Physical is beautiful.
The day the Kindle was released, pundits announced the death of print. Sure, maybe a few technophobic geezers or ironic hipsters would cling onto "dead trees," but print was about to be quickly tossed in the dustbin of media format history. The argument is still made on a regular basis. Yet six years later, e-books have not cracked 25% of the market and the growth has dropped precipitously.
People like physical books, it turns out. They like them more than they liked CDs or Betamax tapes. Books feel nice. You can flip back and forth in them. They look awesome on a shelf. Hell, they even smell nice. Kindles are good too, especially on long trips where you don't want to weigh your bag down with a dozen books. But print books can do many things that e-books simply can't.
Not only have e-books not killed print books yet, they've actually made them better by pushing publishers to give readers a reason to buy print over digital. More and more publishers are doing beautiful and innovative things with design, layout, illustration, and cover art. Here are 19 books from 2013 that you'll want to hold in your hands.
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer
Wonderbook is appropriately titled. This wondrous guide to fantasy and science fiction writing is filled to the brim with illustrations, maps, diagrams, and charts that make it essential to see and touch on paper. Also included are interviews, exercises, and excerpts from writers such as George R. R. Martin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Peter Straub, and Lev Grossman. What more could a science fiction fan want?
This Is How You Lose Her (Deluxe Edition) by Junot Diaz
In a move that will likely be common in a few years, Junot Diaz’s latest book was published in three print versions: hardcover, paperback, and deluxe slipcase. It’s a smart model for publishers, allowing hardcore fans to support authors they love well receiving something special in return. Diaz’s deluxe edition features illustrations from the comic great Jaime Hernandez.
Via junotdiaz.com
Penguin Drop Caps
Another trend we’re seeing more of is publishers repackaging classic texts in exciting collectable editions. The Penguin Drop Caps series, a collaboration between design extraordinaire Jessica Hische and Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, consists of 26 canonical books by classic authors (A for Jane Austen, B for Charlotte Brontë, etc.) in a rainbow of colors. The series is currently up to P for Marcel Proust.
