# A Common Reader

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{{Short description|Defunct American mail-order book catalog}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
'''A Common Reader: Books for Readers with Imagination''' was an American [mail-order](/source/mail-order) book catalog, established in 1986 by [James Mustich Jr.](/source/James_Mustich_Jr.), a bookseller, editor, and writer. It was notable among general-interest book catalogs for its eclecticism, with large sections of each issue given over to obscure literary classics.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E3D8163CF932A25754C0A96F958260|title=Personal Missions Fuel Small Publishers|last=Shapera|first=Todd|date=1999-07-11|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|access-date=2009-02-24}}</ref>  

The catalog was named in honor of [Virginia Woolf](/source/Virginia_Woolf)'s two-volume collection of essays, entitled ''The Common Reader'' (1925) and ''The Second Common Reader'' (1932), which collected her lectures and writings about the nature of reading and how best to approach it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/books/feature-woolf.html|title=Featured Author: Virginia Woolf |website=The New York Times |access-date=2018-11-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/03/06/virginia-woolf-how-should-one-read-a-book/|title=Virginia Woolf on How to Read a Book|last=Popova|first=Maria|date=2013-03-06|work=Brain Pickings|access-date=2018-11-03|language=en-US}}</ref> 

A Common Reader's in-house publishing imprint, the '''Akadine Press''',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dmnews.com/Does-the-Printed-Word-Still-Matter/article/79255/|title=Does the Printed Word Still Matter?|last=Bly|first=Robert W.|date=2002-11-18|access-date=2009-02-24|work=DMNews}}</ref> initiated in 1996, republished over 60 out-of-print books<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://openlibrary.org/publishers/Akadine_Press|title=Publisher: Akadine Press |website=OpenLibrary.org|language=en|access-date=2018-11-02}}</ref> by authors such as [Lillian Beckwith](/source/Lillian_Beckwith), [Alice Thomas Ellis](/source/Alice_Thomas_Ellis), [Barbara Holland](/source/Barbara_Holland), [Reynolds Price](/source/Reynolds_Price), and [John Ciardi](/source/John_Ciardi). 

A Common Reader was published up to 17 times a year, with a readership in the tens of thousands. Each edition listed an average of 700 books, accompanied by editorial write-ups. At its peak, A Common Reader sold over 300,000 titles per year.

The business closed in January 2006,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://multichannelmerchant.com/mag/book_closes_common_05012006/|title=The book closes on A Common Reader|last=Parry|first=Tim|date=2006-05-01|access-date=2009-02-24|website=MultiChannel Merchant}}</ref> to the regret of many readers who appreciated its discerning finds and well-written ''précis''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://neglectedbooks.com/?page_id=57|title=Common Reader Editions |work=The Neglected Books Page|access-date=2018-11-02|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://crimewriters.blogspot.com/2013/06/remembering-common-reader.html|title=Remembering "A Common Reader" |date=2013-06-09|website=The Crime Writers' Chronicle|access-date=2018-11-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://imponderabilia.blogspot.com/2006/02/goodbye-common-reader-ill-miss-you.html|title=Goodbye A Common Reader, I'll Miss You |last=D. |first=Sandy |date=2006-02-13|website=the imponderabilia of actual life |access-date=2018-11-02}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Portal|Companies}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Reader}}
Category:Publications established in 1986
Category:Publications disestablished in 2006
Category:Direct marketing
Category:Defunct bookstores of the United States
Category:Defunct companies based in New York (state)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [A Common Reader](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Common_Reader) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Common_Reader?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.