There is a good chance that in about a year, my friend and colleague Jessy and I will be teaching a short, two-week undergraduate course on “The History and Future of the Book.”

What should be on the required reading list? Of course we already have many ideas of our own, including some pretty traditional historians of the book and some more recent articles and blog posts on Google Books and the like. But I won’t itemize them, as I’d rather hear what you all suggest.

Remember, these are undergraduates getting a half credit here, and can’t be expected to know much about the history of books and printing or to have already read much about electronic publishing, changes to the nature of reading, and so forth. On the other hand, no one will be forcing them to take the class, so we can assume they are at least a little interested in the topic.

Please make a suggestion in the comments. Thanks!