Monday, May 18, 2009

Book bothering.

This may seem petty but I hate this:

15 comments:

  1. The rough-cut edge... uneven pages. I'm not sure what the word is... maybe librarian Sarah will know. But, I do know that it bothers me.

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  2. Oh, I quite like that you get that effect here. It reminds me of old books (Victorian?) when you had to use a paperknife to cut the pages yourself.

    It makes me feel very learned.

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  3. Or it could mean the chap responsible for setting the cutting blade was a wee bit in his cups! That means snockered!

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  4. If it was an old book, it wouldn't bother me and it would be a wonderful experience to read one of the old books - the ones that you cut open the pages - like opening a present. I can appreciate that sort of thing in that context, very much.

    The book in my 'nice photo' (thanks Russ ;-)) is newish. Printed less than 10 years ago, originally published in 1967. It's '100 Years of Solitude'.

    There is a blog post about page edges here:
    http://www.powells.com/blog/?p=3498 (Powells is a fab shop, btw) ... here's a relevent bit:

    "Those edges on the Knopf books are an added element, something that sets their publications apart.

    ...

    Perhaps books, like cars, look so alike to most people that any unexpected detail only serves to confuse. But books, just like cars, come in many sizes, shapes, price ranges, and sometimes have elegant touches, even at the mega-publishing level."


    ... which I found a tad arrogant. Uneven page edges do not confuse me. I know an affectation when I see one (usually). The edges interferred with my pleasure in reading that book. And I can not think of a single reason why that 'elegant touch' was added to this particular novel besides a publishing company kissing its own ass.

    If it were an old book or even a reprint of an old book, I think I could cope! But a novel the same age as me is not old!
    ;-)


    (It's obvious that I'm avoiding work isn't it?)

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  5. Hi Ms. Toast Burner,
    Sorry to disappoint you but I don't know any technical term for it. I agree with you that describing uneven pages as an "elegant touch" is a bit much.
    Like your photo. Now get back to work. :)
    Sarah

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  6. Hmm, I never thought about it as a deliberate action, "the elegant touch". I thought it was just a funny little Canadian thing. You know, they way somethings never change as that's the way it's always been done.

    Also the elegant touch thing is not only affected it's wrong. Classy, expensive old books would have had neat, sharp edges, coloured with gold leaf or something similarly expensive. The DIY pages were for cheaper editions on cheaper paper.

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  7. haha! The publisher is American (but I agree with your point). Had the publisher been Canadian, there would have been blurbs all over the front cover about how Gabriel Garcia Marquez' second cousin's step-daughter was once in Canada. Or musings that perhaps Marguez wrote the book to celebrate Canada's Centennial as it was published that very same year...
    ;-)

    (I think I'm going through an ex-expat phase... this tiny Island is feeling very small.)

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  8. We have a word for that kind of thing in Scotland.... shite. ;-)

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  9. Yeah, it bothers me too...all uneven and weird.

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  10. No, not reverse culture shock. I never did experience that. More like simple boredom.

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  11. So you all know that books are printed, or used to be printed, in "signatures," which means folded groups of perhaps 24 pages, which would actually be eight folded sheets printed on both sides. These folded, sewn groups of pages are then assembled into the finished book. Then, in some cases, those rough, uneven page edges are trimmed. If not, you get this rippled effect. Some people actually like it, you know. More tactile and old-fashioned, and shows a sewn, not glued, binding. My two cents.

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