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 — 194,810 ratings
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2

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3.85 avg rating — 28,425 ratings
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3

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4.01 avg rating — 264,757 ratings
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4

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4.02 avg rating — 109,609 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 433,206 ratings
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6

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3.84 avg rating — 3,791 ratings
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7

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3.78 avg rating — 95,015 ratings
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8

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4.17 avg rating — 56,585 ratings
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9

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4.03 avg rating — 75,749 ratings
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10

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3.83 avg rating — 21,470 ratings
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11

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3.89 avg rating — 1,580,059 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 95,113 ratings
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13

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3.77 avg rating — 139,398 ratings
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14

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4.39 avg rating — 2,830,058 ratings
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15

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4.24 avg rating — 160,110 ratings
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16

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3.23 avg rating — 5,847 ratings
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17

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3.88 avg rating — 8,724 ratings
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18

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4.02 avg rating — 1,434,343 ratings
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19

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3.94 avg rating — 57,030 ratings
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20

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4.11 avg rating — 15,041 ratings
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21

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4.22 avg rating — 188,698 ratings
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22

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4.20 avg rating — 48,054 ratings
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23

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4.33 avg rating — 7,357 ratings
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24

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 759,418 ratings
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25

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4.12 avg rating — 536,762 ratings
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26

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4.17 avg rating — 7,523 ratings
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27

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3.59 avg rating — 6,145 ratings
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28

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4.18 avg rating — 218,010 ratings
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29

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3.73 avg rating — 22,862 ratings
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30

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4.27 avg rating — 941,155 ratings
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31

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3.51 avg rating — 2,418 ratings
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32

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3.70 avg rating — 246,464 ratings
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33

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3.86 avg rating — 193,775 ratings
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34

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3.86 avg rating — 47,826 ratings
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35

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4.37 avg rating — 3,973 ratings
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36

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3.72 avg rating — 214,961 ratings
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37

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3.89 avg rating — 183,257 ratings
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38

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3.65 avg rating — 4,176 ratings
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39

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3.78 avg rating — 347,968 ratings
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40

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4.68 avg rating — 91 ratings
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41

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4.07 avg rating — 5,445 ratings
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42

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3.92 avg rating — 7,181 ratings
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43

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3.95 avg rating — 114 ratings
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44

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3.55 avg rating — 68,512 ratings
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45

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4.38 avg rating — 336,120 ratings
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46

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4.34 avg rating — 991 ratings
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47

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4.50 avg rating — 3,856 ratings
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48

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4.02 avg rating — 653,194 ratings
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49

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4.19 avg rating — 11,197 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 85,421 ratings
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51

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4.25 avg rating — 35,285 ratings
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52

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4.28 avg rating — 236 ratings
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53

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4.26 avg rating — 334,913 ratings
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54

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3.81 avg rating — 68,814 ratings
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55

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3.64 avg rating — 169 ratings
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56

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3.69 avg rating — 151,428 ratings
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57

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3.91 avg rating — 74,197 ratings
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58

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4.59 avg rating — 162 ratings
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59

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3.99 avg rating — 594 ratings
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60

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3.66 avg rating — 27,075 ratings
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61

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3.87 avg rating — 1,145 ratings
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62

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3.86 avg rating — 7,976 ratings
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63

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3.68 avg rating — 13,514 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 — 1,235 ratings
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66

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3.72 avg rating — 184,249 ratings
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67

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4.16 avg rating — 59,486 ratings
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67

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4.03 avg rating — 370,955 ratings
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69

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4.18 avg rating — 9,968 ratings
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70

by
4.29 avg rating — 187,076 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 428,390 ratings
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72

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3.83 avg rating — 22,221 ratings
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73

by
3.88 avg rating — 43,034 ratings
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74

by
4.21 avg rating — 1,312 ratings
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75

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4.19 avg rating — 16,989 ratings
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76

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4.55 avg rating — 101 ratings
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77

by
3.90 avg rating — 61 ratings
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78

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3.90 avg rating — 6,633 ratings
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79

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3.88 avg rating — 55,164 ratings
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79

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4.01 avg rating — 1,758 ratings
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81

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3.85 avg rating — 99,780 ratings
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82

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4.34 avg rating — 42,715 ratings
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83

by
4.16 avg rating — 9,927 ratings
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84

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4.03 avg rating — 1,586 ratings
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85

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4.14 avg rating — 52,141 ratings
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86

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3.95 avg rating — 7,220 ratings
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87

by
3.81 avg rating — 26 ratings
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87

by
3.94 avg rating — 324 ratings
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89

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 205 ratings
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90

by
4.28 avg rating — 359 ratings
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90

by
4.04 avg rating — 1,764 ratings
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90

by
3.71 avg rating — 20,290 ratings
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90

by
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 — 11,421 ratings
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96

by
3.85 avg rating — 5,099 ratings
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97

by
4.17 avg rating — 295 ratings
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98

by
4.22 avg rating — 59 ratings
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98

by
3.92 avg rating — 2,443 ratings
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98

by
3.74 avg rating — 290,112 ratings
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305 books · 550 voters · list created October 5th, 2010 by Aaron Dietz (votes) .
492 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Aaron 759 books
379 friends
Andrea 209 books
45 friends
Katie 564 books
59 friends
Kristin 804 books
101 friends
Victoria 112 books
100 friends
Riona 1934 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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