Reinventing the Wheel

Some PBP brainstorming sessions have gotten a little out-of-hand over the years. We get these "wouldn't it be great if we..." ideas that turn into us spending long hours and shedding tears and blood to put together a book that most people will never see. It's nice to have creative ideas for books, but it's important to know your limitations too. If it involves rubber molds, a chisel, or toxic chemicals, chances are it's gone too far.

Also, there's something to be said for what people are used to. For example, english readers tend to like books that read left to right, they like their books to have a structural-something holding the pages together, and they want to be able to see the book before they read it. So creating a book out of flash cards, or encased in an inflatable bubble, or written in secret ink are all NOT good ideas.

The book should support the work, accentuate it. It shouldn't outshine it and certainly not obscure it. The book is a mode of convenience. When it's made out of sharp metal or covered in shag it's not convenient. I think all books should be special, just not “special”.