Books

How's that for a witty subject line?  It is what this post is about though - simply, books.  Books in all their glorious beauty.  To me, this is what is the final gavel slamming down on the judge's bench argument for why there will always be books in print form.  Besides being great instruments of communication, and entertainment, they also are objects, and sometimes incredibly well put together objects.  Objects of varying size and style and color.

Four examples from recent reads or packages that exemplify what I'm talking about:

Our Beloved 26th by Riley Michael Parker from Future Tense Books.  This is a stunning little chapbook, about 40 pages in length, about 4.25" x 5.5" in size.  It has a nice stock for a cover and has solid black paper inlays.  The cover has author provided artwork, in color and the chap includes one single work.

Spill by Curtis Crisler from Keyhole Press.  Another really beautifully hand created document.  It too is a staple-bound creation, a little over 30 pages in length, 5" x 7" in size.  Hard stock cover with what looks like an ink spill/Rorschach blot and solid red paper inlays.  It's a collection of the authors poetry.  This one is limited to 100 copies.

The Taker and Other Stories by Rubem Fonseca, translated from the Portuguese by Clifford E. Landers, from Open Letter Press.  A nice hardcover book with no dust jacket, with solid black inlay papers, this is a collection of 15 of Fonseca's short stories covering just under 170 pages.  The book is 8.5" x 5.5" and has a lighter green color for the most part.  Very eye catching.

The Annotated Nose by Marc Estrin with artwork by Delia Robinson from Unbridled Books.  This book, at about 420 pages in length, and about 7" x 9" is the biggest of the books looked at today, and possibly one of the most unique books you'll see published this, or any other, year.  A lovely dust jacket, red inlays, dozens of full page photos/pieces of art, a novel on the left-hand side pages and annotations regarding the novel on the right-hand side pages.  This book, at $39.95, is pricier than the others, and most hardcovers you're going out to find in stores these days but is exactly what I point out in the opening paragraph - an object, not just a story (and this from somebody who values stories at an extremely high level), but a true piece of art to be enjoyed in this form.