An aesthetically minded reader, I prefer to read books according to the quality of both literary content, and their physical form and illustrations. There is a website by Folio Society. http://www.foliosociety.com/ I love their design and artistic approach to creating illustrations and beautifying the format of many classics and contemporary fiction. It is becoming increasingly difficult to remain interested in reading books otherwise, especially by aesthetically minded readers. Maybe a large font will do. It is obvious that reading unillustrated books is an intellectually stimulating experience but illustrated ones are even more enriching, and serve as wholesome precious artefacts.
that's all well and good, but in today's world and the realities faced by the publishing industry, the cost of printing such works isn't justified or supported by the market for them, which has diminished nearly to the point of extinction... i've always been a bibliomaniac [a quantum leap in addiction from a mere bibliophile!] and have collected and cherished finely illustrated books, so i empathize with your outlook, though i don't prefer them, merely love and appreciate them in addition to the 'plain' ones i enjoy reading... but i am also a practical realist, so can accept the sad fact that the adult versions are a dying breed and poor arthur rackham and n c wyeth must be spinning in their graves at the demise of the art... the good news is that illustrations and illustrators are still alive and kicking in the children's picture book world... when they start to fade away, it will be yet another cold, dark and dismal day in this world silly humans have fashioned and keep doing their best to destroy... love and hugs, maia
One thing that I want to do is illustrated books, but not for children, for adults. But I'm here thinking if it's a good idea, how I can do it, and maybe I need to self publish them... (my drawings will be black and white, so no excuses for high values ) Well, I'll get some of my short stories and make a book in this format. I don't want to see the illustrated books die. I want to see more books with amazing illustrations. I bought one book from Diablo game series not because of the game, but because of the amazing drawings and artwork.
I understand you Azurisy. In my view the cover it self is a part of the story. Even if I am able to enjoy books without illustrations, I am capable of buying a japanese book, or watching a japanese blog just for the beauty of illustrations. I remember the best illustrated adult stories ever published: the Figthing Fantasy 's books, write by Steve Jackson. The illustrations were gorgeous. My favorite was The House Of Hell.
Maybe now with so many books going digital, there is a chance for illustrators to get their feet back into novels? Personally, I like illustrations so long as they don't have the characters in them. I find that it ruins the immersion from me (as the characters in my head typically are very very different.) it even bothers me on the cover art of the book. However, when it comes to landscapes, buildings, or just crowds of nameless people where I can see the clothes and styles, I tend to enjoy those much more.
