Does the printed word matter in the Internet Age?

Those of us who make our living with words are naturally disheartened when we hear the various “war cries” of hardcore online users and marketers: “Nobody reads anymore” ... “Print is dead” ... “Copy doesn’t matter” ... “Books will disappear.”             

The success of James Mustich, Jr. and his eclectic book catalog, A Common Reader — launched in 1986 — is a refreshing exception to these claims.             

A Common Reader is a mail order seller of, as their slogan proclaims, “Books for readers with imagination.” They sell mainly through catalog, though there is also a Web site (www.commonreader.com), which now accounts for 15 percent of orders.             

Mustich mails catalogs 15 to 17 times a year. The exact same catalog never mails twice; each edition is new — although many of the same books are offered from issue to issue. 

Several features make A Common Reader unique. First and foremost are a love for, and almost r...(register to read more)