A new leaf
Welcome to the new look! Beautifully designed and hand-coded by Ben, who knows how to do these things. Nice, isn't it? And the last change for a while, I promise. Ben tells me the new format is more readable, in part because it's less visually cluttered and in part because of the larger font and spacing. I like it because it looks a bit like a book.
I find it interesting that, in the midst of angst about the death of the book, websites are increasingly imitative of bookish textures and typefaces. There's an attempt to recoup what's lost by simulating tactile, dimensioned, textual artifacts; that old reach for authenticity that ends in still greater artistry. Like many another, I'm attempting to make my website as attractive and interactive as a real book. Nostalgia? Homage? Swagger? Not sure, but either way I think it means books are, and will be, best.