Post-Christmas Purchases

Being both book-lovers, my daughter and I usually exchange Borders or B&N gift cards at Christmas, and I finally used mine this week to get a couple of nice books by Ellen Lupton, which I'm sure will be very useful in my upcoming projects. Thinking with Type (2004) is an excellent basic guide to typography, and her latest book Indie Publishing (2008) is a compact guidebook on the basics of book layout and design. The latter provides the most essential information you need to get started in self-publishing, presented in a very sharp and well-organized package. Both books are from Princeton Architectural Press, which produces some really beautiful, high-quality work.

Regarding Lupton's Thinking with Type, I must admit I have not spent a lot of time thinking about typography recently, and it made me fondly remember how much I used to enjoy pouring over old issues of ITC's U&lc magazine during my earliest career years. Her book is a great refresher, and one of the later sections, which notes avoidable typography "crimes" was very enjoyable. Helpful, too; I see there were a few things I had forgotten about...