The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has accepted a plea by the book industry to try to identify the interior designer who came up with the idea of displaying books spine-in in bookcases. A CDC spokesperson acknowledged that, at first glance, the effort falls outside the Center's normal area of expertise, but stated that the concept is so insidious and has spread so widely that only an organization like the CDC has the skills to trace the disease back to Decorator Zero and make recommendations for remediation.
Book Industry Study Group executive director Brian O'Leary welcomed the CDC's involvement, saying, "For years, we've lobbied home interior designers and shows like HGTV to fill bookcases with books, not just tchotchkes and other non-print material. In the last several years, it seemed we were on the verge of success as books suddenly became a 'design element.' But imagine our chagrin when we saw that while books were finally being displayed in bookcases, they appeared only spine-in! There simply is no BISAC code for this kind of sacrilege!"
While supporting BISG's effort, several publishers have nonetheless launched publishing programs that aim to take advantage of the trend. One example is the new house Décor Books, which offers a variety of titleless titles in a range of sizes and shapes, some hardcover and some paperback. The pages have no text, greatly simplifying the printing process, and the spines are likewise blank. "It's so great not having to work with editorial on these," said the publisher, who has asked to remain as anonymous as his books. "We can lower our standards even more."
He added that the books have the advantage of being interchangeable with certain types of book to be offered by a new spinoff imprint that will include the upcoming multi-volume collection The Thought and Wisdom of Donald Trump. --John Mutter