Danielle, aka Hoshichan. Writer and 
This week’s Booking Through Thursday:
While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?
I can read and enjoy almost anything, but it does help if the font is readable (serif), the margins are reasonable (certainly not a quarter-inch from the edge) and the book feels good in the hand. I definitely prefer the feel of a trade/quality paperback to a mass-market one, but I own both. Hardbacks are good but I usually remove the dust jacket because I’m always neurotically afraid I’m going to ding or tear it. Illustrations are nice but not required. Mostly it’s the font — I have specialty books from a small press that insists on using a sans-serif font, and they’re so hard to focus on for any period of time.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Ann Darnton (Table Talk) // Mar 27, 2008 at 11:53 am
Yes, if I am lucky enough to have a hardback with cover I always take it off while I’m reading it. Neurotic, I suppose.
2 Mervi // Mar 27, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I, too, remove the dust jacket if the book has one.
3 Hoshichan // Mar 27, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Yay, glad I’m not alone in the neuroses!
4 Jeane // Mar 27, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I like to leave the dust jackets on, but my three year old insists I remove them from every book she has. I think it’s because they slip in her hand when she’s trying to hold the books.
5 Lenneth // Mar 28, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Yeah, I pretty much insist on dust-jacket removal. Not only am I afraid of damaging the precious dust-jacket, but it also annoys me when it shifts around while I’m trying to read, if that makes any sense.
6 Hoshichan // Mar 28, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Yes, makes total sense, and that’s partly why I don’t like reading with one on. Mostly I take them off because of my tendency to chuck books in backpacks, on car floors, etc. I don’t want my jacket to take a beating because the book is coming with me wherever I’m going….
7 Lia // Apr 8, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Dust jackets always come off. I work in a bookstore, so this is a pet peeve of mine. Yes, I know it’s meant to protect the cover, but it’s more important for me to keep the dust jacket nice. My books can take quite a beating.
The only book I’ve had trouble reading was House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. Don’t get me wrong. I love the book. But there are little things that bother me. The… “creative” page layouts (to put it nicely), and the word “house” was in blue every single time. Great book, just… truly taxing to read. It’s one of those all-consuming books, and we have a serious love-hate relationship.
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