Books That Incorporate Handwriting
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It’s possible to learn all kinds of things from someone’s handwriting. If we had to guess, if it slants to the left, this may point to a more private person, if there are narrow spaces between words, it suggests someone who doesn’t like to be alone, and if it is so messy that it is unreadable, the person probably went to med school…
Of course, these days, handwriting is becoming rarer and rarer, as we use computers, phones, voice commands and more for day to day communication. Typing is the way forward, and handwriting is fast becoming a lost art. However, with National Handwriting Day this month, it's the perfect time to celebrate those who still love to loop their letters or print by hand. Whether it is calligraphy TikToks, a carefully penned note, or books like these that include handwriting in their pages, script still has a place in our lives.
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Random Riggs
The Miss Peregrine series was actually inspired by a collection of photographs that Riggs wove into a fascinating story of peculiars (people with extraordinary gifts). The photos are reproduced in the books, as a story of young Jacob and his discovery of the Peculiar world, time traveling Ymbrynes, Hollows, and his own history is revealed. The title itself was hand-lettered by former Quirk art director, Doogie Horner, and the photos within the pages are often found with handwritten notes over the top. In addition, the case for the third book, Library of Souls, includes signatures which are actually done by various members of the Quirk staff!
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Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
A classic in American literature, Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions has almost as much handwriting (and drawing) as it does typed text. The pages are littered with drawings and doodles to illustrate the text, break it up, and play with the reader’s perception of the story being told. The result is glorious, humorous, challenging, and an entirely unique style of writing that refuses to rely solely on words (or hinge on a straightforward plot).
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Star Wars: The Jedi Path and Book of Sith Deluxe Box Set by Daniel Wallace
Chronicle Books’ series of Star Wars accompaniments includes teachings of the Jedi, the Sith, and (for fans of The Mandalorian) the Bounty Hunters. Each of these books are designed as manuals for their respective order, but in the margins readers will find notes scrawled by all the Star Wars characters who have read and studied these texts before them. Handwritten notes provide Luke Skywalker’s musings on the Sith history, or Yoda’s additions to Jedi meditations. Each character writes in their own particular style, giving the impression of a galactic, second-hand schoolbook, and a living text to teach Star Wars fans the Way.
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My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Hendrix’s story of horror, demons, friendship, and hairspray is perfect for fans of Stranger Things. Set in the ‘80s, this surprisingly touching tale centers on two friends, who struggle with the possibility that one might just be possessed (or is it just the horrors of teenagehood?). Handwriting is incorporated on the cover, in the author’s signature, but also in the front and back inside covers, which are created as yearbooks. Inside jokes, nods, and the personalities of the characters come through in these scribbled notes that will make anyone nostalgic.
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Pride and Prejudice: The Complete Novel, with Nineteen Letters from the Characters' Correspondence, Written and Folded by Hand by Jane Austen, Barbara Heller
Of course, the original Pride and Prejudice was handwritten, but the copies we read today are entirely typed…except in this edition, where the letters between the characters are reproduced and included in pockets within the book. Lydia’s confession of elopement, Mr Darcy’s letters to Elizabeth, they are all reproduced in calligraphy, allowing the reader to immerse themselves in this story in a new and beautiful way.
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A Lifetime of Secrets by PostSecret
Last, a book that includes almost no typed text, and where handwriting can be as much as part of the page’s story as the images behind it. A Lifetime of Secrets is the collected works of some of the most meaningful secrets that were submitted to PostSecret over the years. The majority of the secrets are included with no explanation or analysis, they stand for themselves, where the handwriting is not curated and carefully designed, but truly represents the lives and secrets of real people in the world.
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Which are your favorite books that incorporate handwriting? Tweet @quirkbooks and let us know!
