Not much attention is paid on the form/materiality of the book because we hyperfocus on its content. We think that content is all that books have to offer, that content alone gives meaning. But that’s not true – there are many ways a book can offer meaning, give insight, or reveal one’s interpretations, especially in unorthodox forms. For example, in the website “Books on Books”, one book that really intrigued me was Batterers (1996). Instead of words and/or pictures simply displayed on each page to talk about how we should be environmentally conscious of the Earth, Batterers incorporates a series of structural artworks known as Earthskins (made out of paper pulp, clay, and pigments). With its brown/maroon-ish color and crackly textures, the book successfully shows “our abuse of the earth within a metaphor of domestic abuse.” Supporting this is the book’s incorporation of pulp painting, which gives color and imagery of a volcano (from my perspective), further showing that we beat the Earth in a similar way to how a husband explodes (like a volcano) and angrily beats his wife. Based on this book, I believe that form/materiality can at times offer more than the content can or even help clarify the meaning of the content, helping the reader understand, not just the book, but also the author’s intentions and reasons to write their book. Rather than independently, I think that form/materiality and content should be studied in relation to each other because they both are implemented and infused together towards a common goal/purpose; to offer meaning, give insight, reveal one’s interpretations, etc. (whatever the author decides and/or what the reader can take away from the book).

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