Judge a Book by Its Cover
- Posted by: Anne Trubek
- on December 2, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Publishers should think artistically when packaging novels
I am a book snob. Not your standard, “I won’t read trashy chick lit” snob—I weep over a forgettable title on the occasional Sunday night–but rather I am an “I want only a nice edition,” snob. (Think “The Princess and the Pea,” with books in lieu of bedding.)
I admit there are classics I have not yet read—and my snobbishness is part of the reason. When I decide to finally crawl into bed with one, I want it to be fun to look at and nice to stroke. It is not always easy to find the right match.
Take the 1839 French novel The Charterhouse of Parma. That confession is my humiliation for the week, but, in my defense, I can never find just the right Stendhal. I have bought five or so copies over the years, only to decide I cannot deign to read them for various reasons: the font is squished, the pages are yellowing, the binding is cracked. Every year, when I cull my shelves, I sell a Charterhouse back, unread.
A book is a material object–form matters. We have been reading prognoses for the demise of the book for years. The arguments for how lovely it is to lie in bed fondling books (as opposed to reading screens) are tired and silly. But that opinion is bolstered if you lie in bed stroking nice paper and looking at a pretty cover. Those design elements are what distinguish books from other forms of information storage.
In an op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times, James Gleick offers this advice to publishers: “Forget about cost-cutting and the mass market. Don’t aim for instant blockbuster successes. You won’t win on quick distribution, and you won’t win on price. Cyberspace has that covered. Go back to an old-fashioned idea: that a book, printed in ink on durable paper, acid-free for longevity, is a thing of beauty. Make it as well as you can. People want to cherish it.”
Some publishers already figured this out and have been quietly reviving the almost-lost art of fine press production. McSweeney’s puts out books that double as works of art. Arion Press releases exquisite limited editions. The playful British house Tankbooks packages its classics as cigarette boxes (see photo above).
Regular old $15 paperbacks can be nicely done, as well. All you need is to invest in nice paper, solid bindings, and an artful cover, according to Gleick. Enter Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions.
The people at Penguin recognize the importance of a book as an object of physical beauty–they are now making seductive editions of classic titles printed on luscious paper, with French flaps and rough fronts. In addition, the house hired top-notch graphic novelists to design original covers, making its books even more delightful and relevant. Roz Chast’s hilarious cover for Stella Gibbons’ Cold Comfort Farms, with fake blurbs on the back—“If ye doan want to feel the crimson fires of hell a-lickn’ at your feet, read this book!” says Amos Starkadder—makes me want to read this rather obscure novel in place of a less-enticing classic. The flaps for Chris Ware’s thickly designed Candide have the cutest pictures of the protagonist and the gang prefaced by this announcement: “As a public service the publishers offer here with a handy reference guide to the Major Characters of our story, presented in authentic period costume and to scale, etc. etc.”
How much for this Candide—which wryly manages to engage and excite before you read a single word? Twelve bucks. Ready to knock off whatever unread classic is haunting your reading list? Buy yourself a copy. It’s not a bad way to celebrate the newly announced recession—or spend a night in bed.
DISCUSSION: 6 Comments
And the opposing argument, by Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody can be found here:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/12/02/to-publish-without-p.html
….growing-up where visual-ar-snobs were not only abundant..but i was severly frowned upon (nor allowed) to read a book (let alone) a “classic” not in hardcover or with an inviting original cover — paperback version of Wuthering Heights with Laurence Oilvier (as Heathcliff) as the new cover — was “not an option” to read –this of course kept me from a few (to say the least) great books…including managing to graduae high school without ever reading “catcher in the rye” — could you blame me??? I hated he first edition cover with the etched horse and tiny landscape splotched in red — i know people loved the cover …loved the book but — not I — so I never learned the woes of Holden Caulfield….if only those top-notched-graphic novelist had redone covers back then…–so thank you Ms. Trubek for sharing the possibiliy of reading he classics i missed — though — i think ..i did read — this past summer … that Catcher in he Rye — was no longer a classic — or somehing like that…..
I agree. It’s the same reason I sometimes search for hours to find the right place to sit down and write; the energy, ambience, comfort of the seats, lighting, music must collude for me to feel inspired or moved. Likewise, a book has to wow me on first impression. Publishers should take as much care to package the book as the author did to write it, and take as much care to invest in it as I will.
Thanks 13strong. I heard Clay at Pop!Tech. He’s an interesting guy.
I read about the first 8 pages of Joe Nye’s Soft Power last night online (here) and then decided I had to buy a physical copy (both because there weren’t any more free pages to read on Amazon and cause the interface was just too uncomfortable).
I’m not a “book lover” by Shirky’s definition. I’m not a big stickler for aesthetics and I don’t collect or preserve books. I’m just a “reader.” but I’d still rather hold a physical object.
I adore a well written book, hardcover(leather bound would be best!) in an atractive dust jacket. I love classic art, I think books are beautiful, and that the art on the book should be likewise.
Shirky just so happens to be another Penguin author…