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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 — 202,583 ratings
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2

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3.85 avg rating — 29,101 ratings
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3

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4.01 avg rating — 269,244 ratings
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4

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4.01 avg rating — 112,880 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 436,054 ratings
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6

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3.84 avg rating — 3,797 ratings
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7

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3.78 avg rating — 96,061 ratings
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8

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4.17 avg rating — 57,986 ratings
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9

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4.03 avg rating — 76,629 ratings
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10

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3.82 avg rating — 21,775 ratings
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11

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3.89 avg rating — 1,603,448 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 98,102 ratings
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13

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3.76 avg rating — 138,513 ratings
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14

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4.39 avg rating — 2,897,178 ratings
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15

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4.24 avg rating — 161,839 ratings
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16

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3.23 avg rating — 5,902 ratings
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17

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3.88 avg rating — 8,748 ratings
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18

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4.02 avg rating — 1,488,244 ratings
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19

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3.94 avg rating — 59,084 ratings
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20

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4.10 avg rating — 15,048 ratings
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21

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4.22 avg rating — 189,952 ratings
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22

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4.20 avg rating — 49,581 ratings
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23

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4.33 avg rating — 7,383 ratings
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24

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 773,876 ratings
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25

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4.12 avg rating — 553,024 ratings
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26

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4.17 avg rating — 7,671 ratings
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27

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3.59 avg rating — 6,224 ratings
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28

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4.18 avg rating — 222,233 ratings
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29

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3.73 avg rating — 22,991 ratings
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30

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4.27 avg rating — 950,701 ratings
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31

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3.52 avg rating — 2,434 ratings
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32

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3.70 avg rating — 250,627 ratings
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33

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3.86 avg rating — 196,916 ratings
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34

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3.86 avg rating — 47,913 ratings
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35

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4.37 avg rating — 4,053 ratings
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36

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3.72 avg rating — 216,605 ratings
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37

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3.89 avg rating — 184,109 ratings
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38

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3.65 avg rating — 4,231 ratings
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39

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3.77 avg rating — 359,628 ratings
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40

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4.69 avg rating — 93 ratings
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41

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4.07 avg rating — 5,471 ratings
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42

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3.55 avg rating — 70,269 ratings
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43

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3.92 avg rating — 7,371 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 — 339,090 ratings
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46

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4.35 avg rating — 1,005 ratings
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47

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4.50 avg rating — 3,910 ratings
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48

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4.01 avg rating — 659,098 ratings
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49

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4.19 avg rating — 11,290 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 87,501 ratings
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51

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4.25 avg rating — 36,793 ratings
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52

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4.26 avg rating — 249 ratings
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53

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4.26 avg rating — 351,134 ratings
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54

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3.81 avg rating — 69,881 ratings
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55

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3.65 avg rating — 171 ratings
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56

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3.69 avg rating — 156,726 ratings
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57

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3.91 avg rating — 75,146 ratings
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58

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4.55 avg rating — 173 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 — 27,687 ratings
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61

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3.86 avg rating — 1,157 ratings
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62

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3.86 avg rating — 8,158 ratings
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63

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3.68 avg rating — 13,671 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 — 1,244 ratings
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66

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3.72 avg rating — 188,146 ratings
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67

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4.17 avg rating — 59,814 ratings
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67

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4.03 avg rating — 374,822 ratings
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69

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4.18 avg rating — 10,222 ratings
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70

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4.29 avg rating — 190,719 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 439,867 ratings
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72

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3.83 avg rating — 22,765 ratings
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73

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3.88 avg rating — 43,792 ratings
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74

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4.21 avg rating — 1,316 ratings
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75

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4.18 avg rating — 17,544 ratings
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76

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4.54 avg rating — 110 ratings
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77

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3.90 avg rating — 61 ratings
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78

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3.90 avg rating — 6,869 ratings
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79

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3.88 avg rating — 55,707 ratings
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79

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4.01 avg rating — 1,776 ratings
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81

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3.85 avg rating — 100,711 ratings
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82

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4.34 avg rating — 43,802 ratings
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83

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4.16 avg rating — 10,001 ratings
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84

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4.02 avg rating — 1,617 ratings
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85

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4.14 avg rating — 54,152 ratings
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86

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3.95 avg rating — 7,281 ratings
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87

by
3.73 avg rating — 26 ratings
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87

by
3.92 avg rating — 335 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 — 360 ratings
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90

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4.03 avg rating — 1,800 ratings
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90

by
3.71 avg rating — 20,348 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 — 11,615 ratings
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96

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3.85 avg rating — 5,175 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 — 2,464 ratings
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98

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3.73 avg rating — 292,882 ratings
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305 books · 550 voters · list created October 5th, 2010 by Aaron Dietz (votes) .
495 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Aaron 759 books
379 friends
Andrea 209 books
45 friends
Katie 570 books
52 friends
Kristin 848 books
100 friends
Victoria 113 books
100 friends
Riona 1937 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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