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A list of books whose book designs or inherent literary structure pushed limits at the time of their publication, or whose book designs are well-known for their incredible artistry.
1

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4.09 avg rating — 207,438 ratings
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2

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3.85 avg rating — 29,540 ratings
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3

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4.01 avg rating — 272,280 ratings
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4

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4.01 avg rating — 114,993 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 438,030 ratings
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6

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3.84 avg rating — 3,807 ratings
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7

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3.78 avg rating — 96,796 ratings
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8

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4.17 avg rating — 58,995 ratings
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9

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4.03 avg rating — 77,295 ratings
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10

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3.82 avg rating — 22,043 ratings
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11

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3.89 avg rating — 1,617,727 ratings
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12

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4.09 avg rating — 99,990 ratings
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13

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3.76 avg rating — 140,086 ratings
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14

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4.39 avg rating — 2,935,516 ratings
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15

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4.24 avg rating — 163,011 ratings
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16

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4.03 avg rating — 1,512,917 ratings
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17

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3.23 avg rating — 5,934 ratings
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18

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3.88 avg rating — 8,769 ratings
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19

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3.94 avg rating — 60,530 ratings
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20

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4.10 avg rating — 15,069 ratings
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21

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4.22 avg rating — 190,753 ratings
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22

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4.19 avg rating — 50,440 ratings
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23

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4.33 avg rating — 7,416 ratings
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24

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 783,208 ratings
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25

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4.11 avg rating — 562,963 ratings
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26

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4.17 avg rating — 7,769 ratings
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27

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3.59 avg rating — 6,268 ratings
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28

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4.18 avg rating — 224,779 ratings
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29

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3.72 avg rating — 23,204 ratings
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30

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4.27 avg rating — 957,134 ratings
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31

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3.52 avg rating — 2,455 ratings
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32

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3.70 avg rating — 253,279 ratings
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33

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3.86 avg rating — 199,016 ratings
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34

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3.86 avg rating — 47,990 ratings
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35

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4.37 avg rating — 4,106 ratings
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36

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3.72 avg rating — 217,687 ratings
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37

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3.89 avg rating — 184,667 ratings
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38

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3.65 avg rating — 4,262 ratings
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39

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3.77 avg rating — 366,694 ratings
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40

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4.67 avg rating — 97 ratings
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41

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4.07 avg rating — 5,495 ratings
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42

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3.54 avg rating — 71,190 ratings
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43

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3.92 avg rating — 7,512 ratings
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44

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3.96 avg rating — 115 ratings
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45

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4.38 avg rating — 340,841 ratings
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46

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4.35 avg rating — 1,006 ratings
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47

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4.49 avg rating — 3,935 ratings
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48

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4.01 avg rating — 662,594 ratings
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49

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4.19 avg rating — 11,343 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 88,788 ratings
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51

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4.25 avg rating — 37,695 ratings
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52

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4.22 avg rating — 255 ratings
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53

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4.26 avg rating — 362,238 ratings
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54

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3.81 avg rating — 70,537 ratings
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55

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3.64 avg rating — 174 ratings
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56

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3.70 avg rating — 159,871 ratings
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57

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3.91 avg rating — 75,768 ratings
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58

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4.56 avg rating — 174 ratings
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59

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4.01 avg rating — 595 ratings
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60

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3.66 avg rating — 28,137 ratings
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61

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3.86 avg rating — 1,160 ratings
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62

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3.86 avg rating — 8,299 ratings
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63

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3.68 avg rating — 13,779 ratings
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64

by
3.51 avg rating — 86 ratings
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65

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3.74 avg rating — 1,251 ratings
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66

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3.72 avg rating — 190,915 ratings
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67

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4.17 avg rating — 60,029 ratings
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67

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4.03 avg rating — 377,056 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 10,426 ratings
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70

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4.29 avg rating — 192,966 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 445,950 ratings
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72

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3.83 avg rating — 23,097 ratings
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73

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3.88 avg rating — 44,226 ratings
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74

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4.21 avg rating — 1,315 ratings
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75

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4.18 avg rating — 17,854 ratings
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76

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4.54 avg rating — 112 ratings
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77

by
3.92 avg rating — 62 ratings
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78

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3.90 avg rating — 6,993 ratings
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79

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3.88 avg rating — 56,075 ratings
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79

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4.01 avg rating — 1,789 ratings
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81

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3.85 avg rating — 101,347 ratings
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82

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4.34 avg rating — 44,739 ratings
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83

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4.16 avg rating — 10,045 ratings
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84

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4.02 avg rating — 1,635 ratings
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85

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4.14 avg rating — 55,356 ratings
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86

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3.95 avg rating — 7,320 ratings
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87

by
3.73 avg rating — 26 ratings
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87

by
3.92 avg rating — 344 ratings
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89

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 205 ratings
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90

by
4.29 avg rating — 358 ratings
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90

by
4.02 avg rating — 1,816 ratings
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90

by
3.71 avg rating — 20,389 ratings
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90

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4.67 avg rating — 21 ratings
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94

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3.92 avg rating — 40 ratings
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95

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3.82 avg rating — 11,735 ratings
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96

by
3.85 avg rating — 5,232 ratings
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97

by
4.17 avg rating — 297 ratings
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98

by
4.22 avg rating — 59 ratings
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98

by
3.92 avg rating — 2,485 ratings
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98

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3.73 avg rating — 294,681 ratings
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306 books · 551 voters · list created October 5th, 2010 by Aaron Dietz (votes) .
497 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Aaron 757 books
379 friends
Andrea 209 books
45 friends
Katie 581 books
52 friends
Kae 866 books
100 friends
Victoria 140 books
102 friends
Riona 1942 books
66 friends
Logophile 1007 books
15 friends
Alison 358 books
38 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-12 of 12 (12 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Sharon (new)

Sharon Why isn't the book Night Fim on this list? It should definitely be added!


message 2: by Aaron (new)

Aaron Dietz Night Film? Agreed, it looks terrific! I haven't read it yet, but I've added it to the list. You can add books, too, and/or vote for them/others to move them up in the order. Thanks for mentioning Night Film!


message 3: by Michelle (new)

Michelle I haven't actually read these books yet, but they certainly have intriguing design. There's Tristano, a novel that is printed in different order every copy, and also 10,000 Ghost Stories.
It doesn't look like Tristano is all that well received, but that's not a criteria, is it?


message 4: by Aaron (new)

Aaron Dietz Well received or actually being good is not a criteria--I imagine this to be a list of books pushing boundaries and often those are failed experiments (in terms of final impact) yet still great opportunities for others to study them and learn from them. Thanks for the comment!


message 5: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl I'm not sure "The Road" really pushed boundaries, at least at the time it was published. Maybe it would have in the 19th century. What does it do besides not use quotation marks for dialogue?


message 6: by Aaron (new)

Aaron Dietz Thanks, Lobstergirl, I haven't read it myself. Do you recommend I remove it?


message 7: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Yes, I don't really think it's innovative in terms of design or structure. It's a good book though.


message 8: by Aaron (new)

Aaron Dietz Yeah, I've been very much meaning to read it, but...being already familiar with the story it's hard to get excited about it. Thanks for the tip! I'll remove it from the list.


message 9: by Aaron (new)

Aaron Dietz Oh, looks like the joke's on me--I can only remove the books I voted for, which probably still only removes the vote I contributed. So it looks like this book is here to stay. Working on an experimental fiction course, though, and I'll definitely remove it from the list of works for students. Thanks again!


message 10: by Andrea (new)

Andrea Not sure that Eating animals by Jonathan Safran Foer belongs on this list... I haven't read it though, so perhaps it does.


message 11: by Vincent (new)

Vincent Quiquempoix You definitely can add all the comics from Marc Antoine Mathieu like the Julius Corentin Acquefaques series.
Unflattening from Nick Sousanis , which is a phD thesis on comics in form of a comic book, my preferred one.
Un cadeau , which is a comic book you unfold that is destructible


message 12: by Mark (new)

Mark Pettit Saving this to my history


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