When considering what my favorite book is, I think of fiction immediately. I’ve read a good amount of books throughout my life, but the one that is my favorite I no longer own. It is called Speak by Laurie Anderson. However, because I don’t own it anymore, I decided to talk about another of my favorites: Grimm’s Fairytales.
Though I haven’t read all of the stories inside the book, Grimm’s Fairytales has always piqued my interest. Part of that is from the idea of simply having old stories on hand to peruse whenever I feel in the mood to read. The content of it appeals to me in that because it’s an older piece of fiction and I would say well-regarded, I too hold it dearly to me. It’s like having an antique or piece of art you hang on your walls.
Another aspect, and one that draws me to many other books, is the appearance. I adore books that have beautiful covers and well thought-out design choices, such as the color of the book when its jacket is taken off. Grimm’s Fairytales is green and brown with green and gold lettering on the spine. It has pictures inside to sometimes go with stories. While I was reading The Book by Amaranth Borsuk, I was fascinated learning about the different elements of books. Borsuk mentions how “a book’s fore-edge might be embellished with designs, gold leaf, or intricate paintings to help a reader identify it” (81). I can only imagine how beautiful the pages must have been, and it’s unfortunate that it doesn’t seem to be practiced as much anymore.
All of these design aspects coupled with my feelings about Grimm’s Fairytales help make it a favorite of mine. Other favorites have different parts of them that I enjoy. For example, Speak by Laurie Anderson is another favorite because of its story and less because of its appearance.
Works Cited
Borsuk, Amaranth. The Book. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018.