Thinking with Type
Ellen Lupton
Don't read
When to Read
If you're a type nerd or want a coffee-table book. Otherwise skip.
Main Takeaway
Books that promise practical advice and deliver a history lecture are still history lectures.
Style
Theoretical
Practical
The introduction picks a fight with other type books for being too pretentious and too obsessed with history. Then the book proceeds to spend roughly 100% of its pages on history. There are about five pages of actual best practices buried in the middle. The non-designer's design book covers more useful ground in a tenth of the space. The photography is genuinely beautiful, so if you want a coffee-table book about type you'll like it. If you want to learn how to set type well, skip it.