As the cliché goes, never judge a book by its cover. Judging a book by its cover enables us to prejudge the worth or value of stories by its initial outward appearance.  Yet, what if we celebrated books by creating a book of curated lists of books while illustrating their covers? Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany by Jane Mount is a book about books, or more accurately, a book with illustrations of curated stacks of the most defining books in every genre you can think of. But that’s not all this book is about. There are five-word literary quizzes that challenge readers to guess the book by a five-word summary and there are pages dedicated to authors’ workspaces including the likes of Dylan Thomas and Roald Dahl.  Other pages are devoted to illustrating notable bookstores, libraries, and even bookmobiles around the world.

Bibliophie is a book for book lovers. For a person like me who likes the written word so much, it was a refreshing wonder to see a visual celebration of the most influential books over the years. Each page stacks iconic book spine atop of iconic book spine. It’s a treasure trove of literary facts and wonders. It’s delightful to not only read through, but get lost in looking at each title on the spines of every book, either seeing perennial favourites, or discovering an unfamiliar cover, a new intriguing title to add to a new ending TBR pile.

I think readers can be the hardest on books because of their covers. We tend to judge them in seconds based on whether they catch our eye, how the design is meant to symbolize what the story is ultimately about, or we even judge a book by its dense length. This book seems to minimize those impulses and aims at making you focus on not its cover, but the spine: The title. What does the title say about the story? Do the words themselves entice you? What do they allude to?

Bibliophile is a playful book that is as delightful as it is whimsical. It’s a celebration of the rich collections of books that humanity has circulated for centuries. It is also the epitome of modern bookish culture that in our ever-present digital world continues to grow and preserve our storytelling tradition. For all booklovers, this is a book to check out, test your bookish knowledge, and discover other miscellaneous facts that will fuel your passion for books.

— Eleni Z.