Who Decided That Books Should Be Square?

Okay. I know. If they were oval or rhomboid they would be far more difficult to shelve. Unless, of course, the shelves themselves were completely and utterly different.

This year, for Dutch Book Week, which is focusing on the autobiography, a design company has created these lovely little book sculptures. Anne Frank is at left. You can see more images here. Maybe this should replace the author photo. Instead of one of those little self-consciously posed headshots, the entire book can be carved in a likeness of the author. Obviously this is a little problematic when dealing with authors like Aristotle or Aesop, but it would possibly put to rest that recent upset about the physical attractiveness of some current authors. The bulbous of nose would look just as striking in this format as, say. Marisha Pessl. But, like all interesting ideas, I suppose it is too expensive a one to carry out.