Scan barcode
A review by jennifermreads
The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.