Selling Books with Algorithms
Selling Books with Algorithms by Anna Muenchrath, published by Cambridge University Press on November 28, 2024, is a concise exploration of the role algorithms play in the modern bookselling landscape. This 96-page work delves into the evolution of Amazon from a small online bookseller to a major industry player, highlighting how algorithms and user data have shaped its success. The book examines the mechanics behind these algorithms and their impact on book visibility and recommendations, offering insights into their cultural implications.
Readers will find a thorough analysis of how algorithms influence the labor dynamics within bookstores and the broader publishing industry. The text argues for a reevaluation of the perceived authority of algorithmic recommendations, framing them as culturally situated performances. Additionally, it discusses the importance of algorithmic literacy for the future of bookselling, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of these technologies in the context of Computers & Technology and Publishing & Books. This edition serves as a reference for those interested in the intersection of technology and the literary market.
Official synopsis Publisher
In 1997 Amazon started as a small online bookseller. It is now the largest bookseller in the US and one of the largest companies in the world, due, in part, to its implementation of algorithms and access to user data. This Element explains how these algorithms work, and specifically how they recommend books and make them visible to readers. It argues that framing algorithms as felicitous or infelicitous allows us to reconsider the imagined authority of an algorithm’s recommendation as a culturally situated performance. It also explores the material effects of bookselling algorithms on the forms of labor of the bookstore. The Element ends by considering future directions for research, arguing that the bookselling industry would benefit from an investment in algorithmic literacy.
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