When I hear all these murmurings of Amazon selling more electronic books than actual books I want to run away from this century with my hair on fire - consequently, so many things about this century make me feel like that - because I just find it amazing that people would rather read books on a screen than hold them in their hands and feel the pages. Being an English major in college and later a graphic designer I am pretty much always going to love actual books and appreciate book jacket design. But not much as prepared me for the type of crush I have on these covers by Coralie Bickford Smith. And this is just her series on Fitzgerald (on of my all-time literary loves). Peruse her site and you'll find a sumptuous selection of witty, gorgeous and swoon-worthy book jackets (that you buy at Amazon, no less!) I have not figured out how to procure the Fitzgerald set, but you can be certain I'll be doing my best to figure that one out. If you know, do tell!
21 comments:
Oh, if you find out how one can get that Fitzgerald set, I'd surely love to know as well! I couldn't agree with you more, btw. (I didn't know you were a fellow English lit major! You are so diverse and talented in so many areas!)
Oh, man, I have had a brain crush on Coralie Bickford-Smith for a while now. I really need to get a copy of her Pride and Prejudice.
I feel the same way! I love the tactile-ness and craftsmanship of books so much, I can't imagine everyone going electronic. I'm so sentimental about books that I often root through the book bin at our recycling center (don't tell anyone!) to save the ones that are still perfectly nice...you wouldn't believe what people throw away.
I am totally in agreement with you. The kindle and the ipad are grotesque creations and will hopefully prove themselves redundant gimmicks. I am also studying English Literature at Uni and adore the prospect of one day owning my own library of great literature :)
http://pretty-odds-and-ends.blogspot.com/
i totally agree with this post. i worked at a library for a while and i could not imagine not having books to checkout. people have become so lazy. i love collecting books...my husband and i on our days off love going to the bookstore browsing the shelfs. these book covers are amazing. F. Scott is one of my favorite authors. amazing. xoxo
i agree! i love love love books. looking at my shelves of well-read books (i don't mind my books looking like someone actually held them and read them) makes me so happy... and having some of my own art printed and turned into a book always feels so much better than seeing it on a screen!
I worked in bookstores through high school and college. Something like 6 years of bookstore working. I amasses a lot of books. Beautiful books. Rare books. First editions. Whenever I moved, it took 28-30 big boxes just for the books. That's a lot of books.
I live in a small apartment now, and I have no idea where I will be in one year. I currently only have my two-volume set of the Oxford English Dictionary. I read on my iPad. I know my bookstore friends and a lot of people would be incredulous that I read in this format.
I'm not saying I don't love the experience of reading a physical book--I do. I'm an English Lit major, too, and so I spent a lot of time with novels spread all over the table. I love the feel of paper in my fingers, the smell of dust and slightly yellowed pages, and the feeling of cracking the spine.
Don't get me wrong, I still read physical books. I'm just saying that reading on the Kindle or the Kindle app on the iPad and iPhone isn't necessarily bad. People have lots of reasons why they do. Mine are that it saves space, reduces paper, and easier on my wrists and hands.
It's not lazy to read on an electronic reader. That's not a fair assessment. And, frankly, the implication of what an electronic reader can do for the publishing industry is really exciting. If more people are reading--well, I don't see how that can't be great news. Regardless of how they read, so as long as they read.
Anyway, I'm sorry this comment hasn't been so long. I just wanted to add my two cents in defense of reading on an e-reader.
These books are gorgeous. If I had the space for them, I'd track them down for myself.
These are beautiful. I'm a fellow Eng Lit graduate and I feel the same way about books. The feeling when you open a new hardback, the smell and coolness of the pages - irreplaceable!
I'm so in love with those books. I've been collecting her designs for the Penguin Clothbound Classics. I'm going to have to start this collection since I'm a huge Fitzgerald fan. I thought I have seen them on Amazon already...
I have not seen these book covers before. Wow.
Vintage clothes and good books. Does life get any better?
Lovely covers--I feel that way about some album covers too. Though I've significantly edited my book and music collections, I still love the delicious feeling of handling both.
Tien, that's a good point. Being an apartment dweller with space at a premium, I can see the niche this new format fills. I also agree, anything to encourage people to read. That being said, I too have a love for the beauty and art of the book cover and the feel and smell of pages. I would miss them terribly, as I miss the beauty and art of the album cover. My main gripe with ereaders is the idea of publishers/authors having the power to update a book's content even after one has purchased their 'book'. Books, movies, music are time capsules and I'd be sad to see technology take that away. I'm not that familiar with this concept, in fact, coincidentally I was told about this just last night by a friend who works in a book store so my knowledge is basic.
Anyway, sorry Lauren...didn't mean to hijack your comment section!
So happy to find your blog!! AND I went to school for English and ended up in graphic design! I agree, books are fabulous. I have an obsession with finding 1st editions!!
I totally agree! I find the idea of virtual books so depressing! What happens to the cover art....and besides a room without books is a room without soul..
This set is gorgeous!
I feel the same way! I've never read a book online...don't really know how I would do that without hurting me eyes. I also LOVE book jacket design. It's so fun to look at all the covers at the store :)
Yes yes yes to everything you have said here! Not to mention, when I think of the idea of virtual literature, I think of the unsettling impermanence and mutability of it. Certainly you can burn a book, but you have to wrestle it from my hands first. Also, oh gods those Fitzgerald books. F. Scott Fitzgerald + pretty covers = literary geek love.
I'm a writer, both in training and in practice. When we moved from Arizona to New York, we took over 25 boxes of books with us from our small apt, that's after donating many of them to the local library. There's nothing like being curled up somewhere reading a good book, the texture of the pages, the feel of the paper. I'm sure when my first book comes out (not holding my breath there) that it will be an extremely surreal experience to hold my first copy.
That being said, I do have a reader. I read quickly and travel often. It was becoming unmanageable to travel with the amount of books necessary to sustain me through a long plane ride, let alone a trip. Plus, the Sony Reader I bought allows me to easily mark up Word documents and take notes on the screen which is wonderful if I also don't want to transport my computer. In my world, there's a place for both. Guilty pleasure books are almost always saved for the reader. Substantial literature comes to my house to stay.
Although, I must say that I believe the publishing industry must be making a fortune from e-books. I know they claim they don't, but I can't see how not having to produce and transport books in a physical sense and charging the same amount of money isn't a win for them financially.
i saw them recently on a blog and assumed they were already available - they are gorgeous.
but don't rule out the kindle - it's quite handy at the gym and for travel. it will certainly never replace a real book for me, but it's a wonderful convenience.
there is something about turning actual pages that I love. . and the smell of used books. I couldn't ever have a kindle for those reasons.
I could not agree with you more... I love books, holding them and smelling them and having on my bookshelves. And the floor. And the counters...
agreed. real books are the best in the world.
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