Book Design and Marketing

Have you ever come across a book or a set of books that you wanted just because they looked cool or were designed so well? The size, the feel, the cover, there was just something about the book that made you want to have it.

Well, I have been sorely tempted by this phenomenom of late (you don’t think the title of this blog was all a joke did you?). My first round was with classic literature. A local bookstore chain was running a big sale on Everyman’s Editions of famous novels. I ended up buying a dozen or so: Hemingway, Woolfe, Nabakov, Kafka, Greene, Heller, Mann, etc.

My new kick is The Modern Library Chronicles. I had purchased Paul Johnson’s short history of The Renaissance. And it was all down hill from there . . . The volumes are attractive in themselves but it also seems cool to have a set of works dealing with fascinating subjects handled briefly. I now have the following books in the series:

The Balkans by Mark Mazower
The Catholic Church by Hans Kung
Communism by Richard Pipes
The American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood

I am telling you, this is all a plot to take my money! At least I am doing my part for the economy . . . now that you know what books I have purhcased, next I will post what I plan to read.

Kevin Holtsberry
I work in communications and public affairs. I try to squeeze in as much reading as I can while still spending time with my wife and two kids (and cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Michigan Wolverines during football season).

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