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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 — 206,224 ratings
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2

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3.85 avg rating — 29,429 ratings
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3

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4.01 avg rating — 271,581 ratings
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4

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4.01 avg rating — 114,471 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 437,528 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 — 96,583 ratings
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8

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4.17 avg rating — 58,745 ratings
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9

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4.03 avg rating — 77,143 ratings
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10

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3.82 avg rating — 21,965 ratings
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11

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3.89 avg rating — 1,614,062 ratings
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12

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4.09 avg rating — 99,517 ratings
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13

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3.76 avg rating — 139,706 ratings
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14

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4.39 avg rating — 2,926,292 ratings
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15

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4.24 avg rating — 162,681 ratings
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16

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4.02 avg rating — 1,507,250 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 — 60,177 ratings
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20

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4.10 avg rating — 15,065 ratings
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21

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4.22 avg rating — 190,537 ratings
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22

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4.19 avg rating — 50,232 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 — 781,085 ratings
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25

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4.11 avg rating — 560,366 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 — 224,187 ratings
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29

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3.72 avg rating — 23,162 ratings
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30

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4.27 avg rating — 955,627 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 — 252,557 ratings
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33

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3.86 avg rating — 198,480 ratings
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34

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3.86 avg rating — 47,966 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 — 217,376 ratings
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37

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3.89 avg rating — 184,517 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 — 364,842 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 — 70,973 ratings
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43

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3.92 avg rating — 7,466 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 — 340,472 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 — 3,932 ratings
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48

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4.01 avg rating — 661,737 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 — 88,460 ratings
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51

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4.25 avg rating — 37,456 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 — 359,919 ratings
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54

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3.81 avg rating — 70,363 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 — 159,147 ratings
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57

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3.91 avg rating — 75,610 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 — 28,021 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 — 8,251 ratings
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63

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3.68 avg rating — 13,743 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 — 190,209 ratings
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67

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4.17 avg rating — 59,980 ratings
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67

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4.03 avg rating — 376,461 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 10,374 ratings
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70

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4.29 avg rating — 192,402 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 444,495 ratings
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72

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3.83 avg rating — 23,025 ratings
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73

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3.88 avg rating — 44,110 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 — 17,796 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 — 6,966 ratings
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79

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3.88 avg rating — 55,991 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 — 101,213 ratings
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82

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4.34 avg rating — 44,463 ratings
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83

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4.16 avg rating — 10,039 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 — 55,031 ratings
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86

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3.95 avg rating — 7,314 ratings
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87

by
3.70 avg rating — 27 ratings
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87

by
3.91 avg rating — 341 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

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4.02 avg rating — 1,813 ratings
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90

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3.71 avg rating — 20,379 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 — 11,703 ratings
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96

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3.85 avg rating — 5,223 ratings
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97

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4.17 avg rating — 297 ratings
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98

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4.22 avg rating — 59 ratings
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98

by
3.92 avg rating — 2,476 ratings
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98

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3.73 avg rating — 294,174 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 133 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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