[T]he publishing industry is already responding to the digital challenge by making books more “papery”, a turn-on for bibliophiles for whom the tactile pleasures of a book are very much part of the reading experience.

A strong trend among entrants for this year’s Book Design Awards was for jacket and page designs with an artisanal look. In the way that food scientists engineer breakfast cereal and soup for “mouthfeel”, publishers and designers are paying increased attention to texture, weight and “handfeel”.

Bookshop browsers now find themselves tempted by unbleached and hand-cut pages and uncoated jackets. Handwriting or calligraphy feature prominently and images look as if they have been glued in.

—Elissa Blake

This made me laugh. It’s verging on human/book slashfic!