Jim Williams' book "Type Matters!" is simply wonderful. I picked it up after reading a
review on "I love typography", and it now sits on my bookshelf as one of my favourites. For an in-depth review, that's the one you want. But mine is shorter and, more importantly, contains the world's best typography-themed chat-up line
In many senses, it's yet another book that explains basic typographic principles. I've used it numerous times to show people the little bits of typography they hadn't heard of - hanging punctuation, ligatures and tittles:
"What a lovely pair of tittles"
World's best typography themed chat-up line
However, it does this so effortlessly. Each spread is constructed such that the point is got across simple and effectively. I can normally open it to the right page, point and be understood.
The real joy of this book is how pretty it is. The book is mostly "illustrations" which are, of course, just bits of typography. A gentle application of red really sets it apart from most black-on-white books. Furthermore, the paper is thick with a subtle texture, to cover is moleskin and there are two ribbon bookmarks, presumably so you can read it with a friend.
The subject matter of the book is a must-read for anyone who works with text, whether simple writing letters or creating works of typographic art, and as far as books on typography go, this takes the biscuit.
