design – One More Page…

I’m the kind of reader who eats up Author’s Notes and Acknowledgements. I love reading about the writing process, seeing people recognized for their contributions, and the piecing together how a book comes to be. But something I’ve realized that I don’t appreciate enough is a section I’ve been noticing more and more recently where the publisher/book designer (?) writes a bit about the font type.

I have to admit here that I don’t often notice when books are set in different fonts unless it’s incredibly recognizable or out there (can you imagine a book written in Comic Sans??). It’s something that I haven’t paid very much attention to, but I wonder if being more aware would offer up an extra way to analyze the text or “message” that they publisher is trying to convey with their design choices. Plus, as a trivia-loving gal, I feel like reading up on the “A Note on the Type” sections (and retaining its information) would give me hella trivia cred.

I’ve seen people on Twitter giving shoutouts to these sections, so I wonder if I’ve been alone in feeling indifferent about this up until now? Do you pay attention to the “A Note on the Type” sections in books? Do you think font types make a difference in your reading experience? Do you have a favourite font? I want to know!

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there’s a growing trend in book publishing: decorative edges (Update: I just learned from Jenny @bookverve that the proper term is “deckled edges.” Thanks Jenny!). Decorative edges are jagged as opposed to the traditionally smooth ones. I’m not sure exactly when this started being the norm but over the past couple of months I have seen more and more books with this look.

Though it is a purely aesthetic addition I happen to really like decorative edges. I love feeling the roughness of the pages and the texture it adds to the book. The one downside to it though is that it makes it harder to read the book with one hand (a common practice for me, especially if I’m reading on my commute). Without the smooth edges it’s more difficult to flip the pages and they often stick together due to the pages’ unevenness. Though it’s inconvenient at times, I do enjoy stroking the rough edges so I welcome this trend and hope it stays.

What are your thoughts? Do you like the decorative edges or would you prefer the smooth, uniform ones? Do you find them aesthetically pleasing? I’d love to hear your thoughts!