction to the immateriality of digital books), as well as the consequences and positive effects that its existence has had for the reader through different epochs. In that journey, she also enriches the definition of the book while contextualizing it amidst the technological developments that influence book production and consumption at all times.