This Month… Judge a book by its cover
This Week Do: “Judge A Book By It’s Cover”
There is nothing quite like the sound of a book thudding through my letterbox. I should say, being a self confessed bibliomaniac, it’s a regular occurrence. But the anticipation of a brand new world dropping through your front door never ceases to fill me with great joy …Apart perhaps, the satisfaction from breathing in the fresh, crisp pages of a newly opened book. While we are at it, I have to admit I also love stroking the front shiny covers, especially if it is embossed. There is nothing better than running my fingers over the indentations. Give me a Spot UV any day - thats glossy coating btw. My husband is often bemused by my new book ritual…I admit it I am a Bibliophile. Where some people may relish in the sensory experience of a new car or a restaurant opening. A new book release tantalises all my senses. I’m not alone - 70% love to sniff their books according to a Reddit survey. Publishers take tactile textures seriously when it comes to publishing a new bestseller and who can’t fess up to enjoying that hit of a freshly cracked book spine - if you want a label - it’s bibliosmia. I can also be found hugging a book, keeping it close and safe to me, as if this new world may disappear if I leave it behind. Or at time maybe the words provide a comfort blanket that I want to cuddle into. It’s one of the reasons I am so excited about one publishers mission to create beautiful reprints of forgotten treasures. Independent publishing house Manderley Press, founded by Rebeka Russell in 2021 specialises in forgotten or out-of-print books that are connected to specific places. With beautifully commissioned cover art and high quality productions - quarter-bound in real cloth. Their books tick all my bibliophile, bibliosmia and bibliomaniac tendencies.
They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but when it’s as good inside as it is out, then the experience of reading goes to another level. A sensory experience cheaper than a new car or meal out I reason…
Top of my reading list: The House in Cornwall by Noel Streatfeild