This volume is part of Decentring the History of Reading, a two-volume project that rethinks the history of reading from a Central European perspective. Focusing on overlooked sources and contexts, it examines how reading practices evolved under conditions of political upheaval, ideological control, and media transformation. Covering the late 1940s to the present, the contributions explore reading under authoritarian regimes, state socialism, and post-socialist transition. A case-study approach highlights the diversity of reading practices and the agency of readers across institutional settings and social groups, from officially guided reading to informal and alternative circuits. 

Particular attention is given to the interplay between centralized cultural policies—censorship, regulation, and campaigns to shape the socialist “new reader”—and everyday practices. Under conditions of scarcity and control, reading emerges as a space of negotiation, appropriation, social engagement and participation. The volume offers new perspectives on reading in modern societies and will interest scholars of book history, literary and cultural studies, and the social life of texts. 

Michael Wögerbauer (Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague) researches literary communication in multilingual Central Europe.

Claire Madl (CEFRES, CNRS, Prague) studies the social practices of reading, writing, and publishing.

Jiřina Šmejkalová (Charles University, Prague) specialises in Cold War book history.