Just snagged a copy of Todd and Linda Shimoda’s Oh! A Mystery of Mono No Aware
Okay, so you guys know how I feel about the future of books, and that they need to transcend being words and paper and become objects of affection themselves (which they are, in a sense), right? Well I heard about Chin Music press on the grape vine and I see that they do exactly this- they set out to create books as works of art. And they succeeded, amiably. Not just in content (amazing) or style (wowzers) but also in price.
Oh: A Myster of Mono No Aware is a perfect book about a Japanese descendent going back to Japan (to try, like Camus’ the Stranger, to discover his emotions). The art, the paper quality, this is a book that will last forever. And the price is only 22$. I’m not kidding. That’s less than most hard covers, definately far cheaper than most “special editions” that are of the same quality.
Grab this book. Espicially if you’re a fan of Camus or Douglas Coupland (the writing and subject matters reminds me of both), or a fan of Japan and Tokyo, or if you love books as objects.
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