Readers' Book Recommendations in the Networked Reading Culture
Keywords:
reading, readers, reading research, social meida, social networksAbstract
This article contributes to the study of peer-to-peer book recommendations and meanings of recommendations in the current reading culture. The study combines the concepts of cultural soci-ology of reading and research on peer-producedcriticism of cultural products. The multimethodanalysis is based on two sets of data: an onlinesurvey conducted in a reading research project (n = 955) and discussions in a group called ”Friends of Literature” on Facebook. The analysis concentrates on comments and discussions related to two books that were the most recommended by the survey participants. The overall view is complemented by publishers’ sales statistics. The results show that recommendations and discussions in social media communities may initiate a chain of recommendations, which may substantially affect the popularity of a specific title. The current recommendation culture with its bookrelated communities and networks sustains and enriches the entire reading culture and gives significance to individual readers’ reading for pleasure.
