“Don’t judge a book by its cover!”

Nearly everyone has heard the proverb at least once in their lives—and not without good reason. It is a little piece of wisdom meant to impart an invaluable and universal life lesson: the value of people or things should not be determined on a whim based off on first impression. After all, appearances can be deceiving and it’s what is inside that truly matters most.

But this proverb is rarely applied to actual books and their cover art. In fact, studies and polls show that readers really do often judge a book—even an eBook—by its cover. While this may lead to readers potentially misjudging a great book and missing out entirely, there are some cases where judging a book by its cover are entirely appropriate, such as good old fashioned pulp fiction paperbacks.

These paperbacks are most notable for their whacky and eye-catching cover art, meant to convert lookers to buyers as they gawked at the provocative illustrations. Illustrations including sexy women in revealing clothes, men brandishing weapons, and even graphic depictions of violence—all covers arguably not commonplace today, but also much too detailed to translate well to a thumbnail image. But this doesn’t mean that pulp is incompatible with the digital age.

PULP FICTION, A BRIEF HISTORY

America’s pulp fiction period officially began in 1860 and fizzled out in 1955 after enjoying a couple decades of particularly heightened popularity around the time of the Great Depression. Industrialization brought the emergence printing technology that would vastly change the relationship between the average American, much more literate than before, and books forever.

The printing industry sought to capitalize on growing literacy rates and committed to making books more affordable by printing on wood-pulp paper instead of the rag paper which was in popular use at the time. Unfortunately, while wood-pulp paper was cheaper than its rag paper counterpart, it was definitely not as stable due to its acidity and cellulose composition. However, the instability of the paper was not an issue at the height of pulp’s popularity. Wood-pulp paper was incredibly cheap, meaning paperbacks could be purchased by middle-class Americans for mere pocket change, often just $0.25. They were meant for voracious reading, quick turn-and-burns as opposed to something designed to show off on a bookshelf.

Authors also benefitted from the pulp era. The period marks a significant time of innovation in literature and made way for the introduction of genre fiction never before seen on newsstands before—genres like hardboiled detective, western romance, and even science fiction. The era even lays claim to some prolific names in literature, such as sci-fi legends HP Lovecraft and L. Ron Hubbard, as well as detective story legends Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.

While not scandalous by today’s standards, Pulps came under heavy criticism in American society for their contents, which frequently included crime, sex, and violence, among other exploitative themes. However, Pulp consumers couldn’t be deterred—amidst a bleak social landscape and the lurking Depression, readers simply craved escapist fiction. It is a craving that is on the rise again today, as evidenced by the increase in adult fiction sales year-over-year. The interest in adult fiction combined with our tendency to be nostalgic seems to suggest that modern society could see the return of Pulp, which even found itself trending on Twitter earlier this year.  

But in the digital age, does the Pulp-curious reader have the option of an authentic experience, or will they have to settle for a watered down and sterilized version of Pulp? Thankfully, there are some options—even with cover art fully intact.

FROM PULP TO PDF

Unfortunately, the use of wood-pulp paper has made the digitization and preservation of these books a daunting task. Unlike the process of scanning a typical book to .PDF, the groups that dedicate themselves to this mission are often faced with unique challenges posed by the wood-pulp due to its composition and age. Often, there are creases that need to be flattened, tears that need to be mended, or even multiple fragments that need to be put back together as a whole.

Thankfully, the Library of Congress, began a preservation initiative for their digital archive, which contains more than 14,000 different pulp titles. Initially, the Library began the task of digitizing by moving the paper-printed pulps to microfilm, or tiny little photographs. The issue with microfilm however, is its inability to properly preserve color intensity and image detail.

The Library recognizes the limitations of microfilm preservation and quickly resolved to split preservation duties between two divisions: the Collections Conservation Section, which is responsible for preserving the covers, and the Preservation Reformatting Division, which is responsible for the text.

Along with the Library, there are private organizations that dedicate themselves to digitizing these delightfully weird pieces of American literary history. Websites such as Radio Archives offer the pulp-curious reader not only digitized copies of pulps, but PDF, Mobi, and ePub formats, fully bringing pulp into the digital world and onto our eReaders—and just in time.  

Substack is taking the world of academia by storm. In the past couple of years, writers like Rayne Fisher-Quann, Zeynep Tufekci, and others have utilized the platform to publish think-pieces, essays, and articles that have since been instrumental in academic and journalistic discussions. The website, despite having its share of copycats and naysayers, continues to grow. With this growth has come a sense of respectability, especially in terms of its forward-thinking members whose essays and articles have begun to be cited and included in academic discussions.

Substack

Substack’s homepage refers to itself as a “subscription network for independent writers and creators.” Launched in 2017, the website was designed to be a platform for writers to post their work and garner a subscription-based, newsletter-style audience of readers. Since then, the site has flourished and evolved into something that has drawn in creators of all kinds. Substack supports the work of writers in a vast range of fields and topics, with its home tab listing categories such as Culture, Technology, Business, Travel, and many more. Its subscription feature allows writers to select which posts they want to be publicly accessible and which they want to make available only to paying subscribers, who contribute a monthly fee for this access.

Online Academia

The internet has a reputation for making worlds once-exclusive accessible to millions, and academia is no exception. The academic field is one with a history often considered pretentious and stuffy, only accessible to a select few and rather narrow-minded in its culture. An article by Armaan Verma for The Daily Gamecock states the following: “Whether it be paywalls, complex or even downright incomprehensible papers, or even historical bias towards upper class men, academia has always found a way to make itself less accessible to the common person.” However, the article shifts to posit that academia can be made more “relevant” through the internet. With the resources the internet provides, academia has the opportunity to widen itself and develop a more expansive and well-rounded culture. Substack and its diverse platform of writers seems to be a promising addition to this effort.

Substack Academics

The following are examples of the writers whose works have been part of wider academic discussions over the past few years.

Rayne Fisher-Quann is a Canadian writer and cultural commentator. Her works on feminism, politics, sociology, and other topics on her Substack account internet princess have received acclaim in contemporary academic and commentative circles. She has spoken at universities like McGill and currently has a following of over 70,000 subscribers on Substack. Some of her influential pieces are the following: “standing on the shoulders of complex female characters” (about the glorification and romanticization of depression in young womanhood through the example of aesthetics and fictional female characters), who’s afraid of amber heard? (a think-piece concerning society’s treatment of Amber Heard and other woman who weren’t “perfect victims”), and the pain gap (a breakdown of the dynamics of toxic relationships and how women suffer).

Zeynep Tufekci is a Turkish sociologist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has an online news publication known as Insight on Substack, where she posts articles, essays, and think-pieces. She is also the author of the book Twitter and Tear Gas. She is a contributing writer to the New York Times and The Atlantic. Some of her influential pieces are the following: “Long Covid, The Long History Version” (about “complex chronic conditions and post-viral syndromes”) and “On the Alex Jones Verdict: The Very, Very Lucrative World of Lying” (about the Alex Jones trial and its societal implications).

Brian Klaas is an American political scientist and global politics professor at University College. He is also a contributing writer to The Atlantic. His Substack account is The Garden of Forking Paths, where he posts articles and essays about various educational topics for his audience of over 20,000 subscribers. Some of his influential pieces are the following: “The Biggest Hidden Bias in Politics” (about the American political system and its main failings), “It’s the Guns.” (about gun violence and gun control), and “The Evolution of Modern Dogs” (about the evolution of dog breeding and its societal implications).

Conclusion

The internet is a great equalizer. Since the dawn of its existence, online publications have revolutionized the fields of journalism, publishing, and academia. The new influence of Substack in online journalism and publishing in general sets a promising foundation for an era of academia that is more diverse and more informed. Perhaps, as it continues to grow, the platform will establish itself as a giant of reputable publications and educated opinion-pieces.

               After ten short years the digital publishing platform Okada Books is shutting down. The platform was founded in 2013 by Okechukwu Ofili and showed substantial success, offering numerous readers access to free online books, and giving many African authors the opportunity to publish. However, it is facing insurmountable struggles and cannot continue to operate, many citing a low reading culture and economic downturn as the reason for the failure.

READING CULTURE

In November of 2021, Itai Makone published an article discussing the breakdown of what the reading culture is like in Africa. ”In South Africa, for instance, a study showed that 78% of primary school grade 4 pupils cannot read for comprehension in any language,” she said. If the book is not of an academic nature, it is less relevant to a population that will always prioritize bread and butter needs first. This is completely understandable but also delivers the exact reason that advancements in the digital publishing world are doomed to failure. If a culture does not embrace the positive ramifications of literature diversity, then there is no way of guaranteeing the flourishment of such platforms as Okada Books.

She also goes on to point out that the digital environment presents a potentially positive opportunity but the prospect of leisure reading falls to the bottom in favor of other easier digital entertainment. Very few consumers will devote the time, money, or resources to reading for leisure if they can barely read. And access to videos, music, and games is far more gratifying. To a culture that relies heavily on making practical decisions, reading seems like a luxury. They reject the advancement because “There are costs associated with digitalization; these are subscribing and buying online books, purchasing mobile data and internet connectivity challenges.”

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

In the statement posted on social media the founder of Okada Books reassures his consumers, “We explored various avenues to keep our virtual bookshelves alive.” Unfortunately, they were unable to find a way to continue to offer the digital publishing services that gave many African authors their start into the world of literature.

Just as the rest of the world is suffering from a roller coaster of economic struggles, the African country faces not only a precarious position with regards to finance, but they are still working diligently to advance their selves and develop the areas that are much more rural. According to The World Bank in Africa, “Rising conflict and violence across the region exerts a dampening effect on economic activity, with climate shocks poised to exacerbate this fragility. About 462 million people in the region are still living in extreme poverty in 2023.”

Stretching of financial resources will always have a tremendous impact upon products that could be labeled as leisure or even non-essential. That way of operating will almost always guarantee that services like the ones Okada Books offers will never be fulfilled by alternative means, like government grants or incentives. To make a complex matter simple, books are not as important as lives.

ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE

From the perspective of readers from countries that rely heavily on digitally published texts for information and pleasure, the concept of a digital publishing platform closing down as if it were a brick-and-mortar store is a hard thing to imagine. For as long as the internet has been around, it is fairly common for people to caution others to be mindful about what they put on the internet because it is forever. Clearly, that is not always the case since that is exactly what is not happening for Okada Books.

It is a harsh reminder that something as simple as accessibility to books is not the reality of so many other places. They have not reached a point in development where they can offer easy access to internet, they do not have the capability to ensure text is readily available, and lack of funding will still impact companies that have little overhead costs to consider.

Many would argue that if the company just considered basing itself out of another country, then it would have been able to flourish. But nothing is as simple as it seems. In the case of Okada Books, they were trying to offer individuals a place to grow past the expectations of an underdeveloped country and encourage growth in their reading culture. The core purpose of the sight would not have been achieved if they compromised on where they chose to represent.

THE END BUT NOT THE ENDING

The closure of Okada Books is a significant event that will largely impact the Nigerian population of Africa, but their mission is not lost on the individuals who recognize how reading and writing will improve lives. Access to text through digital publishing platforms will remain a model that others will demand and even fight for as they grow and evolve. Countries like Africa will face challenges that other countries will never understand but that does not mean that they are not striving to do better.