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 — 206,292 ratings
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2

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3.85 avg rating — 29,436 ratings
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3

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4.01 avg rating — 271,616 ratings
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4

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4.01 avg rating — 114,498 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 437,551 ratings
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6

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3.84 avg rating — 3,806 ratings
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7

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3.78 avg rating — 96,596 ratings
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8

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4.17 avg rating — 58,764 ratings
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9

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4.03 avg rating — 77,145 ratings
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10

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3.82 avg rating — 21,967 ratings
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11

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3.89 avg rating — 1,614,360 ratings
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12

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4.09 avg rating — 99,536 ratings
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13

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3.76 avg rating — 139,742 ratings
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14

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4.39 avg rating — 2,926,854 ratings
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15

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4.24 avg rating — 162,691 ratings
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16

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4.02 avg rating — 1,507,548 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 — 8,762 ratings
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19

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3.94 avg rating — 60,195 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 — 190,547 ratings
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22

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4.19 avg rating — 50,242 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 — 781,207 ratings
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25

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4.11 avg rating — 560,506 ratings
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26

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4.17 avg rating — 7,748 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 — 224,216 ratings
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29

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3.72 avg rating — 23,164 ratings
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30

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4.27 avg rating — 955,704 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 — 252,594 ratings
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33

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3.86 avg rating — 198,507 ratings
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34

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3.86 avg rating — 47,967 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 — 217,386 ratings
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37

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3.89 avg rating — 184,525 ratings
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38

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3.65 avg rating — 4,255 ratings
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39

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3.77 avg rating — 364,943 ratings
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40

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4.66 avg rating — 95 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 — 70,986 ratings
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43

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3.92 avg rating — 7,467 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 — 340,503 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 — 661,776 ratings
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49

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4.19 avg rating — 11,330 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 88,481 ratings
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51

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4.25 avg rating — 37,474 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 — 360,050 ratings
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54

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3.81 avg rating — 70,373 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 — 159,189 ratings
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57

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3.91 avg rating — 75,623 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 — 28,025 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 — 8,253 ratings
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63

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3.68 avg rating — 13,742 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 — 1,251 ratings
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66

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3.72 avg rating — 190,256 ratings
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67

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4.17 avg rating — 59,987 ratings
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67

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4.03 avg rating — 376,487 ratings
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69

by
4.17 avg rating — 10,377 ratings
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70

by
4.29 avg rating — 192,450 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 444,589 ratings
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72

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3.83 avg rating — 23,032 ratings
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73

by
3.88 avg rating — 44,115 ratings
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74

by
4.21 avg rating — 1,317 ratings
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75

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4.18 avg rating — 17,798 ratings
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76

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4.54 avg rating — 111 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 — 6,967 ratings
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79

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3.88 avg rating — 56,000 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 — 101,216 ratings
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82

by
4.34 avg rating — 44,474 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 — 1,631 ratings
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85

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4.14 avg rating — 55,048 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 — 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

by
4.02 avg rating — 1,813 ratings
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90

by
3.71 avg rating — 20,379 ratings
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90

by
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

by
3.85 avg rating — 5,223 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 — 2,476 ratings
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98

by
3.73 avg rating — 294,199 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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