The Clothing of Books
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The Clothing of Books

Jhumpa Lahiri2016
How do you clothe a book? In this deeply personal reflection, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri explores the art of the book jacket from the perspectives of both reader and writer. Probing the complex relationships between text and image, author and designer, and art and commerce, Lahiri delves into the role of the uniform; explains what book jackets and design have come to mean to her; and how, sometimes, "the covers become a part of me."
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Reviews

Photo of Jevin Sidhu
Jevin Sidhu@jevin
4 stars
Jun 29, 2024

A reflection on the art of book jackets. It’s very meta. I do like the cover on this one.

I loved the sentiment of reading a specific version, then seeing the book printed with another and that somehow feeling foreign—like the text wouldn’t be the same within.

I was surprised to hear how disconnected authors are from the creation of their covers. Having a cover for a book not match the author’s vision is probably common. That’s depressing.

I noted down a lot of artists mentioned, and really enjoy the covers they have illustrated.

I will definitely be looking at the covers of books I read in different languages going forward, since I didn’t realize that they make different art for different regions.

Also, will be arranging my favorite covers facing outward on my shelf.

I wonder how this translates to other mediums like video games and movies.

+3
Photo of Melissa Palmer
Melissa Palmer@melissapalmer404
4 stars
Nov 5, 2023

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.

Photo of Shreerag Plakazhi
Shreerag Plakazhi@shreerag
4 stars
Sep 8, 2021

Do I have anything but love for Jhumpa? No. Is this book excellent? But of course.

Photo of Neeti Choudhari
Neeti Choudhari@readabookhoe
3 stars
Aug 13, 2021

I certainly liked reading this tiny book and marvel at the way the author has described the importance of book jackets. The book itself has a magnificent jacket.

Photo of Udit Desai
Udit Desai@uydesai
4 stars
Apr 25, 2024
Photo of Shohini Gupta
Shohini Gupta@shohini
5 stars
Mar 26, 2022
Photo of Shreyaa
Shreyaa@shreyaa
4 stars
Dec 11, 2021
Photo of Meniah
Meniah@athoughtfulrecord
5 stars
Nov 30, 2021
+9
Photo of Emma Bose
Emma Bose@emmashanti
5 stars
Mar 3, 2024
Photo of Ahana
Ahana@ahana_rajan
4 stars
Nov 5, 2023
Photo of Jerilynn Hallett
Jerilynn Hallett @jerilynnhallett
3 stars
Feb 24, 2023
Photo of Charlotte Dann
Charlotte Dann@chareads
2 stars
Feb 6, 2023
Photo of Caterina P.
Caterina P.@ourbookishnotes
3 stars
Oct 15, 2022
Photo of Avani Pandya
Avani Pandya@avanireads
3 stars
Jul 9, 2022
Photo of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo@fridathequeen
5 stars
Jun 28, 2022
Photo of Riah Forbes
Riah Forbes @riah
3 stars
Jun 23, 2022
Photo of Freeda Lobo
Freeda Lobo@freedalobo
3 stars
Jan 28, 2022
Photo of Athena Eloy
Athena Eloy@athenaeloy
4 stars
Jan 12, 2022
Photo of Shreyaa
Shreyaa@shreyaa
3 stars
Dec 13, 2021
Photo of Madhuri Gubbala
Madhuri Gubbala@madzzie
4 stars
Dec 13, 2021
Photo of Elizabeth Hisserich
Elizabeth Hisserich@lizhiss
4 stars
Nov 16, 2021

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