Books of Beauty - Jurassic Park

A few years ago, I spent £65 on a book. I was a student at the time so it meant that I had to knock chocolate on the head for a while but it remains the best money I have ever spent. The book was The Lord of the Rings and it is honestly a thing of beauty. It is by far the most beautiful book I have ever owned and possibly will ever own. While the story remains one of the greatest ones ever told (in my humble opinion), buying this book and using my student loan to do so represented far more than me just buying another version of my favourite book. No, it represents my seeing books as something of genuine beauty. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved books and don't yet own a kindle for this reason. There is something genuinely amazing about a book with a cover and pages and books only get more beautiful the more you read them. I still own my first copy of The Lord of the Rings  and it is now a tattered collection of dog-eared and stained pages held together by sellotape and the grace of god but there is genuine beauty in that. However, books of beauty can be so much more than pages with the corners folded over and tatty covers. Beautiful books should generate a feeling in you of both nostalgia and of seeing something familiar for the first time. A paradox it may be but a beautiful paradox all the same. 

If you are in search for a book like this, I can heartily recommend The Folio society (find the link to the left of your screen in the Links box). They release reprints of books which are staggeringly beautiful in my opinion and I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Jurassic Park for Christmas. Released as part of the 30th anniversary of the books publication, this reprint is a truly wonderful and beautiful book. I first read this story way back in the mid nineties on a plane to Corfu. I had loved the film so was eager to read the book it was based on and in my opinion, the book is better. There is just so much more detail and peril in the book with some of the plot threads from this first book being used throughout the franchise. Characters who get short shrift in the film are fleshed out more in the book and their motivations given more room to breath. Yes, it is typical Michael Crichton in that you need a masters degree to understand all of the sciency stuff but that's just a minor gripe and doesn't take away from the story at all. In fact, once you do understand it a bit, it actually adds to the film and makes you view it in a slightly different way. Anyway, I digress a tad because rather than being a review of the plot and story, this is a review on the appearance of the book. 

Like most books from The Folio Society, the book is boxed but take it out of the box and gaze upon the beautiful art work displayed on the cover. And don't just gaze, feel because the cover images have texture! The velociraptors are smooth and scaly as opposed to the back ground image. The colours really pop too
and there are 6 full colour pictures throughout the book to enjoy, plus a black and white double page spread. Vector Fox is clearly a talented illustrator and his style matches the book really well. There's something very nineties in how he uses colour and tone which fits somehow. It is worth checking out his website as there are some illustrations which didn't make the book but which are still fantastic. You can find his website here. 

I'll be honest in that despite owning this copy of Jurassic Park for the best part of 7 months, I've still yet to read it. The fear of making marks with my grubby fingers is too much to bear at the moment. I will read it one day though although on that day, I'll be in a room completely absent of dust and wearing my favourite hasmat suit so as not to spoil this beautiful book with particles of my unworthy skin.

Don't forget to check out The Folio Society's collection of stunning reprinted works. Just follow this link.