Beautiful Books

Anyone who knows me is aware that I love reading and I love books. I am not a reader of electronic books, I like proper books. The internet and electronic devices have many uses but reading a book is not, in my mind, one of these. I will do research online but reading fiction or reading a whole non-fiction book (rather than brief research) has to be done with an actual, physical book.

I read a lot of books but nothing warms my heart more than a book with a beautiful cover, a fabulous flyleaf or colour tipped pages.

I have been looking through my books recently and found that I have quite a lot of gorgeous looking books.

All the books mentioned here are ones that I have loved reading, I only keep ones I enjoy and will read again. 📙

Not only is The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho a brilliantly written book, this edition is beautiful on the outside too. This copy was a charity shop bargain, a hardcover smaller than a paperback and my favourite colour. The orange is clearer than it looks in the picture and the writing is very evocative of the style of the book. The art work on the front, back and the spine add to the overall beauty of the book. This particular edition is illustrated by Jim Tierney. 

I was very lucky to pop into Waterstones with a voucher at exactly the right time. This beautiful hardback edition of The Muse, by Jessie Burton, was not only on offer, but signed by the author. The artwork on the cover is stunning and the red patterned inside covers compliment the front cover beautifully. There is a lovely black and white design on the flyleaf and also Jessie Burton's signature. Even the bookmark that came with the book is the same design. The artwork is by Lisa Perrin.

The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern is one of my favourite books. There are many different copies out there and I have two. Both are beautifully illustrated by Vania Zouravliov. There is something enchanting about this story and also the illustrations. My first copy was the white copy with the red pages, but when I saw the black copy for ninety nine pence in a second-hand shop, I just had to buy it. I have seen some fabulous copies online but I do like my black and white copies. 

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street was not only a brilliant read but has a delightfully different cover; very evocative of steam punk design. The cover is beautiful but when you open it up the hole in the front reveals the watch (from the cover) overlaid on a beautifully drawn map. 

A Life in Frocks by Kelly Doust is charmingly illustrated by Zoe Sadokierski with a light and stylish feel. I love that there is so much going on yet it does not look cluttered. Every illustration is necessary whether it is on the front, back, spine or inside. If you take off the paper cover the book also has illustrations on the front and back covers.

Shopping for Vintage by Funmi Odulate, is full of fabulous artwork from Richard Merrit. From the bookmark that fits in the indentation on the front of the book, to the wonderful purple, flowery inside covers, this book is beautiful. Every page is jam packed with fabulous illustrations and information.

I have included The Grand Tour in this piece because it is, simply, a beautiful book. The author of this book, the late Harry Seidler, filled it with outstanding photographs of amazing architecture. This is a brilliant book to dip in and out of and the pictures are fabulous. 

The Goddess Guide, by Gisele Scanlon has a tactile, luxurious, flock cover and glossy, stylish pages, every page is full of well laid out, colourful, interesting pages full of information. Each page is like a fabulous journal of fashion. The design and illustrations are by the author, cover text design and photography are by Peter O'Dwyer and the rostrum photography is by Thomas Ball. 

Body and Soul by the late Anita Roddick, founder and champion of the Body Shop, has a simple but stylish hard cover and a splash of interesting picture on the inside cover. The content is mainly writing with inserts of pictures where needed. it may not be a full on artistic explosion, like some of the other books I have included, but the cover design has always appealed to me. 

The last two books are two more fashion related books but with quite simple covers. Sometimes simplicity can be quite beautiful.

The Fashion Book and Handbags are brilliant reference books, fabulously illustrated inside but with basic, bold covers. 

Fifty Dresses That Changed the World and Fifty Shoes That Changed the World, have very uncomplicated, elegant covers with gorgeous, simple silhouettes inside the covers. The books don't need to be overdressed to illustrate the marvellous information and pictures inside.

I do still love my vast collection of paperbacks and they have beauty in their own way, as do all books. The books I have included are though, quite beautiful.

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