The New York Times has observed this trend: in the age of the e-book, small book publishing companies (like yours truly!) have raised the bar on the value and beauty of the printed book. While the e-book may be convenient, it likens the book to a generic spool of words: while it is great for reading and enjoying on your daily commute, it is no longer an exciting and (tangible) object of desire, one that tickles and delights and dazzles.

So much is lost with the e-book: the smooth feel of the pages, the way a glossy cover illuminates when it catches the light, embossed graphics, deckle edges, colored endpapers, special edition box sets, natural linen cloth covers… oh we could just go on and on…. It’s like what Robert S. Miller, of Workman Publishing, says of the value in raising production standards: “When people do beautiful books, they’re noticed more. It’s like sending a thank-you note written on nice paper when we’re in an era of e-mail correspondence.”

At PLP, we take great care in producing our books and in deciding what elements will go into the design of a book, and what they will add to it’s content, what it will mean, what feeling it might evoke in it’s reader.

So support beautifully printed and designed books (their stores, and their publishers)! Value the exquisite, the crafted, the aesthetically pleasing! Viva the deckle edges and the glossy finishes!