Why is it that so many biblical studies books are either banal or butt-ugly? The question is serious. What is the problem? For all their wonderful content, it seems that the vast majority of biblical studies books have un-inspiring, un-artistic, pathetically pointless covers. And the colors they sometimes come in can either hurt your eyes or your tastes. Take, for instance, the Hermeneia series of commentaries. Personally, I do not think there are better commentaries out there. However, you would never know looking at the covers. And woe be unto the person who takes off the cover! It seems the standard mode of cover-design is find some picture with religious imagery or a picture of a manuscript or artifact and splash color around it. Voila. An uninteresting cover that says religious studies oriented.
Recently, I purchased a few volumes from the Contexts of Scripture series (the replacement to ANET by Pritchard). A friend asked how old the books were. I told her they were brand-new. She replied that they looked like textbooks from the early ‘70s that her father had kept. I joked, only half-heartedly, that perhaps people who study ancient history are stuck in the past. If only they were! In former days, a book was not only a thing to be read, but it was a thing to behold. It had a presence and invited you to it. It was not just interesting to read, it was interesting to glance upon, handle, or display. Perhaps the beauty and detail of something like a Jerusalem Talmud from Artscroll is not possible or judicious when it comes to smaller paperbacks, but publishers outside of biblical studies have proven that they can sell good books that look good too. Am I shallow for thinking something like that matters? What do you think?
Steve Says:
If these books became widely popular or culturally iconic (such as the LOTR books have), you’d see quite the artistic renditions of the texts popping up; you’d have nerds of a new fold. ;)
Seriously though, it doesn’t hurt to add a little spice to the texts. It would draw more people to get interested in the subject.