Burkhard Spinnen
The Book. An Homage

fiction, non-fiction
with black-and-white illustrations by Line Hoven

143pp (22,400 words)

• About the Author

>> A love letter to the printed word by one of Germany’s most renowned authors
>> Translation rights sold into five territories

Is 500 years of book culture coming to an end? Is the eBook replacing the printed page as quickly and completely as the car and tractor once replaced the horse and cart? What will become of our reading culture?

Burkhard Spinnen, author and reader, poses the questions we should all be asking. But instead of debating the pros and cons, he delves into the past, remembering what the printed book has meant to him and to us, and considering the ways it has deeply affected our everyday lives. Focusing on all kinds of books – big and small, right and wrong, borrowed and given, lost and found – he writes about collecting books, and how we live with them.

THE BOOK is a perceptive, affectionate and personal homage to the book – to its (and our) future.

Line Hoven lives and works as a comic-book artist and illustrator in Hamburg. Her graphic novel Love Looks Away has been translated many times and won numerous prizes. Her works, scratched onto scraperboard, have appeared in various magazines and newspapers, but are especially familiar to readers of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Rights sold

Chinese simplified - Horizon Books
France – Piranha
Norway – Pax
Republic of Korea – Sam & Parkers
US (English World) – David R. Godine

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Reviews

»A very personal book that entices the reader to stick their nose once more between yellowed pages that smell of paper and dust.«
Die Welt

»Lively and amusing (...) rich with anecdotes and witty observations, appealingly illustrated and equally entertaining to read.«
Ronald Schneider, Rheinische Post

»Spinnen is an amusing and likeable guide through the world of books, sometimes nostalgic but never regretful. (...) THE BOOK is accessible and very readable, communicating complex, often academic ideas in a way that feels fresh and conversational. (...) This is a beautiful rumination on the nature of books that serves as a welcome reminder of the many reasons why and how we love to read.«
New Books in German

»Burkhard Spinnen plays in a league of his own.«
Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR 5)

»Reading his miniature texts we understand how books are essential for life.«
Ulrich Faure, BuchMarkt

»An alert observer.«
Gerd Klee, Wiesbadener Kurier

»A must-read for every book lover and passionate reader.«
Sigrid Blomen-Radermacher, RP online

»A heartfelt plea for the pleasure of page-turning and against scrolling.«
Heiko Buhr, Lebensart

»His book about the book is an intelligent declaration of love (thus quite a rarity).«
Torsten Casimir, Börsenblatt

»A beautiful, wise book.«
Werner Jung, neues deutschland


Reviews from abroad:

»Mr. Spinnen mounts a spirited defense of books in the wake of digitization.«
Wall Street Journal

»For Spinnen, a book is not words on a screen. Rather, it is tactile pleasure engaging sight and touch; an insignia of distinction in the bookshelf; a treasure sought in libraries and bookstores; a marker for a stage in life, proof of connection with the sentient world, and a talisman for the future.«
Mike Hare, The Northshire Bookstore

»40 charmingly personal mini-essays on such topics as ›the favorite book‹, ›the stolen book‹ and ›the annotated book‹.«
Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

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