28th January, 2025 in Society & Culture

Ask the author: Michael Robb on Shelf Life – A history of bookselling and publishing

By Michael Robb

Michael Robb, a stalwart figure in the bookselling and publishing arena, has experienced first-hand the shifting tides of this well-loved industry over the past 40 years. From successfully running an independent bookshop in Essex for two decades, to transitioning into the publishing domain, his broad network within the book trade gives him a unique insight to the world of books. Shelf Life is the culmination of that insight.

Shelf Life covers a lot of ground, stretching right back to the Ancient World. Which period of bookselling history fascinated you the most?

There are many fascinating periods in the history of bookselling and publishing, but I think the eighteenth century is one I found most interesting. The laws governing what could be published had just been relaxed, so the century saw a torrent of new books, magazines and newspapers flooding the market. It was an exciting time, as more of the population moved to towns and cities and there was a significant growth in literary culture. The century also witnessed the real birth of the novel and its immediate success through authors such as Daniel Defoe and Samuel Richardson. In turn, this led to a growth in bookshops and a change in what bookshops looked like, more like what we know as bookshops today.

Did you discover a favourite pioneer or historical figure?

Again, there are many fascinating people through book trade history who have played a role in developing the business, but one of my favourites is also from the eighteenth century. James Lackington came from a poor background and only learned to read in his teens. But he became a bookseller, keen to share his love of books and eventually opened the biggest bookshop in the country up to that time – the huge Temple of the Muses bookshop in Finsbury Square in London, which stocked over 500,000 books across several floors. He also ensured that lots of his books were accessible to the less well off in society, selling many of them cheap, keen to encourage others in their discovery of books. This desire to widen access to books is a theme that runs throughout the book.

What was the most interesting fact you discovered while researching the book? Was there anything that surprised you?

The research for the book provided me with so much information about the history of bookselling that I was previously unaware of, and I’m continuing to learn more all the time. The impact and huge immediate success produced by Allen Lane, who introduced the very cheap Penguin paperbacks in the 1930s and transformed how we read books, is one area that most surprised me. I was obviously aware of Penguin Books, but was fascinated to learn how they were an immediate success and that many of their paperback editions went on to sell over a million copies in just a few decades, including the Penguin Classic of The Odyssey and the paperback of Orwell’s Animal Farm. From Lane’s big idea, paperbacks quickly became the most popular format for books and again widened the book market to make all sorts of books accessible to buy for a much wider readership. The affordability of paperbacks drove a huge growth in book ownership and reading during the twentieth century.

Which section of the book was most difficult to write?

The most difficult section of the book was probably the final section, which looks at where the book trade is today and what challenges it faces in the years ahead. I realised early on that I needed to pull in a wide range of viewpoints for this section, so I interviewed more than a dozen people working in the business. They offered perspectives from a wide variety of experience and different roles in bookselling and publishing. This was much more time-consuming than other parts of the book, but enjoyable and eye-opening. The disparate viewpoints then had to be collated into a coherent narrative that tries to represent them all. I hope it succeeds. My book doesn’t have all the answers, but poses a lot of questions for those working in the book trade and indeed to everyone who loves books. I can only hope that it prompts discussion around these points.

What did you enjoy most about owning and running your own bookshop, and what won’t you miss?

Running my own bookshop was easily the best job I ever had. On the one hand, it was the hardest I have had to work in my life, but equally it didn’t really seem like work – it was a labour of love. Spending your day opening boxes of books, talking to customers and sales reps about books, hearing others share their stories of how important books are to them (or their children) – you never tire of such things. However, I couldn’t be a bookseller today, as I don’t think I’ve got the energy necessary to do what is now a much tougher job. Today’s booksellers have to compete with Amazon and supermarkets, they have to run lots of events to attract customers into their shops, as well as multiple other things like running book groups and a café, not to mention keeping a website updated and constantly posting on social media to keep customers informed. I am in awe of today’s booksellers for the amazing job they do!

Publishing has always been fraught with challenges – all largely covered in your book. Which challenge do you think is most pressing for publishers today?

At the end of the book, I outline two big challenges to bookselling and publishing today – the impact of AI and the future of reading. AI is a buzz topic across all sorts of businesses at the moment and publishing is wrestling with its possibilities and implications like so many other industries. But do we want or need AI to create content for us, having been trained on content written and created by humans? Most readers would probably say not, and yet multiple companies are spending huge amounts of money developing this. AI potentially can be used to improve processes and make publishing more efficient, but a more cautious approach is needed when dealing with its creative possibilities. Likewise, the alarming drop in the numbers of people reading and how much they read, in particular children, is something the industry, government and all of us who care about books should be addressing. There is plenty of food for thought in the book.

What do you hope people take away from reading Shelf Life?

I would hope that those who love books and bookshops have a much better understanding about the history of this business, but also the importance of those who work in the book trade (and often are incredibly undervalued). I hope the book makes people value books and bookshops more highly.

How would you describe Shelf Life in one word?

Hard to use just one word, but I hope the book is a journey of discovery, in many directions and across many centuries.

Following your extensive career in the industry, what three tips would you give to someone new to the business?

Remember that we are all always learning. Always listen to those around you in the business (we can learn so much from others). Be open to different roles – the number of people who started as booksellers and ended up as editors or even writers is phenomenal. All experience in this industry is useful, at whatever level.

Lastly, in the epilogue you mention the first book you ever owned was Ginger’s Adventures, but do you have a favourite read?

I greatly value many of the books I read in childhood, including C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books. These days, I read both fiction and non-fiction, including many biographies of writers or histories connected to the book industry. My favourite authors are probably still Orwell and Dickens, although I read plenty of contemporary authors too. If I had to pick one book as my favourite read, one I have returned to time and again, it would be either David Copperfield or Great Expectations. Both of these are great advertisements for the power of books, taking you away from your day-to-day life and involving you in a whole life story, a whole world, multiple characters, multiple plots, multiple ideas – the sheer joy of fiction.