A Common Reader: Books for Readers with Imagination was an American

mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

book catalog, established in 1986 by

James Mustich Jr. James Mustich, Jr. is a bookseller, editor, and writer. In October 2018, Mustich's book 1,000 Books To Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List was published by Workman Publishing, receiving starred reviews from ''Publishers Weekly', Booklist','' ...

, a bookseller, editor, and writer. It was notable among general-interest book catalogs for its eclecticism, with large sections of each issue given over to obscure literary classics. The catalog was named in honor of

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

's two-volume collection of essays, entitled ''The Common Reader'' (1925) and ''The Second Common Reader'' (1932), which collected her lectures and writings about the nature of reading and how best to approach it. A Common Reader's in-house publishing imprint, the Akadine Press, initiated in 1996, republished over 60 out-of-print books by authors such as

Lillian Beckwith Lillian Beckwith (25 April 1916 – 3 January 2004), real name Lillian Comber, was an English writer best known for her series of semi-autobiographical books set on the Isle of Skye. Born Lilian Lloyd in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, she married Edw ...

Alice Thomas Ellis Alice Thomas Ellis (born Ann Margaret Lindholm, 9 September 1932 – 8 March 2005) was an English writer and essayist born in Liverpool. She wrote numerous novels and some non-fiction, including cookery books. Life Ellis was born in Liverpool to ...

, Barbara Holland,

Reynolds Price Edward Reynolds Price (February 1, 1933 – January 20, 2011) was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in Biblical ...

, and

John Ciardi John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. A Common Reader was published up to 17 times a year, with a readership in the tens of thousands. Each edition listed an average of 700 books, accompanied by editorial write-ups. At its peak, A Common Reader sold over 300,000 titles per year. The business closed in January 2006, to the regret of many readers who appreciated its discerning finds and well-written ''précis''.

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Publications established in 1986 Publications disestablished in 2006 Direct marketing Bookstores of the United States Defunct companies based in New York (state) {{US-publish-company-stub