Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Illustrations vii
4. Acknowledgments ix
5. Introduction 1
6. Chapter 1: Reader’s Block 19
7. Part I. Selfish Fictions
8. Chapter 2: Anthony Trollope and the Repellent Book 45
9. Chapter 3: David Copperfield and the Absorbent Book 72
10. Chapter 4: It-Narrative and the Book as Agent 107
11. Part II. Bookish Transactions
12. Chapter 5: The Book as Burden: Junk Mail and Religious Tracts 139
13. Chapter 6: The Book as Go-Between: Domestic Servants and Forced Reading 175
14. Chapter 7: The Book as Waste: Henry Mayhew and the Fall of Paper Recycling 219
15. Conclusion 258
16. Notes 263
17. Works Cited 293
18. Index 327