Is This What Barthes Had in Mind?

With the miserable news from the book industry, it could be easy to become disheartened by the state of publishing.

But Penguin UK has the loveliest idea to cheer up book lovers: this beautifully designed collection of classics that is, unfortunately for readers in North America, available only at Waterstones.

Just look at how beautiful these books are: there’s not a hint of chick lit jollity (just think of what could have been done to Anna Karenina), but a generous measure of what I’d call Hogarth-Press-meets-Liberty. (Please scroll down the link for hand-painted Hogarth Press covers by Vanessa Bell.)

In fact, these books remind me of another favorite: the stunningly packaged Claus Porto soaps, which this lucky blogger happily owns. I haven’t bought any Claus Porto yet because I know I couldn’t bear to break the seal on their gorgeous wrapping. I’d keep them lined up in a pretty row, changing their order from time to time, like piecing and repiecing a quilt.

But I would gladly read these books (without breaking their spine, of course—ohh, the horror of that term!), and would gaze lovingly at them in my bookshelf. This is one of those happy moments when the book cover more than reflects its distinguished contents.

The pleasure of the text, indeed!