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greenvillemelissa's review
4.0
Book #7 Read in 2017
The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri
This was a short, quick read. The author describes the role of cover art in the world of reading. Authors are not really involved in creating the cover art for their books but they have very powerful reactions to the cover art that is chosen. It was an interesting perspective. I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine in exchange for a honest review.
The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri
This was a short, quick read. The author describes the role of cover art in the world of reading. Authors are not really involved in creating the cover art for their books but they have very powerful reactions to the cover art that is chosen. It was an interesting perspective. I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine in exchange for a honest review.
titlibee08's review against another edition
4.0
My last read The clothing of books by Jhumpa Lahiri is a thorough look on the cover of the books.
As authoress says a book cover marks the birth of the book,it confers the book a mark of independence…A life of its own.
As authoress says a book cover marks the birth of the book,it confers the book a mark of independence…A life of its own.
literarylawgirl's review
5.0
”The right cover is like a beautiful coat, elegant and warm, wrapping my words as they travel through the world, on their way to keep an appointment with my readers.”
•
Summary: Originally written in Italian and titled Il vestito dei libri, this essay was crafted as a keynote speech that Lahiri was asked to deliver for the 9th edition of the Festival degli Scrittori in Florence.
It was later translated to English by Lahiri’s husband.
•
Thoughts: This is an insightful and delightful tribute and analysis of book covers - their purpose and transformational impact to the words contained inside. Another beautifully written work by one of my favorite contemporary authors.
•
“. . .a cover is a sort of translation, that is, an interpretation of my words in another language —a visual one. “
“The wrong cover is cumbersome, suffocating. Or it is like a too-tight sweater: inadequate.”
“The naked book doesn’t interfere.”
“If the process of writing is a dream, the book cover represents the awakening.”
•
Summary: Originally written in Italian and titled Il vestito dei libri, this essay was crafted as a keynote speech that Lahiri was asked to deliver for the 9th edition of the Festival degli Scrittori in Florence.
It was later translated to English by Lahiri’s husband.
•
Thoughts: This is an insightful and delightful tribute and analysis of book covers - their purpose and transformational impact to the words contained inside. Another beautifully written work by one of my favorite contemporary authors.
•
“. . .a cover is a sort of translation, that is, an interpretation of my words in another language —a visual one. “
“The wrong cover is cumbersome, suffocating. Or it is like a too-tight sweater: inadequate.”
“The naked book doesn’t interfere.”
“If the process of writing is a dream, the book cover represents the awakening.”
jennifermreads's review
4.0
Readers often hear “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” But booksellers and librarians are all too familiar with how important a good cover is to a book. As much as I wish this was my whole job, I never had time to stalk the aisles and hand-sell every book. Thus, because a vibrant cover will attract attention, face-out displays became imperative. But face-outs? Those take SPACE—and I had precious little of that in the teen section of my library!
So, I picked up this short essay by Jhumpa Lahiri with much interest; I was keen to hear an author’s perspective on covers. I know authors have little, if any, input on cover design. It is the lucky ones that get jacket approval. But, I had never really thought of how much the author has to let go of their words once the manuscript is in production. Will the cover embrace the author’s message and emotion? Or will the designer go in a direction the author never imagined? My favorite part of the essay was getting Lahiri’s perspective as to the dustjacket design in relation to her words. For a couple of her books, she has felt that the cover doesn’t match what she is trying to say. Apparently, one particular cover makes her cringe with distaste to the point of wanting to toss it across a room when she is handed a copy to sign! No, she doesn’t name names. So, we are left wondering which cover it is.
I also loved the opening chapter where Lahiri presented an analogy I had not thought of: covers are like clothes, an expression of personality but also, in the case of uniforms, an equalizer. Hmmmm. Think about it: you go into a college or university library and, often, books are devoid of their dust jackets. On those shelves, you will observe a sea of hardcase covers in a variety of colors. But, without reading the book or being aware of it before you browse, you will have no sense as to the book’s content. The book blurb? Missing from these as they are on…..the dustjacket! Info about the author? Also missing because it is on…..the dustjacket. Endorsements from well-known authors? Missing. Statements as to best-selling-author status? Missing. Are you getting the sense that those dustjackets give us quite a bit of info? They do—and many readers do not realize how much they rely on that info when selecting their next read. Frankly, as a reader, I do not think I’d miss the endorsements or author status. But, when exploring a book I’ve not heard of, I would miss the brief author bio and the plot summary.
This was a delightful book-nerd read. With the turn toward foil on the hardcases and sprayed & stenciled spines, the book’s dress is getting fancier and fancier. Should it affect what you select to read? It probably should not…but I bet it does.
So, I picked up this short essay by Jhumpa Lahiri with much interest; I was keen to hear an author’s perspective on covers. I know authors have little, if any, input on cover design. It is the lucky ones that get jacket approval. But, I had never really thought of how much the author has to let go of their words once the manuscript is in production. Will the cover embrace the author’s message and emotion? Or will the designer go in a direction the author never imagined? My favorite part of the essay was getting Lahiri’s perspective as to the dustjacket design in relation to her words. For a couple of her books, she has felt that the cover doesn’t match what she is trying to say. Apparently, one particular cover makes her cringe with distaste to the point of wanting to toss it across a room when she is handed a copy to sign! No, she doesn’t name names. So, we are left wondering which cover it is.
I also loved the opening chapter where Lahiri presented an analogy I had not thought of: covers are like clothes, an expression of personality but also, in the case of uniforms, an equalizer. Hmmmm. Think about it: you go into a college or university library and, often, books are devoid of their dust jackets. On those shelves, you will observe a sea of hardcase covers in a variety of colors. But, without reading the book or being aware of it before you browse, you will have no sense as to the book’s content. The book blurb? Missing from these as they are on…..the dustjacket! Info about the author? Also missing because it is on…..the dustjacket. Endorsements from well-known authors? Missing. Statements as to best-selling-author status? Missing. Are you getting the sense that those dustjackets give us quite a bit of info? They do—and many readers do not realize how much they rely on that info when selecting their next read. Frankly, as a reader, I do not think I’d miss the endorsements or author status. But, when exploring a book I’ve not heard of, I would miss the brief author bio and the plot summary.
This was a delightful book-nerd read. With the turn toward foil on the hardcases and sprayed & stenciled spines, the book’s dress is getting fancier and fancier. Should it affect what you select to read? It probably should not…but I bet it does.
adotp's review
4.0
I mean I'll read a book about tiles and walls if Jhumpa Lahiri writes it.
She's one of those writers I wish I could be best of friends with. To know her, to know how her mind works. And I'm so glad she's writing personal non fiction about things that matter to her, because I get a glimpse on how she works. I'd devour it like a prayer.
In this one, she talks about book covers- something I didn't know I cared about. I want them to be beautiful and I want them to mean something. I want to read the book and say Ah! that's what this is about. That I remember feeling when I read Half Blood Prince.
I can see why people wouldn't like this book, but I get to know my favourite author a bit more, and that's why I loved this.
She's one of those writers I wish I could be best of friends with. To know her, to know how her mind works. And I'm so glad she's writing personal non fiction about things that matter to her, because I get a glimpse on how she works. I'd devour it like a prayer.
In this one, she talks about book covers- something I didn't know I cared about. I want them to be beautiful and I want them to mean something. I want to read the book and say Ah! that's what this is about. That I remember feeling when I read Half Blood Prince.
I can see why people wouldn't like this book, but I get to know my favourite author a bit more, and that's why I loved this.
georgiaanneking's review
informative
reflective
fast-paced
2.5
Lahiri’s The Clothing of Books explores the visual identity of books. Lahiri explores her own relationship with the covers chosen for her novels and how she feels they reflect, of don’t reflect, the texts she has written.
More broadly, she’s speaking of identity. She’s speaking of the way her own identity feels split at times and how this is presented. She speaks of Italian versus American ways of choosing covers for books and how this reflects these two disparate cultural identities she holds. She speaks of the publishing industry and how they choose how her text is presented without any input, analogous to how she has very little input into how she’s presented to the world at large.
Lahiri covers a lot here. The insights into the publishing world are interesting and also into her own identity as a writer. For context, the text was originally written as the keynote speech for the ninth edition of the Festival degli Scrittori in Florence. The speech aspects do come through at points, in ways that don’t benefit the written text. There are moments where the link Lahiri is making to her identity is laboured over, slightly clumsy. Otherwise, the book is beautifully written, meditative and a quick, enjoyable read.
More broadly, she’s speaking of identity. She’s speaking of the way her own identity feels split at times and how this is presented. She speaks of Italian versus American ways of choosing covers for books and how this reflects these two disparate cultural identities she holds. She speaks of the publishing industry and how they choose how her text is presented without any input, analogous to how she has very little input into how she’s presented to the world at large.
Lahiri covers a lot here. The insights into the publishing world are interesting and also into her own identity as a writer. For context, the text was originally written as the keynote speech for the ninth edition of the Festival degli Scrittori in Florence. The speech aspects do come through at points, in ways that don’t benefit the written text. There are moments where the link Lahiri is making to her identity is laboured over, slightly clumsy. Otherwise, the book is beautifully written, meditative and a quick, enjoyable read.