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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 — 206,179 ratings
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2

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3.85 avg rating — 29,422 ratings
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3

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4.01 avg rating — 271,543 ratings
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4

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4.01 avg rating — 114,448 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 437,507 ratings
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6

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3.84 avg rating — 3,805 ratings
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7

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3.78 avg rating — 96,572 ratings
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8

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4.17 avg rating — 58,732 ratings
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9

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4.03 avg rating — 77,132 ratings
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10

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3.82 avg rating — 21,964 ratings
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11

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3.89 avg rating — 1,613,702 ratings
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12

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4.09 avg rating — 99,494 ratings
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13

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3.76 avg rating — 139,687 ratings
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14

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4.39 avg rating — 2,925,807 ratings
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15

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4.24 avg rating — 162,663 ratings
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16

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4.02 avg rating — 1,506,946 ratings
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17

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3.23 avg rating — 5,930 ratings
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18

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3.88 avg rating — 8,761 ratings
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19

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3.94 avg rating — 60,163 ratings
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20

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4.10 avg rating — 15,064 ratings
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21

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4.22 avg rating — 190,527 ratings
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22

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4.19 avg rating — 50,218 ratings
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23

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4.33 avg rating — 7,406 ratings
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24

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 780,995 ratings
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25

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4.11 avg rating — 560,235 ratings
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26

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4.17 avg rating — 7,745 ratings
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27

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3.59 avg rating — 6,256 ratings
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28

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4.18 avg rating — 224,149 ratings
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29

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3.72 avg rating — 23,157 ratings
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30

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4.27 avg rating — 955,542 ratings
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31

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3.52 avg rating — 2,449 ratings
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32

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3.70 avg rating — 252,519 ratings
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33

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3.86 avg rating — 198,447 ratings
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34

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3.86 avg rating — 47,965 ratings
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35

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4.37 avg rating — 4,097 ratings
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36

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3.72 avg rating — 217,369 ratings
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37

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3.89 avg rating — 184,507 ratings
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38

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3.65 avg rating — 4,254 ratings
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39

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3.77 avg rating — 364,749 ratings
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40

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4.66 avg rating — 94 ratings
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41

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4.07 avg rating — 5,489 ratings
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42

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3.54 avg rating — 70,965 ratings
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43

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3.92 avg rating — 7,461 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 — 340,446 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 — 3,930 ratings
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48

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4.01 avg rating — 661,689 ratings
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49

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4.19 avg rating — 11,329 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 88,438 ratings
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51

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4.25 avg rating — 37,445 ratings
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52

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4.22 avg rating — 254 ratings
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53

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4.26 avg rating — 359,802 ratings
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54

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3.81 avg rating — 70,357 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 — 159,112 ratings
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57

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3.91 avg rating — 75,597 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 — 28,015 ratings
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61

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3.86 avg rating — 1,158 ratings
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62

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3.86 avg rating — 8,250 ratings
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63

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3.68 avg rating — 13,740 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 — 190,175 ratings
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67

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4.17 avg rating — 59,974 ratings
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67

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4.03 avg rating — 376,426 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 10,373 ratings
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70

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4.29 avg rating — 192,378 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 444,426 ratings
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72

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3.83 avg rating — 23,021 ratings
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73

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3.88 avg rating — 44,105 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 — 17,792 ratings
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76

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4.54 avg rating — 111 ratings
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77

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3.92 avg rating — 62 ratings
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78

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3.90 avg rating — 6,964 ratings
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79

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3.88 avg rating — 55,985 ratings
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79

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4.01 avg rating — 1,784 ratings
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81

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3.85 avg rating — 101,209 ratings
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82

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4.34 avg rating — 44,455 ratings
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83

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4.16 avg rating — 10,038 ratings
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84

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4.02 avg rating — 1,630 ratings
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85

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4.14 avg rating — 55,011 ratings
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86

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3.95 avg rating — 7,314 ratings
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87

by
3.73 avg rating — 26 ratings
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87

by
3.91 avg rating — 340 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 — 1,812 ratings
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90

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3.71 avg rating — 20,377 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 — 11,704 ratings
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96

by
3.85 avg rating — 5,222 ratings
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97

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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 — 2,475 ratings
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98

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3.73 avg rating — 294,155 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 855 books
100 friends
Victoria 131 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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