A dazzling dictionary of book blurbs, filled with writing tips, literary folklore and publishing secretsA TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR''A small masterpiece. There is something funny, notable or awe-inspiring on every single page’ Jenny Colgan, SpectatorA joyful celebration of books – the perfect gift for bibliophiles, word lovers and anyone who’s ever wondered, should you judge a book by its cover?We love the words in books – but what about the words on them? How do they work their magic? Here is a book about the ways books entice us to read them: their titles, quotes, covers and, above all, blurbs – via authors from Jane Austen to Zadie Smith, writing tricks, classic literature, bonkbusters, plot spoilers and publishing secrets. It’s nothing less than the inside story of the outside of books.
And it answers questions like:
- Why do some authors hate blurbs so much th
