Second-hand Books Research Articles

Designing Public Secrecy: Kongfz.com and the Digital Trade in Cultural Revolution Objects

Abstract The Chinese e-commerce platform Kongfuzi Second-hand Book Website (Kongfz.com) supports a thriving trade in objects from China’s historically contentious Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) period. This article examines the design of Kongfz.com as a digital artifact to explore how the platform mediates between users and Cultural Revolution objects. Building on the work of Margaret Hillenbrand, I demonstrate that studying Kongfz.com’s design exposes the spectral practices of “public secrecy” that enmesh Cultural Revolution objects. I argue that the design of the platform reminds users that Cultural Revolution objects are more than just commodities, highlighting their status as politically contentious historical artifacts. Outlining the design of the website’s regulatory structures, I show that the platform requires sellers to evaluate the political implications of Cultural Revolution ephemera. Exploring Kongfz.com’s classificatory schema and browsing and search functions, I reveal how ‘obfuscatory tactics’ embedded in the website’s front-end interface complicate the process of finding Cultural Revolution artifacts on the platform, drawing users’ attention to the political sensitivities of these items as they navigate around blockages to discover listings. Through an analysis of how Kongfz.com mediates between users and Cultural Revolution material culture, this article demonstrates that studying digital artifacts can reveal otherwise invisible cultural practices that envelope historical objects.

Blockchain -Enhanced Dynamic Pricing Strategies in Book Redistribution: Balancing Profitability and Fairness

Dynamic pricing strategies in book redistribution is an online platform designed for the buying and reselling of second-hand books. The platform employs a dynamic pricing strategy facilitated through direct negotiation between sellers and buyers. By using technologies like React, Node.js, MongoDB, and Express, along with blockchain and smart contracts, its main aim is to balance profitability and fairness in book transactions. Specifically, the platform aims to enhance the efficiency and security of book redistribution processes and prevent fraud, including counterfeit books, to ensure trust in transactions. Each book on the platform is uniquely associated with a blockchain token, effectively mitigating the risks associated with fraud and counterfeit transactions. Smart contracts play a crucial role by enabling secure and transparent monetary transactions between parties involved in buying and selling books. Moreover, the platform fosters fair pricing through direct negotiation and provides a user-friendly interface that supports manual searches and negotiations. By integrating these technologies and functionalities, the platform not only enhances the overall efficiency of book redistribution but also promotes a secure environment that encourages trust and fairness among its users.

Assessing the peer effects of college students' engagement in the circular economy: Survey evidence from textbook reuse and recycling in China

In the face of escalating environmental impacts caused by human activities, the development of a circular economy is widely regarded as a crucial sustainable solution. Identifying pivotal enablers driving the transition gains increasing significance. Scarce research has focused on how to improve public engagement in the circular economy and acceptance of circular products, especially for developing countries. Based on an interview of 2912 Chinese college students conducted in 2021, and the instrumental variable method, this paper innovatively documents positive associations of circular practices among peers. Specifically, it is found that: (1) individuals exhibit positive responses when their fellow classmates actively adopt used textbooks; (2) the impact is more pronounced among students majoring in energy and environmental fields, and for cohorts with higher participation in voluntary activities advocating sustainable lifestyles; and (3) the spillover effect is also manifested in engagement in second-hand book recycling. Given the potential of peers' beneficial influence as a promising instrument for driving circular economy practices, it is recommended that public policies consider its catalytic role.

An Intelligent E-commerce Platform for Affordable Student Book Exchange and Donation

Books are an integral part of a student's life, a timeless necessity whose demand remains steadfast. However, the traditional methods of selling or purchasing second-hand books often result in a time-consuming and cost-efficient process. Students seeking to either acquire or part with their educational materials must navigate the inconveniences of local bookshops, where books are frequently bought and sold at prices that may not align with students' financial constraints. These transactions are often intermediated by brokers, further inflating the costs associated with acquiring essential textbooks. In today's era, the internet has woven itself intricately into our daily lives, revolutionizing various aspects, and significantly impacting the way commerce is conducted. The e-commerce industry, in particular, has emerged as a transformative force in recent years, bringing about innovative solutions to age-old problems. Recognizing the challenges faced by students in accessing affordable educational resources, this research endeavors to create an intelligent e-commerce platform tailored to their unique needs. This platform aims to streamline the exchange, sale, lending, and donation of second-hand books among students, allowing them to acquire essential educational resources at more affordable rates from their seniors or willing sellers in the vicinity. By facilitating these transactions, the project seeks to not only alleviate the financial burdens borne by students but also contribute to sustainability by extending the lifespan of educational resources.

The Contribution of Andreas Mytze — Bookseller, Publisher and Publicist — To Exile Literature and Exile Studies in Great Britain

In July 2021 Andreas Mytze died in London, where he had lived since the mid nineteen-eighties. Based on his extensive archive as well as his published material this paper offers an assessment of his contribution to Exile Literature and Exile Studies in the various areas in which he was active. As a seller of second-hand books, he sourced exile literature, completed, circulated and published lists of this stock, much of it rare and difficult to obtain. As a publisher he redressed this deficiency by re-publishing rare or forgotten works of exiled authors and offering contemporary authors, particularly those living in Great Britain, an opportunity to place material which held little attraction for conventional publishing houses. Finally, at a time when Exile Studies was in its infancy, as editor of the journal europäische ideen, he used his skills as an investigative journalist to source and publish documents and correspondence which provided scholars in the field with valuable source material.

How informational factors affect consumers when purchasing secondhand books online

PurposeThis study aims to understand how informational factors influence online purchase intention when considering secondhand books.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model linking book condition, description, delivery cost, picture, sellers’ rating and delivery date to purchase intention was developed and tested by using structural equation modeling. Survey data from 234 respondents was used to analyze both direct and mediating relationships.FindingsThe examination demonstrates how book condition, delivery cost and sellers’ rating influence consumers’ purchase intention. Book condition directly and indirectly influenced purchase intention, while delivery cost and sellers’ rating were significant only when including the mediating variable delivery date.Originality/valueThis work clarifies where resources should be allocated when offering secondhand books online. Sellers should dedicate time to include informational factors such as book condition, delivery cost and sellers’ rating. Contra wise, there is little value expounding on the book’s description or providing a high-quality picture when selling online.

Future Home of the Living God

Future Home of the Living God Michelle Johnson, Managing & Culture Editor Louise Erdrich Future Home of the Living God HarperCollins The first thing that happens at the end of the world is that we don't know what is happening. I LIVE IN Oklahoma, one of the reddest states in these United States. When an antiabortion activist scaled the fifty-story Devon skyscraper in downtown Oklahoma City, I wondered less why someone would take such an outlandish risk and more why someone would think to come to this state, of all states, to make his statement. It was June 14, 2022, and we were already living post-Roe, in a state that had weeks earlier earned the NPR headline "Oklahoma Governor Signs the Strictest Abortion Ban." In August, while browsing secondhand books, I picked up Louise Erdrich's Future Home of the Living God (2017), a novel I had skipped, despite my love of her work. The reviews five years ago were mixed, but I wondered what it would be like to read this story of the capture and confinement of pregnant women now—post-Roe. Cedar is a pregnant twenty-six-year-old woman living in Minneapolis near both her white adoptive parents and her Ojibwe birth mother. She's writing to her future child, and the reader knows only what Cedar knows, which is very little since the community soon suffers a news blackout and can only exchange rumors. There is a looming apocalypse, and it may include evolutionary reversal. Cedar, whose pregnancy is now showing, is confined to her house because pregnant women are being seized by officers right off the streets under an extension of the Patriot Act. It is now a crime to harbor or help a pregnant woman. Those turning in a pregnant woman (tip line: Unborn Protection Society) receive an award; those who refuse to provide information are tortured. We follow Cedar through her capture, institutional confinement, and escape and pick up fragments of what's happening—using a credit card risks being tracked; prisons are now for pregnant women; Womb Volunteers are now forced to gestate "liberated" embryos; street names have been changed to Bible verses—all this while watching Cedar negotiate her relationships with both families. And despite the absence of a fully realized dystopian world, with all plot points neatly tied off, Erdrich delivers the engrossing plot development and well-developed characters found throughout her body of work. Reading this while watching our rights rolled back, the book's references to evolutionary reversal read less sci-fi and more metaphor. What is this event that's leading to further incursions on a woman's right to bodily autonomy? We don't really know, but in 2022 it's even easier to imagine the possibilities. [End Page 9] Copyright © 2022 World Literature Today and the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma

Customer Satisfaction Analysis Through Service Quality for Service Strategy Improvement Mutiareads

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced MSMEs activists to survive and continue to thrive. ne of the efforts made is to use the internet in its business activities. In this day of globalization, the rapid growth of internet technology brings numerous benefits to its users, one of which is the ability to conduct sales and purchases online. As a result, there is fierce competition among MSMEs, and business actors must devise strategies that satisfy customers. One way to gratify customers is to improve service quality. Mutiareads is an example of an MSMEs that uses the internet to market its products, including new and secondhand books worth reading. Customer satisfaction is measured in this study using the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and Importance Performance Analysis (CSI) techniques based on the dimensions of reliability, empathy, tangibles, responsiveness, and assurance. The results that will be obtained from the CSI method are the overall satisfaction level of Mutiareads consumers by 86%. The results of the IPA calculation are that there are 2 attributes that need to be enhanced, 10 attributes need to be maintained, 2 attributes do not effect consumer satisfaction less, and 1 attribute has to be reduced in intensity.

David McKitterick. The Invention of Rare Books: Private Interest and Public Memory, 1600–1840.

David McKitterick. <i>The Invention of Rare Books: Private Interest and Public Memory, 1600–1840</i>.

Hazel Wilkinson. Edmund Spenser and the Eighteenth-Century Book.

Hazel Wilkinson. <i>Edmund Spenser and the Eighteenth-Century Book</i>.

A List of 267 French Texts in Tours: A Hub for Reading in the Vernacular

This article analyses the late fifteenth-century booklist on folios 78r to 82v of Manuscript français 2912 of the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, listing over 267 books in French. A close study of the material aspects of the document itself and of the texts listed in the inventory has allowed for a new dating of the booklist, to shortly after 1494, and for a fairly reliable hypothesis concerning the owner of the books: a bookseller specialising in second-hand books in French. The geographical indication in the booklist, «In Tours in front of the hôtel [town house] of monseigneur de Dunois», can be located in the town on the basis of historical maps: in the Grand Rue (now the rue Colbert) against the southern wall of the church of Saint-Julien or next to its southern and main entrance. Comparison with other book producers and booksellers in Paris and in Flanders shows that this is a typical location. The names and locations of booksellers and artisans active in the production of books in Tours as contained in the notarial archives of the town have unfortunately not permitted an identification of the bookseller, although the printer Simon Pourcelet had his printing workshop and bookshop nearby. Documented lending activities of booksellers in Flanders and the open character of other late medieval libraries and book collections show that this remarkably rich collection of literary, historical, pragmatic, and religious books in French was most likely an open access hub for reading in the vernacular in the bustling heart of late medieval Tours.

Was It for This the Clay Grew Tall?

Irresolute Clay: Shaping the Foundations of Modern Environmental Law. By RICHARD MACRORY [Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2020, ISBN 9781509928118, hardback, 189 pp, £25] When I was a law student at Cambridge in the 1970s, I developed the habit of browsing second-hand bookshops, of which there was then no shortage in Cambridge, for legal biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. This pastime continued through to my early years as a Cambridge lecturer. I amassed quite a collection, almost all of which have over the years found their way back into the charity shops which had become the successors to the second-hand book shops. In truth, their value was pretty limited. They were often rather sycophantic portraits of legal luminaries or judicial monsters such as Norman Birkett, Marshall Hall, Lord Goddard, etc, depicting a legal landscape that had already largely passed into history by the time I acquired them. The least valuable by far tended to be the autobiographies or memoirs, which were generally of much less interest to the reader than to the author. I recall one rather dire read entitled Jottings of an Old Solicitor, which was essentially a catalogue of less than interesting cases and anecdotes.1 A much more engaging biography was that of Sir George Lewis, the Victorian and Edwardian celebrity solicitor who practiced from Ely Place in Holborn and numbered royalty among his clients.2 There, however, more of the interest lay in his extra-legal life. At Ely Place, Sir George and Lady Lewis met ‘tout le monde’ as described by his biographer, his house thronged with painters, sculptors, musicians, actors, writers, lawyers, politicians, where the establishment and Bohemia were thrown together. Lewis was depicted in a fine portrait of 1892 by John Singer Sargent, one of his regular guests.

How does a book live after buying: the results of the survey

The results of the study about books' life after buying are described in the article. The main objective of the study is to reveal how readers use a book in consumer culture. We tried to answer such questions: if the novelty is important for our attitude to the book; for which necessities people buy books; if the book is an item for one-time use or it is reusable in fact; how often people use the home or public libraries etc. 221 people completed this questionnaire (65,6% — women, 34,4% — men). Three-quarters of respondents are under the age of 35, 19% — readers aged 36 to 50 years old, 5,5% — over 51. One part of the questions deals with buying books, other ones — with using them. According to the survey, 43% of readers buy used books, a little over a quarter don't do it, other readers sometimes can buy second-hand books. Almost half of the readers do not pay attention to whether the book is a novelty of the publishing house; half of the respondents are ready to buy a book published a few years ago if the topic is of interest. The majority choose fictional books for personal or professional development. Almost half of the respondents buy books as a gift (more often for children than for adults). The questions about using books gave us the following results. Only about one-sixth of survey participants often borrow books from friends, while about 57% are willing to share their books with other people. More than half of respondents occasionally reread books stored at home, but 42% of people don't do this. Less than 15% of respondents are active users of public libraries. Most respondents prefer reading at home on the bed or the couch, almost 70% also like reading in transport. About half of the respondents make no mark in the books, the rest can emphasize, bookmark, perish corners, write comments, etc. The results of the research can be used to study the behavior of buyers by publishing houses or bookstores, to design the publication, in the study of consumer culture in general, etc.

On an Unknown Review of D. D. Ivanenko’s Article by S. I. Vavilov

This paper introduces for scientific use an earlier unknown Academician S. I. Vavilov’s review of the paper “Fundamentals of the theory of elementary particles” by a theoretical physicist, D. D. Ivanenko. This review was found by the author at a second-hand book auction in Moscow. This rather short hand-written text casts additional light on the picture of “struggle against idealism in physics”, waged in the USSR in the late 1940s, particularly on the internal opposition between Vavilov and Ivanenko concerning the ideological and philosophical judgment of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. So far this opposition remained practically unexamined although, as it happens, it had been quite dramatic, emotional, and full of overtones. Examining Vavilov’s review in the context of sociopolitical situation in the USSR allowed making several surmises. Thus, it is highly likely that Ivanenko’s article, written for a book of collected papers on the philosophy of science, was one of the elements of “theoretical”, “philosophical” justification for a campaign against the “reactionary role of idealism in physics” that was being prepared by the Soviet Union’s political authorities. Even though it had not been published as is, it provided the basis for several other publications by the same author.

Prices of English Books at Auction c. 1680

Abstract Scholars have noted the significance and spread of the second-hand book trade in seventeenth-century England, but so far little information about the books and their prices has been available. This essay examines the evidence from annotations to an early book auction catalogue relating to ten auctions that took place in London between 1676 and 1682, providing the prices for thousands of books. A comparison between the prices for which books sold at auction, and the prices of the same books new in the Term Catalogues in the decade prior to these auctions reveals that most of the relatively new books sold at auction for a considerable discount off their retail price. For older books, the prices primarily depended on condition and demand rather than the expense of producing the book or its age. This shows a turn towards a customer-driven pricing structure which has significant implications for how we understand the connection between book prices and readers in the late seventeenth century.

Saberes compartidos entre generaciones: circulación de libros usados en Nueva España durante los siglos XVII y XVIII

La historia de la circulación y venta de libros en Nueva España no es un tema nuevo de investigación, a pesar de lo cual los estudios dedicados a libreros, mercaderes de libros y al conjunto de libros que ofertaron a la sociedad colonial son escasos. Estas personas consolidaron un mercado libresco alimentado por redes comerciales y familiares de quienes se movían en la Carrera de Indias. El estudio y comparación de nuevas evidencias, bibliográficas y documentales, contrastadas con investigaciones previas, permiten advertir una constante circulación de libros usados en dicho mercado. Se trata de testimonios que necesariamente modifican nuestra apreciación de una cultura letrada solo asequible para quienes podían pagar una mercancía considerada costosa.

La cote internet contre le savoir-faire. La formation des prix sur le marché du livre d’occasion

En se fondant sur le cas du livre d’occasion, cet article propose d’analyser les effets de la transformation numerique d’un marche sur le travail de ces professionnels. Il presente tout d’abord une definition des biens echanges et les principes caracterisant l’activite des libraires. Il propose ensuite une typologie des acteurs de l’offre et examine leurs sources d’approvisionnement. Il traite enfin des recompositions du marche generees par sa « plateformisation » et son ouverture massive aux vendeurs amateurs. Un aspect du travail marchand, essentiel a la construction d’opportunites de gain, est particulierement etudie : la formation des prix de revente. En etudiant les nouveaux rapports de force a l’œuvre en raison de la modification des reseaux de commercialisation, il s’agit de montrer dans quelle mesure ce mouvement de democratisation renforce les interets economiques des plateformes au detriment de ceux des professionnels independants.

Book Review The Epochs of Nature by Georges-Louis LeClerc, le comte de Buffon, translated and edited by Jan Zalasiewicz, Anne-Sophie Milon and Mateusz Zalasiewicz, 2018. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 190 pp, ISBN 978-0-226-39543-2, hardback, £34.00, https://doi.org/10.7208/Chicago/9780226395579.001.0001

The Epochs of Nature, Georges-Louis LeClerc, le Comte de Buffon, Translated and Edited by Jan Zalasiewicz, Anne-Sophie Milon and Mateusz Zalasiewicz, Published by: The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London 2018, 190 pp., ISBN 978-0-226-39543-2. Doi: , Hard copy £34.00 Users of Google Scholar will be familiar with the phrase ‘Stand on the shoulders of giants.’ Georges-Louis LeClerc, le comte de Buffon, was one of these, but although copies of his works appear frequently in Antiquarian and second-hand book sales, because they were written in French his ideas have been less well known. Jan Zalasiewicz Anne-Sophie Milon and Mateusz Zalasiewicz set out to redress this imbalance and to draw attention to Buffon's wide ranging contributions to geological thought. The translation seems excellent, preserving both the original, albeit repetitive precision, and what we would now regard as the ‘mannered’ language of the day. Few items jarred: the use of ‘vitrescible’ and ‘monuments’ in particular. It was necessary to look up the former but it seems to mean any mineral matter that forms glass when sufficiently heated. At times this is justified but we now take it for granted that most sand will consist of just such material and in this it seems redundant; confusing what would otherwise be clear statements. The use of ‘Monuments’ seems just too literal a translation. There are very few typographical errors and the book is well produced.

Hairs in old books isotopically reconstruct the eating habits of early modern Japan

To complement literature-based historical knowledge of the eating habits of 17th- and 18th-century Japan, we analysed carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N, respectively) of human hairs embedded in cover paper of Japanese books printed during 1690s–1890s, taking regional and temporal variations into consideration. We purchased 24 book sets from second-hand book markets. Twenty-three sets contained enough human hairs, which were non-destructively extracted from the thick, recycled paper of the book covers and used to measure the δ13C and δ15N values, found to be identical within each book set. Relatively low δ13C values and high δ15N values suggested that people depended on rice, C3 vegetables, and fish, more exclusively than contemporary Japanese people. The relatively high δ13C values found in Edo (Tokyo) might be associated with the preference for C4 millets by Edo people as a measure against beriberi (locally recognised as the Edo affliction). The δ15N values gradually increased over 200 years, indicating an increase in the contribution of marine fish both as food and fertiliser for rice fields as suggested by literature-based studies. Further collection of hairs from books will enable a thorough examination of regional and temporal variations to better understand the pre-globalised food culture.

Benjamin Franklin in London: The British Life of America's Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father and Benjamin Franklin and the Ends of Empire

Benjamin Franklin in London: The British Life of America's Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father and Benjamin Franklin and the Ends of Empire