Old Books and New Media: Reader Response to The Thorn Birds and Late Night with Seth Meyers

Abstract

The convergence of the pandemic’s restrictions and the possibilities of new media resulted in a historic moment for reading and books, particularly the books on display during Zoom sessions. U.S. late-night television hosts who produced their shows from home were among the people whose private spaces, including their bookshelves, became part of how viewers understood their personae. The Late Night with Seth Meyers show aired its one thousandth episode during this time of unprecedented distress and upheaval, yet its pandemic operations revealed the power of ordinary books to play a role in lives constricted by lockdown and quarantine, notably 1977 best-seller The Thorn Birds. The resulting book-based exchange with viewers depended on new and old media of multiple eras, referencing narratives, norms, and aesthetics of different times. While the resulting exchange did not necessarily form a community of readers, it did create a degree of what so many late-night hosts have said they missed: audience feedback. The perhaps surprising result—viewers’ joyous, playful, and heart-felt expressions of interest in an old book on new media—shows us that the pandemic bookshelf can be varied in its construction and effects.

The author wishes to thank Meghan Forbes, Ph.D., for her effort in moving this essay from manuscript to publication.