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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 — 206,870 ratings
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2

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3.85 avg rating — 29,487 ratings
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3

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4.01 avg rating — 271,940 ratings
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4

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4.01 avg rating — 114,733 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 437,783 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 — 96,687 ratings
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8

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4.17 avg rating — 58,861 ratings
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9

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4.03 avg rating — 77,202 ratings
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10

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3.82 avg rating — 22,008 ratings
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11

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3.89 avg rating — 1,616,136 ratings
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12

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4.09 avg rating — 99,754 ratings
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13

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3.76 avg rating — 139,927 ratings
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14

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4.39 avg rating — 2,930,990 ratings
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15

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4.24 avg rating — 162,835 ratings
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16

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4.03 avg rating — 1,510,286 ratings
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17

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3.23 avg rating — 5,932 ratings
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18

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3.88 avg rating — 8,767 ratings
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19

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3.94 avg rating — 60,367 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 — 190,666 ratings
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22

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4.19 avg rating — 50,336 ratings
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23

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4.33 avg rating — 7,412 ratings
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24

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 782,194 ratings
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25

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4.11 avg rating — 561,633 ratings
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26

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4.17 avg rating — 7,756 ratings
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27

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3.59 avg rating — 6,263 ratings
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28

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4.18 avg rating — 224,524 ratings
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29

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3.72 avg rating — 23,187 ratings
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30

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4.27 avg rating — 956,390 ratings
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31

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3.52 avg rating — 2,454 ratings
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32

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3.70 avg rating — 252,925 ratings
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33

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3.86 avg rating — 198,758 ratings
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34

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3.86 avg rating — 47,978 ratings
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35

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4.37 avg rating — 4,098 ratings
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36

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3.72 avg rating — 217,529 ratings
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37

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3.89 avg rating — 184,584 ratings
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38

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3.65 avg rating — 4,259 ratings
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39

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3.77 avg rating — 365,779 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 — 5,493 ratings
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42

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3.54 avg rating — 71,080 ratings
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43

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3.92 avg rating — 7,494 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 — 340,670 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 — 3,933 ratings
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48

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4.01 avg rating — 662,158 ratings
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49

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4.19 avg rating — 11,334 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 88,637 ratings
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51

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4.25 avg rating — 37,586 ratings
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52

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4.23 avg rating — 256 ratings
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53

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4.26 avg rating — 361,134 ratings
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54

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3.81 avg rating — 70,452 ratings
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55

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3.64 avg rating — 173 ratings
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56

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3.70 avg rating — 159,547 ratings
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57

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3.91 avg rating — 75,725 ratings
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58

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4.56 avg rating — 175 ratings
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59

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4.01 avg rating — 594 ratings
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60

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3.66 avg rating — 28,088 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 — 8,274 ratings
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63

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3.68 avg rating — 13,759 ratings
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64

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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 — 190,560 ratings
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67

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4.17 avg rating — 60,023 ratings
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67

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4.03 avg rating — 376,829 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 10,400 ratings
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70

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4.29 avg rating — 192,716 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 445,238 ratings
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72

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3.83 avg rating — 23,059 ratings
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73

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3.88 avg rating — 44,182 ratings
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74

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4.21 avg rating — 1,317 ratings
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75

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4.18 avg rating — 17,830 ratings
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76

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4.55 avg rating — 113 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 — 6,981 ratings
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79

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3.88 avg rating — 56,034 ratings
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79

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4.01 avg rating — 1,788 ratings
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81

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3.85 avg rating — 101,286 ratings
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82

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4.34 avg rating — 44,604 ratings
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83

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4.16 avg rating — 10,043 ratings
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84

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4.02 avg rating — 1,633 ratings
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85

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4.14 avg rating — 55,190 ratings
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86

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3.95 avg rating — 7,316 ratings
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87

by
3.73 avg rating — 26 ratings
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87

by
3.91 avg rating — 345 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 — 1,815 ratings
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90

by
3.71 avg rating — 20,384 ratings
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90

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4.59 avg rating — 22 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 — 11,719 ratings
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96

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3.85 avg rating — 5,229 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 — 2,479 ratings
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98

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3.73 avg rating — 294,423 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 760 books
379 friends
Andrea 209 books
45 friends
Katie 576 books
52 friends
Kae 856 books
100 friends
Victoria 136 books
102 friends
Riona 1941 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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