We asked our current intern Antonia Di’Fonzo from The Roseland Community College to pick and review a few of her favourite books from the Atlantic Press library…
‘People I’ve Never Met & Conversations I’ve Never Had’ by Nick White
Published by Nobrow Press 2009. ISBN 978-0-9562135-1-8
www.thisisnickwhite.com
www.nobrow.net
‘ This book has a very personal feel. You almost feel that by reading it you’re prying into someone’s scrap book. The way that it is written is very informal and not in a way that should be read by anyone but the author. It’s a very relaxed and chilled out book which stems from the informality of its pages. The illustrations are beautiful and very varied but all contribute to the relaxed and informal aesthetic. Nothing in the book is uniform or regimented allowing the reader to mirror the author in having total freedom with the book. The book is very playful and different to other books.’
‘Tree of Codes’ by Jonathan Safran Foer
Published by Visual Editions 2010. ISBN 978-0-9565692-1-9
www.visual-editions.com
‘This story is told over a series of incomplete pages. The story itself is complete, the message delivered is complete but the words on each page are sparse. The idea of a book coming from the imagination to plant a seed of a story and then interpreted by another’s to flourish is present in every story. This specific book however does not only allow the story to be imagined but also the book itself.’
‘Box’ by Chris Bianchi
Self-published as Outlaw books. One of 25 copies printed at the RCA 2005.
www.chrisbianchi.co.uk
‘This book is particularly unusual due to the fact that it’s covers are plain and it’s pages are black. The black pages offer an aspect of uniqueness. Due to all the wording and illustrations being in white, this book gives a real contrast to the norm. The dark brings around the unknown. Taking that in, a large majority of the book is unknown meaning and much is left down to the reader and their interpretations.’
Credit to Eileen Long for the photos.