Author: Written and designed by Valerie Kirschenbaum

Publishers: Global Renaissance Society, LLC

ISBN: 0974575038

The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN:  Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW  Norm Goldman's Reviews     

To read Norm's  Interview with Valerie Kirschenbaum click HERE

Author and book designer Valerie Kirschenbaum, unmasks something staggering with her first book, Goodbye Gutenberg. According to the book’s back flap, she is the first female writer in 500 years to design an original font for her book, and moreover, she is the inventor of a new genre of “design writing.”

Too often first time authors embark on their first non-fiction book very casually with liberal and unsubstantiated arguments when advancing their theories or notions. However, such is not the case with Kirschenbaum, who has brilliantly defended her theory that color bestows a new dimension to the written word, and it is no longer essential that fiction and non-fiction be written in black and white text.

With the emergence in the 1990s of digital color printing, the cost of printing in color has been drastically reduced, thus making it economically viable to publish in this format. Moreover, the author postulates that it is not reading that is a dying breed, but rather the reading of Gutenberg style, i.e. black and white books, that is in difficulty.

Putting into practice what she preaches, Kirschenbaum has illustrated her book with 860 vibrant color images from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Maya, India, China, Japan, Tibet, and medieval Europe. She also engages her readers with some added historic flavour with pre-Gutenberg vibrant images.

In addition, she has experimented with different vivid colors and fonts to prove her argument that the Gutenberg typography is dull and monotonous when compared to a creative and imaginative approach.

According to the author, “Reading wants to be fun. Verbally fun. Visually fun.” How can we attract new readers and retain them, if we do not want to change the appearance of books and visually engage readers? As she states, “should we not let our eyes come out and play, too?”

The author systematically punctures many arguments against designer printing, such as the contention that this kind of printing must only be restricted to children’s books. We are told by our peers that it is a sign of “maturity’’ to graduate to small black print.

According to  Kirschenbaum, how is this compatible with the fact that we are born into a world of color, and that everything we see, touch and discover is in color? In fact, the author, who is a teacher in a New York inner city school, experimented with her students and found that they overwhelmingly preferred colorfully designed versions of Chaucer, Homer, Plato and Poe. The result was higher grades, better comprehension and greatly increased class participation.

With its thoughtful queries and details, this book will unquestionably prove to be the inauguration of future debates pertaining to design writing and the next era of the publication of fiction and non-fiction works of literature. Most likely the preponderant determining factor will be the “bottom line,” as so often is the case when a publisher decides to accept a book for publication. Can I market the book and will it prove to be profitable?