Portable magic

"Explores how, when, and why books became so iconic. It's not just the content within a book that compels; it's the physical material itself, what [the author] calls 'bookhood': the smell, the feel of the pages, the margins to scribble in, the illustrations on the jacket, its solid heft. Every book is designed to influence our reading experience--to enchant, enrage, delight, and disturb us--and our longstanding love affair with books in turn has had direct, momentous consequences across time"--Provided by publisher.