Easton Press

I recently recieved a beautiful red leather bound book of T.s. Eliot's poetry. The publisher is Easton Press. Their work is incredible, the binding, the leather, the 22 k gold on the edges, everything about the book screams quality. Something about a well made book draws the reader into a intimate relationship with the text. I could just as easily find his poetry on the internet, or tucked between Coleridge and Keats in a massive anthology, but there is something lost when you are presented with a plethora of information. The poetry comes alive every time I read it and I cherish the little volume for just that reason.

I'm reading Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" right now as well, and I was blessed to find an amazing copy from the 60's. It also has Russian artwork from the period on the covers of the two volumes in grey and black. The paper is old, browned around the edges, and is probably five years away from cracking. For whatever reason, it adds so much to the experience of reading the book. The Brothers Karamazov was written in 1880, and having an older edition seems to place me that much closer to the author and his intent in writing. And I will say, it's been a long time since a book has moved me like the Brothers Karamazov has. I will be reading this book many more times in my life. Dostoyevsky is a master at placing the reader within the internal struggles of his characters as the reconcile faith, reason, and suffering in their lives.

I've received some cheap, mass produced books in my time. I recently received a book from Guidestone that was just ridiculously cheap. It warranted little more than a flip of the pages and a scan of the index. I think that if you really believe what you have written, you will ensure that it is printed and bound in a vessel that matches the quality of the work. Good books are printed to last.

I'm reminded of a letter by C.S. Lewis to a friend in which he was livid about the way a publisher bound one of his books. I believe he said it "looked like a bank ledger." Lewis knew the value of a good book was found in more than just paper and glue that will last. A well made book unlocks the door on the readers imagination, and challenges him to think with a quality equal to that present in the binding of the book.

I must be honest, when I see youth with their paperback, shredded up copy of "The Athletes Bible" I just want to cringe. They hold the most precious words on earth, on the cheapest materials available. It's a paradox that their minds have no problem accepting because often those words mean little more than the cheap ink used to print them. And no, printing bibles that cost two hundred dollars is not the remedy to all of Americas religous woes, but I think if we can convey the importance of the written word we stand a better chance of proving it's relevance. Would you take me seriously if I said that I beleived the Word of God and then put it in my trunk and spilled motor oil on it? (Yes, that really did happen years ago. It's shameful, but true.)