A review by zabeishumanish
The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Fascinating commentary on an under-discussed aspect of the literary world. To me, this book starts slow. At first, I was enjoying the information and commentary of the book, but not the writing itself. By the end of the book, however, I adored everything about this! The combination of the author's reflections accompanied by the literary commentary made a delightful and fun non-fiction read. 

The cover is superficial, negligible, irrelevant with respect to the book. The coveer is and essential, vital component of the book. One must accept that both these sentences are true. (18)

The cover remains something removable, interchangeable. Regardless of its power, if it doesn't sell the book, it has no value. (31)

In the end, the beauty of the cover has nothing to do with it. Like every true love, that of the reader is blind. (63)

The author never states any firm unyielding positions on what a book cover should or shouldn't be, but I still found myself frequently disagreeing with the author's opinions regardless of firm beliefs. The way I found myself disagreeing with the author only served to increase how much I valued her writing and seeing the differing opinions between a reader and writer.