Most Visually Beautiful Books - A Guest Post by Lisa Maxwell {+ Giveaway}

I am so excited to have the lovely Lisa Maxwell on the blog today! Her new novel, Unhooked, is out today and she's sharing the books that she finds the most visually stunning (Unhooked would definitely be on my list) to celebrate! And let's just say that she made some pretty (get it?) good choices.  Don't forget to comment below to win some swag! 

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Hi Paola!

Thanks so much for having me on Don’t Fold the Page. I absolutely LOVE this question about the most beautiful books. In my past life as an English grad student, I actually did my dissertation on book history—especially the way books were designed as objects. There was this really cool press in Paris that published some of the biggest authors of the early 20^th century. They did amazingly beautiful books with hand-painted watercolors in them. I loved learning all about that—the way books have changed over the last 100 years or so, and I’m always, always a sucker for a gorgeously designed book.

Strangely enough, I buy a lot of ebooks, but there are certain books that I just need to have in hardcover because they were so darn beautiful. These aren’t all YA, but here are a few of my absolute favorites:

The most recent book that had me head over heels was Leigh Bardugo’s SIX OF CROWS. The black-tipped pages, gorgeous cover design, and beautiful maps inside had me swooning.

There have been some really gorgeous YA cover designs lately, but one that absolutely loved was NoVA Ren Suma’s THE WALLS AROUND US. The typography and overall design is just really lovely.

I also really love the new Art Deco redesigns for Fitzgerald’s books. I already own all of his books, but I’m going to need to buy these beauties as well. He was suck a sucker for a well-designed book that he would have loved these:

      

And finally, I love food about as much as I love books. I recently got Ruth Reichl’s Memoir/Cookbook: MY KITCHEN YEAR. I have always loved her stuff—when she was editor of Gourmet Magazine, it was always my favorite mail. Gorgeous pictures, wonderful page layouts, and food that always, always worked. So I’m not surprised that her newest book is as beautiful as it is delicious.

         

I’m always on the lookout for beautiful books to buy and own, so I’d love to hear what are your readers’ favorites! If they leave comments, I’ll pick one to send an UNHOOKED swag pack!

Lisa Maxwell is the author of Sweet Unrest, Gathering Deep, and Unhooked (Simon Pulse, 2-2-16). When she's not writing books, she's an English professor at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys.

This July, she will be teaching a writing workshop for a week in western Ireland. You can check out more information at http://www.irelandwritertours.com/

Links:

Website: www.lisa-maxwell.com

Twitter: @lisamaxwellYA