Book Jackets
Book jacket, book cover, dust jacket, dust cover.
They are all words that describe one pretty innocuous thing: the thing that covers the hard cardboard cover of a book. The book jacket was developed for practical purposes only: to protect books from dust, insects and other harmful entities. However, as years progressed, the book jacket has become a separate part of the book itself and the reading experience. The book jacket has morphed into not only an addendum used to help sell the book, but also into a piece of art in and of itself. Classic books such as Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man , Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and newer titles such as Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park and Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby . There's even a celebrity book jacket designer in our midst; it's hard to miss Chip Kidd and his eclectic and eye catching designs gracing the shelves of bookstores and libraries across the country and the world. The book jacket has come a long way since its early inception as a protector of books; it has become the first step in the reading experience.
Although book covers have been decorated for many years, it wasn't until the 1800s that book jackets came into existence. “Book jackets first appeared in England in the nineteenth century, in a culture that was still discovering the rules of consumerism. Their early evolution came about in fits and starts, constrained by cultural inhibitions that are now difficult to understand. When decoration was present on the outside of the book, it took the form of either blocking onto binding cloth, or pasting printed paper sheets onto the front and back boards” (Powers 6). Up until the advent of book jackets at this time, the decorated covers of books were quite popular and even produced celebrities of book cover design. Aubrey Beardsley and Sarah Wyman Whitman were popular book cover designers of the 1800s. Pasted paper designs started appearing on books as early as the 1830s which soon gave way to two colored textured designs and gold stamping in the 1840s and 1850s. As the years progressed, the use of text and colored ink was simplified and became commonplace on book covers around the world. “The transformation of book design owed much to the Arts and Crafts movement, which revered the book as an object both functional and aesthetic, a part of everyday life yet worthy of care and adornment.
This article, “Why Are Textbooks So Expensive?” by Henry Roediger reveals the truth of why textbooks are so pricey. He shows how textbooks prices are costly not because of inflation, corporate textbook companies, and frequent revisions, but because of the sale of used textbooks. The article is elaborating on why used textbooks are the real culprit as well. One main point that is highlighted is that used textbooks are resold for many years. The initial selling of the textbook is the only time the author will make a profit, but the bookstore will make a profit every time they resell a used book. It is essential for the author to raise the price to compensate for the loss of money when dealing with used textbooks.
Bradbury attacks loss of literature in the society of Fahrenheit 451 to warn our current society about how literature is disappearing and the effects on the people are negative. While Montag is at Faber’s house, Faber explains why books are so important by saying, “Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores” (79). Faber is trying to display the importance of books and how without them people lack quality information. In Electronics and the Decline of Books by Eli Noam it is predicted that “books will become secondary tools in academia, usurped by electronic media” and the only reason books will be purchased will be for leisure, but even that will diminish due to electronic readers. Books are significant because they are able to be passed down through generation. While online things are not concrete, you can not physically hold the words. Reading boost creativity and imagination and that could be lost by shifting to qui...
Invisible Man is a book novel written by Ralph Ellison. The novel delves into various intellectual and social issues facing the African-Americans in the mid-twentieth century. Throughout the novel, the main character struggles a lot to find out who he is, and his place in the society. He undergoes various transformations, and notably is his transformation from blindness and lack of understanding in perceiving the society (Ellison 34).
There are two types of people in this world, the first ones are, the people who doesn't really like reading books because most of them doesn't have pictures on it, and they find it extremely boring. Then the other type of people, who simply gets lost into their book every time they read, because they just simply love reading. Some of them even say that when they're reading, it is taking them to a different world that only their imagination can create. That is why some people consider their books as their most priced possessions, because of how much it means to them and also some books can be rather pricey. Indeed, books can really be expensive, however, you might be too astonished when you see the following books, because they're considered
The sitar is a fascinating instrument. It can produce complex sounds that other fretted strings instruments could not. Twelve wire strings that vibrate sympathetically with the gut strings cause these unique sounds. The number of gut strings varies between three to seven. The strings are attached to a long necked, gourd like body, which could be compared to a lute. There are several ways in which it is played; however, it is unusually performed in a small ensemble or alone. The sitar is indigenous to the country of India and is best known from the performances of the Indian virtuoso Ravi Shankar. However, it wasn’t only used in Indian styles of music, but also in Rock music.
If people were asked to define the importance of the books they would probably state that books are dead or will be dead soon. In “books a dying are? don’t believe it”, Anne Proulx expressed her views books. She suggests “every other week someone says that books are dead or dying”. By analyzing which will focused on a meaning, a form and the style of the essay well reveal that books are not on the way to extinction.
Phobias are real fears that most people encounter on a daily basis; but it is the over exaggerated reaction to the feared object or situation that distinguishes it from regular fears. Fear is a natural feeling, in which our minds tell us what is dangerous and to stay away from certain things. As stated by Dr. Ronald M. Rapee and et al in the Guide for Parents, “There is no such thing as an ‘abnormal fear.’ All fears are normal- some are simply more
During the late 1940s and early 1950s many African Americans were subjected to racism in America. Blacks during this time had few opportunities and were constantly ridiculed by whites based on the color of their skin. Although numerous amounts of blacks ridiculed themselves and their own race based on the color of their skin. Many writers have tried to portray this time period with the use of various literary devices such as theme. Ralph Ellison is one of those great writers that depicted America during the 1940s and 1950s perfectly. He shows the life of an average black man during that time period through his narrator in the Invisible Man. In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison uses symbolism, theme and conflict to portray racism of the whites and blacks in America during the late 1940s and early 1950s
Ralph Ellison wrote the book Invisible Man in the summer of 1945, while on sick leave from the Merchant Marines. Invisible Man is narrated in the first person by an unnamed African American who sees himself as invisible to society. This character is perceived and may be inspired by Ellison himself. Ellison manages to develop a strong philosophy through this character and portrays his struggle to search for his identity. He uses metaphors throughout the book of his invisibility and the blindness of others in which is a part of the examination of the effects of racism. The development of this unnamed “Afro-American” character helps set the foundation on the philosophy of understanding who he is. The narrator undergoes experiences such as the battle royal, the Tuskegee Institute, the Trueblood visit, and the blueprint seller in which is full of corruption and deceit.
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
“While it is true that more books are sold today than ever, recent statistics show that only about 15% of books bought today are read. Evidently, they are of more use as furniture—coffee-table books—than as a source of information or aesthetic buzz. The statistics continue; of those that are read, less than 20% are read all the way through. The unfinished book symbolizes the state of attention spans today”. Eric McLuhan opens up his 2010 argument against technology with this quote. He seems to believe that literacy is only fully achieved through limited technology and hard copies of books. He fails to realize there is more to literacy that picking up a book defined as a ‘classic’ and reading it cover to cover. Literacy covers all spans of artistic
Standing a mere three feet tall at most, it guards the door of my bedroom as a silent sentry. Its dual levels have been incessantly reordered to house each item in an aesthetic and efficient manner. The faded brown of the wood highlights the array of bright covers that lay at the front, patiently waiting to be withdrawn and analyzed once more. This humble bookcase is the crowning jewel of my personal space. The walls are lined with a diverse selection of truly enthralling books, all penned by arguably the most astute minds of all time. The knowledge of centuries lies at my finger tips, breathlessly hungering for me to turn the pages and absorb its riches.
There are three kinds of phobias: simple phobia, social phobia, and panic attacks. Simple phobias, also called specific phobias, are fears of a specific thing, such as spiders or being in a closed place. Most simple phobias develop during childhood and eventually disappear. Specific phobia is a marked fear of a specific object or situation. It is a category for any phobias other than agoraphobia and social phobia. The categories of specific phobias are 1. situational phobias such as: fear of elevators, airplanes, enclosed places, public transportation, tunnels, or bridges; 2. fear of the natural environment such as: storms, water, or heights; 3. animal phobias such as: fear of dogs, snakes, insects, or mice; 4. blood-injection-injury phobia such as: fear of seeing blood or an injury, or of receiving an injection. (Wood 520).
However, iIn spite of the current pre-eminence of e-books, it may be argued that they are not likely to replace print books anytime soon or possibly at all. Both formats have their advantages and drawbacks, which makes for one of them difficult to replace the other. Moreover, they serve differents needs and purposes. E-books are famous for their portability. Hundreds of e-books can be stored on a single device. Thus e-books don’t take shelving space and are convenient to take on travel, while even a few paper books are bulky and quite heavy to carry around. Numerous e-books are in open access, while paper books are not routinely available free of charge. E-books may be acquired and accessed immediately online, a feature I enjoy especially and treasure most: many a time I was able to buy and read an e-book at home within minutes of learning of its existence. Needless to say, e-books are considerably easier to cite and quote than print books, since the copy-paste feature spares us the trouble of retyping the quoted text. Another important advantage of digital books is their specialized software, which makes reading much easier: search and reference tools, changeable font size and day/night mode, dictionaries. Last but not least, e-books conserv...
Ebooks are being constantly purchased by consumers; hardcover print books are usually pricey. However, taking notes on paper can become soiled with ink or pencil marks. Unlike ebooks, they can have a notepad built in which helps by just tapping on the keyboard. Print books is more of a hassle, considering flipping through pages and writing notes down on paper. On the other hand, using an ebook is multitasking, by reading and typing out notes it helps the user to feel as if they are using some sort of app. Ebooks keeps things organized and more oriented by reading and note taking. It does not take time in going through pages and pages in