Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirtel
...And I couldn't care less about illustrations. Give me pure text any day.
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I can't agree with that. There are books that are enriched by illustrations, and there are even some where they're essential for the story. In the first category, you have books designed with specific illustrations in mind. Often they are dawn by authors themselves (Hobbit, Decline and Fall...), one can argue that they offer an intended reading experience. While with the latter, they're only way to experience the whole story fully. Take Path to Rome from Belloc, for example. It was avant guard, modern travelogue at the time, and it still feels fresh today with it's unique 'chapter' structure. Author talks to the reader, describes his drawings, his maps. Illustrations, in this case, are vital for the storytelling. The novel simply doesn't work without them.