Diskussioner om värde och värdet av diskussioner

Sammanfattning: As the digital revolution change how people interact, it becomes integral for all types of industries to understand how these interactions happen. The publishing industry is no exception. This paper analyses how Facebook-groups about literature function when it comes to discussions of value and creation of identity and communities. It is done by examining Facebook-posts from two groups, Litteraturgäris and Snacka om böcker!, in addition to data gathered from a survey posted in both groups. The study is based on Beth Driscoll’s middlebrow theory and the theories of value presented in Höstens böcker. The results show that in regards to discussions of value, both groups show appreciation of different types of literature, although in different ways. The most common metric of value is the emotional, which is used to evaluate books from all genres. This is something that differentiates the discussion in the groups from traditional literary criticism, where emotional value tends to be downplayed. It is also clear that participation in the groups has a social value for the members, and that some of the posts function more as a way of building identity and a feeling of belonging rather than as literary criticism.