Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Second chance, enemies to lovers, childhood friends, workplace nemesis, slow burn. So many tropes and it’s all executed to perfection 👌🏻
Just My Type” reads exactly as if Garfield proposed “a book about fonts,” and then, upon securing a publishing deal, set out to learn enough about fonts to write a book about it. The result is a well-intentioned but sloppy book that focuses on anecdotes and personalities, instead of providing an organized introduction to the world of type. Garfield offers us a laudable overview not just of what is out there in the world of fonting, (See, I didn’t say he was a font of wisdom on the subject) but how each and every bit of it (OK, OK, not each and every bit, but a whole lot of it) came to be, with notice given to many of those who did the hard work of designing and literally casting the dies which have defined printing for hundreds of years. Pitted against each other for a shot at a dream job, Seth and Lara are each tasked with writing an article series that goes against their usual dating type: Lana will write about being – and staying – single, while Seth learns how to become boyfriend material.
Christmas Cards & Gift Wrap
The question is, is “Just My Type” trying to create a solid foundation? Or is it a fun read for someone curious, and in that respect is it well-written and structured? I personally enjoyed type gossip immensely as part of my beginning education, because it was so hilarious and gave a seemingly opaque and complex skill a bit of a character flaw, something to identify with personally (I believe it was the drama about George Washington framing colleagues to declare Baskerville was ugly and garish when it was actually Garamond). Fonts surround us every day, on street signs and buildings, on movie posters and books, and on just about every product that we buy. But where do fonts come from and why do we need so many? Who is behind the businesslike subtlety of Times New Roman, the cool detachment of Arial, or the maddening lightness of Comic Sans (and the movement to ban it)? Simon Garfield embarks on a mission to answer these questions and more, and reveal what may be the very best and worst fonts in the world. The Publisher Says: A hugely entertaining and revealing guide to the history of type that asks, What does your favorite font say about you? Lana Parker likes to be in a relationship, even when it’s not a true love match. As soon as one relationship ends, she jumps right into a new one. Now, she’s single again and she wants to stay that way for a while.
As they spend more together to complete their tasks and share their special moments on social media, they realize their attraction is sizzling. Could they get through their problems to have a second chance? I have to say I found the book enjoyable –& I’m in the middle ground, a design-literate and artistically-trained writer (& erstwhile publications manager) but not nerd. (Though tbh I’ve commissioned work from a few designers who really don’t respect type.) To be precise, I found it like reading a series of entertaining Sunday Supplement articles. So, ultimately a bit frustrating. But the human element was interesting, I love an anecdote, it was fun, I finished it, reading it in bed, and I did learn a lot about the history of some of the older typefaces you never really see written about. Tropes: workplace romance, forced proximity, second chance, slow burn, childhood friends to lovers, rivals to lovers, found family
Today we can imagine no simpler everyday artistic freedom than the pull-down font menu. Here is the spill of history, the echo of Johann Gutenberg with every key tap. Here are names we recognize: Helvetica, Times New Roman, Palatino and Gill Sans. Here are the names from folios and flaking manuscripts: Bembo, Baskerville and Caslon. Here are possibilities for flair: Bodoni, Didot and Book Antiqua. And here are the risks of ridicule: Brush Script, Herculanum, Braggadocio and Comic Sans. Twenty years ago we hardly knew them, but now we all have favourites. Computers have rendered us all gods of type, a privilege we could never have anticipated in the age of the typewriter.
Brilliant… Whether you’re a graphics geek or have never given a second thought to what you’re reading, don’t miss this quirky, fact-filled font fest. – Lauren Laverne, Grazia Just My Type is a book of stories about fonts. It examines how Helvetica and Comic Sans took over the world. It explains why we are still influenced by type choices made more than 500 years ago, and why the T in the Beatles logo is longer than the other letters. It profiles the great originators of type, from Baskerville to Zapf, as well as people like Neville Brody who threw out the rulebook. The book is about that pivotal moment when fonts left the world of Letraset and were loaded onto computers, and typefaces became something we realized we all have an opinion about. And beyond all this, the book reveals what may be the very best and worst fonts in the world – and what your choice of font says about you. She hides behind a camera lens. He’s played himself into a corner. Can they outrun the rumor mill and make way for forever? Well that was freaking delightful 🥹 Falon Ballard is one of those authors that I can’t skim. There’s something about her pacing and phrasing that has me gobbling up every word and loving the ride. Who cares if it’s a slow burn if I’m freaking entertained the entire time?
Books Multibuys
Falon Ballard is so wonderful at character development and making all of her characters come to life. I felt that way about her debut, Lease on Love, but feel like she absolutely nailed it in this follow up. She’s also great at writing such fun supporting characters and friends circles you wish you could be a part of.
Great Deal 
New Comment