{"product_id":"what-would-jesus-read-erin-a-smith-9781469621326","title":"What Would Jesus Read?: Popular Religious Books and Everyday Life in Twentieth-Century America","description":"Since the late nineteenth century, religiously themed books in America have been commercially popular yet scorned by critics. Working at the intersection of literary history, lived religion, and consumer culture, Erin A. Smith considers the largely unexplored world of popular religious books, examining the apparent tension between economic and religious imperatives for authors, publishers, and readers. Smith argues that this literature served as a form of extra-ecclesiastical ministry and credits the popularity and longevity of religious books to their day-to-day usefulness rather than their theological correctness or aesthetic quality.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on publishers' records, letters by readers to authors, promotional materials, and interviews with contemporary religious-reading groups, Smith offers a comprehensive study that finds surprising overlap across the religious spectrum--Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish, liberal and conservative. Smith tells the story of how authors, publishers, and readers reconciled these books' dual function as best-selling consumer goods and spiritually edifying literature. \u003ci\u003eWhat Would Jesus Read?\u003c\/i\u003e will be of interest to literary and cultural historians, students in the field of print culture, and scholars of religious studies. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Erin a. Smith\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1469621320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781469621326\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of North Carolina Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/13\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 410\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.32h x 6.27w x 1.17d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Century\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/22\/2015 pg. 43\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2015","brand":"Erin a. Smith","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44065800683775,"sku":"9781469621326","price":47.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_8eab720e-4d0c-409d-b3f9-828ffa3ad3a7.jpg?v=1685403573","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/what-would-jesus-read-erin-a-smith-9781469621326","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}