RANT: Penguin Drop Caps Packaging – BEWARE!!

It’s sad that I return to publish a ranty blogpost, but here I am, with something to say which I feel anyone buying one of the Drop Caps books should know:

If you were around on the online book-loving community in the past year or so, or even been around on tumblr/pinterest, then you’ve probably come across the new A-Z collectible series of 26 books which Penguin USA is putting out. They all feature a Drop Cap letter on the front, and each letter represents a different author.

I can’t deny the fact that these books are aesthetically appealing and would look beautiful on a shelf because all 26 books would then form a rainbow, and oh my GOODNESS would that look great.

I thought it would make a wonderful gift to buy the first ‘A’ book, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, to gift this Christmas to a friend whose name starts with an A and who has never read this. It came in the mail. The book comes wrapped nicely in shrink wrap, but to my horror there was a hideous and huge price and barcode sticker under the plastic. I thought best to remove the plastic and take the sticker off, since it was a gift… but lo and behold – ugly paper stickers:

Pic isn’t mine – links to blog source, a great post which shares my feelings on this!

Which I then tried to peel off:

Since the book has a velvety feel and the sticker is as PAPERY and SUPER GLUEY as it gets, it wouldn’t get off neatly at all. Tried at first taking it off with my fingers, to no avail. Dabbing water wouldn’t do the trick either.

Thanks. Penguin!!! I would have expected that an experienced publishing group like you should have known better. I’m so sad about this. It makes absolutely no sense at all that a series marketed as collectible would have suck a tacky sticker stuck on and ruin the book’s visual glory.

RANT

Tagged: bad packaging, bad planning, book sticker, books, packaging, penguin, penguin classics, penguin drop caps, rant, sad, stupid