12/02 readings Bowen

I am really interested in the reading You Are What You Speak. I strongly believe in his idea that language will affect our way of thinking and how we portray the world. This resonates with me because I always feel like my ability to learn a new language is strictly limited by my first language, Chinese, especially when it comes to time.

Although it seems like most Chinese speakers are not severely affected by their language in terms of how they think, I feel differently. In Chinese, there's no need to change verbs based on tense—it's always the same verb no matter when. Even though I have studied English for many years, I still can't figure out the proper way to speak using correct tenses or fully understand the concept of tense. When reading a grammar book, I can kind of get the concept and use it to solve some simple problems, but that's as far as it goes. In my mind, I feel like I don’t have this thinking pattern about tense, and I just can't speak or write while taking tense into consideration.

This isn't just about English—it's the same for my Japanese as well. I think it's because Chinese lacks different verb forms for tense, which makes it harder for me to adapt to these concepts in other languages.

 About the On the Different Methods of Translating reading, I feel like my thinking about how to translate has changed greatly this semester. At the beginning of the semester, I thought that as a translator, I should do my best to move the Reader Toward the Author, preserving the cultural and linguistic nuances of the original text to respect the author and keep the book as it is in the original language. But through learning and practicing with various types of texts, I find myself now leaning more toward the Move the Author Toward the Reader side, adapting the text to the target language and culture.

I think this change in my thinking happened because I no longer take myself, someone who knows about Japanese culture, as the default reader. Now, I also consider that there are many people with different cultural backgrounds who might read my translation. I realize I should not be selfish and only think about how I, as a reader, would love a translated book to look, but also consider what others might want the book to be like.

12/02 Readings -Jaxon

 "On the Different Methods of Translating" is really hard for me to read due to all the long paragraphs and sentence structures, and after reading, I think I couldn't grasp all the important ideas mentioned in the fragment. I think throughout the semester, all the readings mentioned that in order to make a good translation, because of the difference of the languages, some sacrifice must be made, and if we try to make a translation be as close to its original as its original but at the same time make it sounds natural in the language we are producing is not possible. Also, as translators, we need to have some knowledge about how well the reader of the book might know about the culture or other background of the original work. For example, I think Japan is quite well-known in America, but most people's knowledge is limited to some common foods you can find in America and other popular cultures.

I have read similar articles like "You Are What You Speak" from one of my writing classes related to language and thinking. In the class, we also talked about how language can shape our ways of thinking, and we also mentioned the example of GuuguYimithirr. I did a presentation about Chinese in that class, demonstrating how Chinese affects my learning in English. I went to school in a normal city in China where English is not well taught, and I learned the concept of "tense" in my first year of middle school. The article also mentioned the presence of tense is weak in Chinese, and moreover, we don't have any verb transformations in the language, which makes my sense of tense and transformation very bad when I try to speak English or any other language like Japanese that has tense and verb transformation. As for the Japanese, I always speculated that the existence of Keigo and Kenchougo makes people in Japan have a clear conscience of levels in society. 

I really enjoy reading all the materials throughout the semester. They definitely helped me have a better understanding of translation in general.

12/02 Readings - Aaron

 Schleiermacher's analyses on scientific and literary translations seem very applicable to the type of work we've been doing in this class, since we have faced many of the same issues he has, including approximating the meaning of a word in a different language, create new words that mimic the effect in another language, and overall balancing the authenticity and readability between languages, especially between English and Japanese, two linguistic opposites. 

On the other hand, Deutscher's passage focuses on how people's habitual thought patterns and perceptions are influenced by language and upbringing/ background. I found the example with bridges between Germany and Spain to be very intriguing as in Taiwan and America (where I grew up) there wasn't an "implied" gender of the bridge, but mainly we were communicated its functions, significance, etc. Same thing with spatial orientation, I didn't properly learn about the cardinal directions until I discovered what a compass was. However, with colour perception I can kind of see how the upbringing influences this, as colourblind people may have a different idea of certain colours compared to people without colourblindness. This may also have an effect on translation as translators must consider the target audience/ readers of their texts in order to convey the correct ideas across different languages and not distort the words of the original author(s).

Copeland and Hibbett Reading (olivia)

 In the Copeland reading, I found it interesting how she describes translating as a "series of dilemmas" using the example of the three types of hair ornaments kôgai, kanzashi, and kushi. I can imagine how it would be very difficult to translate not only the language of a work but also the "voice" of it, which is not something I thought about before. It was also interesting to consider the issue of translating dialects, since they cannot really be directly translated. Another point that stuck out to me was the misinterpretation os "fence" as "salt" in Siever's book. Even though it was such a trivial and small mistake, it had a lasting impact and shows the importance of context in translation, while also highlighting how difficult it is to translate historical texts. In the Hibbett reading, it was interesting how he said that having less exposure to other people's translations helps him create a better one, since I personally feel like it helps me a lot to see other translations. I agree with his ideas that it is important to have a foundation of knowledge about the culture and language that you are translating, like how many of the other readings have also mentioned. 

Copeland and Hibbet Comments - Maya

 If I were to start with commenting on Copeland's article, I would say that it pains me too see that there is not perfect translation of voices. Japanese language contains many different kinds of voices and tones that the English language can not convey, which has been a great challenge for me as well. Although there could be a similar tone, just like how Copeland translated Hakoiri Musume, it is quite difficult to catch or even convey the tone of the narrator to the readers. However, as I was reading this article, it made me realize that the translator must make a choice on who to satisfy; the reader, the editor, the translator themselves or the author. It is true that some translations may satisfy more than one subject, but no matter what, the translator will not be 100% satisfied, and the readers will never know the turmoil of the translator (unless they read their articles like we do). Aside from that, I thought that the translator also puts their trust on the readers, that they would taste similar feelings as the translator while reading what the translator has taken the liberty to alter the original work (or naturalized, as Hibbet has said) for them just like how Hibbet did in Seven Japanese tales. Lastly, I just wanted to say that "my works always loose something in the original" is such a nice and melancholic sentence; it show the sadness of a translator who is adamant to create their work.

Copeland and Hibbett Readings- Carly

 Something mentioned in both articles that I found interesting was who the other influences of a translation can be. In the Copeland article, she explained a lot about how translation requires a lot of collaboration. This maybe from different translators, or from editors, and how this could end up changing the final result of a translation. She mentioned how her translation of the murder mystery novel Grotesque was changed heavily by editors because it was written for the trade press. Likewise, she did not have much of a say, as to what would be best to keep in the translation, or take it out of the translation. However, this wasn't exactly a bad thing, as the characters were able to become more fleshed out and have a different feel than the original. The ending was changed into something that the people who read that translation would enjoy more. In this case, having other people give their input on the translation, had a good result. On the other hand, in the Hibbett reading, he explained how he doesn't like to read other translations of something he will translate himself. His approach involves making his first draft based on his own experiences and knowledge of the text. Even though he says this, he also thinks that it's hard to say what is a good translation, but you can definitely identify bad translation. For him, having less outside influence allows him to write a "good" translation, but in the case of Copeland, a good translation sometimes is a result of what the target audience will most likely want to read.   

11/10 Readings - Ellerie

In the reading "Hearing Voices", Copeland talks about the necessity of translating outside the words used on the page. She specifically talks about making sure that the cultural impact of the work is felt in Western translations of Japanese works. For this, I understand her point in making a work palatable to a Western audience and to introduce other cultural classics to Western audiences in a way that makes them want to read it. However, as someone who is a linguistics major and is focused on how languages interact and effect the people and environment around them, I believe that it is best to keep the natural flow of the original work so that people in other countries can understand the type of works written in Japanese and how this different style can also be influential in a way outside Western norms. I think it's important to introduce not only the themes and messages of these stories, but also the uniquely Japanese way that they are conveyed. Although, this way of thinking can also be misconstrued as exoticizing the Japanese culture.

For the reading on Tanizaki, I felt like it was interesting that there were claims of even Tanizaki exoticizing Japanese culture because of the themes or topics he included in his work. I think that there can be a very fine line between appreciating and sharing the experience of a culture with the Western audience, and pandering Japanese stereotypes to the Western audience in order to make a profit. It is interesting that a Japanese writer faced this sort of criticism that I feel tends to apply more to Western publishing companies.

Copeland and Hibbett Readings -- Sora

 Copeland’s experience translating the three hair accessories was very interesting, and it really conveys the difficulty and importance of translating the cultural nuance, and original voice. Although I do agree sometimes when translating the tone ideas may have to change to appeal to a different audience, especially in trade, however I believe that if the original had a concept, then changing that experience just to appeal to the audience may be wrong. Another text that stood out to me was: “My energies were so devoted to capturing the dialect and I almost lost the voice.” I really liked how she wanted to use her own voice or voices she heard when translating the text, instead of being so heavily focused on the linguistic dialects. As for Hibbett’s text, I enjoyed reading his explanation of Tanizaki, since I knew some titles of his writing and their themes, but never had the opportunity to read them. It was also interesting to see how both Copeland and Hibbett focused on not literally translating but trying to understand the meanings, and translate it so the translated text conveys the same theme, or message as the original.

Copeland and Hibbett Reading Comments - Yang

Hearing Voices: My Encounters with Translation by Rebecca Copeland

It's cool that Edward Seidensticker himself was her professor in college. I think a good way to translate the unique hair ornaments (kôgai and kanzashi) would have been to just leave them the way they are and add footnotes to give a more detailed explanation of them, as equivalent objects simply do not exist in the Western world.

I can see how translating the Tokushima dialect that the puppet-maker speaks in Ningyôshi Tenguya Kyûkichi can be very challenging, and I agree that translating "voices" in general requires a lot of creativity. I thought her approach of talking to someone who's somewhat native in the dialect was very smart, as this will allow you to grasp the nuances and unique traits of the dialect, whereas dictionaries and other written sources would not be able to do the same. I recall our discussion during class regarding translating the 標準語 of Tokyo compared to 関西弁 from places such as Osaka. As someone who grew up around people who spoke 関西弁, I can see how difficult it is to somehow explain the differences between 「だめ」 & 「あかん」, 「ない 」& 「へん」, etc. The only way I can think of is to find a similarly correlated dialect in English, such as AAVE or a southern accent, but that could also bring about many controversial issues regarding the cultures and meanings behind these dialects.

It's really interesting to read about the differences between a commercial press and a university press. It seems like the commercial press focuses on sales and the appeal to customers more, which makes sense considering its main goal is to make money, whereas the university press aims to stay true to the original and not alter the original text. I agree that Seidensticker's opinion that a translator should just be a counterfeiter and should not reshape is not very realistic. I agree that sometimes reshaping (such as in the context of Grotesque not being suited for the average Western reader) can definitely be helpful and can even be considered staying closer to the original text. 

On Tanizaki Jun'ichiro by Howard Hibbett

It's odd that people considered Tanizaki to lack "thought" or 思想. I wonder if this was because he "stood outside of the mainstream literary world in Japan." Perhaps he did this on purpose so that he didn't have to deal with the social and political issues of the real world in his writing. I thought it was funny to call "ero, guro, and nansensu" the unholy trinity. Although these three were characteristic of Edo literature, it seems that many Japanese authors nowadays still tend to use these elements generously in their writing, such as Murakami. 

I think it's very interesting that Tanizaki is accused of writing about "exotic Japan" and making it seem like the perfect country with beautiful landscapes, friendly people, delicious food, etc. I don't think this is necessarily an aestheticization of Japan in the same way that Western tourists view Japan nowadays. Perhaps Japan was really like that, and he just chose to omit some of the less desirable aspects.

The different styles between the man's diary (square katakana) and the woman's diary (hiragana) can definitely be hard to translate, and it reminds me of the challenges I faced when translating Night of the Spider Monkey for our first translation assignment. I recall using different fonts to represent the speaker, with the narrator using a normal font and the spider monkey using a more comical font. Perhaps the difference between the masculine and feminine styles of writing can be shown by choosing fonts that are somehow more masculine and feminine, respectively.

Comments on readings - Ryu

I found the Copeland Hearing Voices piece more interesting and wanted to talk more about it because it highlights the complex, multi-layered nature of translation in a compelling way. Through her experiences, Copeland shows how translating Japanese literature involves more than just finding equivalent words: it’s about navigating cultural nuances, historical contexts, and the essence of the original voice. Her initial struggles with translating Shiga Naoya’s work illustrated the hard choices translators must make, while her work with Uno Chiyo’s prose taught her to capture the depth behind simple language. The collaborative translation of Kishida Toshiko’s “Daughters in Boxes” revealed how different perspectives and historical interpretations, like Sharon Sievers’s metaphorical use of “salt,” shape our understanding and final output.

Copeland’s experience translating Kirino Natsuo’s Grotesque further emphasized the challenges of working with trade publishers, who prioritize accessibility and market appeal. This often means altering or streamlining content to meet the expectations of Western audiences, which contrasts sharply with the more detailed, character-focused storytelling familiar to Japanese readers. Additionally, seeing how marketing strategies differ between cultures underscored the complexity of adapting a story for international consumption. Copeland’s reflections taught me that translation is more than linguistic accuracy: it is a balancing act involving the translator’s interpretation, audience needs, and editorial influence to convey the true spirit of the work.

Copeland and Hibbett Reading -Jaxon

 I like the idea from Copeland of "hearing the voices from the texts." I also do that when I'm reading books. As the characters are built by lines, I will have a voice that fits my image of the character if they are very characteristic, like misers and uneducated people. I think this is also a way to say, "catch the soul of the text." Copeland mentioned "temptation to reshape," said Seidensticker. I remember we mentioned that in most cases, translators translate, and the works they translate look like him since the voices they hear are different and stylish. I also like the American cover of "Grotesque" we saw this week. The water's ripple and the twisted fonts really got me, and at least for me, I got a sense of mystery, and I'm willing to read a few pages of the book because of the cover.

I read Hibbett briefly since I don't have a decent knowledge of most of the authors outside Japan. Hibbett compared Japanese literature frequently in his speech to other author's works, and I think it definitely helps to read more literature works that belong to the same genre as the work translators are trying to translate. Especially for a language that's so different from English, reading similar types of literature must bring benefits like being more familiar with the expressions in the genre and, most importantly, having a feeling of what a native literature piece should look like. The situation of knowing the expressions in English but not being able to pull them out when I looked at the Japanese texts happened a lot. I think understanding the original text and having a solid knowledge of the language you are translating to are equally important.

Comments on Reading - Rachel

 I found it interesting to read both Copeland and Hibbett's approach in translating dialect. As we discussed in class, we can't conclude for example that Kansai dialect sounds more "comical" than 標準語. I think it's challenging to find an approach to translating dialect and distinct tone of voice. Although it seems like Hibbett is not 100% satisfied, I like how he approached translating the Kansai dialect in Manji into a waspish and wicked undertone. He mentioned that rather than finding a dialectal equivalent, it is better to find a special voice, one that would read persuasively and convey the same feeling evoked in the original Japanese text. We talked in class about using Southern accents or Scottish accents, but I think this approach gives it a better contrast between the neutral voice versus the dialect. Oftentimes, the accents itself have a whole different image than the one we are trying to translate. For example, a Southern accent doesn't necessarily have the same voice as a Kansai dialect. What I think is tricky is to find a distinct special voice without stereotyping the dialect. Kansai dialect can come off as more playful and comical, but that might not be what the author was intending on portraying in the original. Copeland also talked about the struggle of keeping the voice of the character when focusing too much on capturing the dialect. This balance is challenging because the rhythm and expressions make up a certain voice, not just the dialect.

Copeland's point about working with Knopf who focused on sales and appealing to the target audience of the translated work was very intriguing. Obviously, Japanese literary style is quite different from English, and each audience is more familiar with a certain style. From a business perspective, it makes sense that they are editing and marketing it towards the intended audience. However, I was reluctant to completely agree with that statement because if the "style" of the original was concept-driven and meandering, then I would think it is better to keep it like that. When Copeland then talked about the experience of exhilaration and excitement being the same, I understand it more as to why editors are inclined to appeal to the target audience. The more plot-driven, fast-paced nature of the translated work might give the "equivalent" reading experience as the concept-driven, meandering nature of the original. In that sense, I agree that now, the translation is staying truer to the original in terms of the reader's experience. 

Copeland and Hibbett Readings - Aaron

 I find it interesting that both texts demonstrate that translation is also affected by commercial consideration, as mentioned with Copeland's experience with Knopf publishers that shows how market demands can influence translation decisions. Furthermore, it is also a task that demands deep cultural knowledge and sensitivity - similar to discussions in class about cultural nuances being critical for accurate translation for a specific target audience. Hibbett discusses the complexity of translating titles and dialects, while Copeland targets untranslatable cultural items such as hair ornaments (kogai and kanzashi), which are both important issues to overcome when translating from Japanese. Like I mentioned during my presentation of non-standard varieties of language, it is important to find a balance/ compromise between the original text and some other word/ phrase that is understandable by the target reader. In this case, it is possible to add additional text that highlights the peculiarity of dialects and hair ornaments respectively, in order to convey their importance if necessary.

Bowen,Copeland and Hibbett's reading

  Copeland's experiences, especially her struggle to convey culturally specific items like hair ornaments, reminded me of times I've had to explain concepts from one culture to people from another—how "literal" can often lose meaning without adapting context. Her emphasis on translation as a blend of personal voice and cultural nuances also made me think about how much of the translator inevitably seeps into the work, even if unintentionally.

Hibbett's perspective on Tanizaki's work is also quite interesting, especially in his discussions on translating complex themes, such as eroticism and aestheticism, for a Western audience. He doesn't just translate the words but considers what these mean to his readers, adapting yet retaining depth. His reflection on the limitations and responsibilities of the translator made me think whether I would prioritize to the original or accessibility for readers if I were in his position. Though I think I'd probably choose accessibility due to business consideration just as he mentioned.

Book Cover Post - Sora

 I feel like the design of the book cover is very important because there are so many people who pick out a book based on the cover, including myself. Because the book cover is the first thing a reader sees, it is what creates the first impression of the book and can teach us so much of the book. Although I have recently started reading E-books for its convenience, I agree that physical books have something E-books do not have, and have more special editions or changes in the cover. I found it interesting how they mentioned that the cover needs to be an interpreter/translator, because in a sense sometimes the covers of the books carry important messages or meanings that can be later understood after reading. I also can’t imagine how difficult it must be for designers to be able to summarize and try to describe a whole book into a single image without losing aesthetic and meaning.

11/4/2024 Comments - Samantha Makishima

 I feel like book design in general was always an area of interest of mine, I took a bookbinding class one semester. An interesting book cover does really increase my likelihood of picking a book off of a shelf and reading it and it is interesting how the articles was going over physical book makers consciously making more luxurious feeling book covers to detract more customers from going with the e-book variant. I definitely agree that the physical book often has something more in the way of substance. The interesting things people can do with regards to the construction of the book also shows more in physical form. One thing I have somewhat noticed when it comes to manga in Japan is the use of store exclusive extra inserts. Like in order to get the store specific extra pages you need to buy the book from the specific retailer, etc. I also noticed in Japan things like manga often have their own book jacket with printing on the inside cover, that doesn't always make its way to the English localization, is also something.

11/4 reading comments (olivia)

 The Hilarious Art of Book Design Ted Talk 

It was interesting to hear about the process that a book cover designer goes through to convey the story in a way that captures the audience. I really liked hearing the behind the scenes of how he made covers and I was surprised by some of them, like the Jurassic one and Augusten's Dry memoir. The way he made those covers was very playful and he has a unique process and way of thinking. I like his way of thinking "what do the stories look like?" and seeing designing books as also interpreting and translating. I think he interpreted the nature of Hepburn and Dietrich's books well by using words for the Hepburn's conversational style memoir and a picture for Dietrich's more observational biography. His cover for Orhan Pamuk's "My Name is Red" was fun and interactive but without hearing his explanation I don't know if I would have realized how he intended the reader to think as they pull out the book cover. 

Selling Books by their Gilded Covers 

I'm not really an avid reader but I think the strategies that publishers are trying to use to get people to read physical books instead of e books would work on me. I like when books are aesthetically pleasing and can be used as decor after reading them. I also think doing limited edition/special designs is a good business strategy to draw in readers who are collectors or readers who are a fan of a specific book. 

Comments on Book Cover Reading and Video - Yang

The Ted Talk on book cover design was really interesting to watch. I enjoyed how Kidd thoroughly explained the reasoning behind each artistic choice he had to make while designing a book cover. It was also nice to be given a very brief summary of the book so that the book covers made sense. I did not know that this man was responsible for the famous Jurrasic Park logo design. It's crazy to think that it started as a book cover, and now the same design can be seen in Universal Studios worldwide. I also liked how there are so many layers (literally) to the 1Q84 cover. I wonder if that played a big part in how much the book sold in the United States. The cover for My Name is Red is very smart, but I'm not sure if it works that well. I would not have thought of the book cover the same way he described it if I were pulling the book out from my bookshelf. The cover also looks ridiculous once the book is out in the open. Overall, I liked the Ted Talk and it was short and informational. I thought he was trying too hard to be funny though, but that could be because I missed a lot of his jokes.

The reading covers a similar topic as mentioned in the videos regarding the increasingly popular e-book. I agree that the only way real books can fight back against the dominance of e-books is to design intriguing, eye-catching, and beautiful covers. Personally, I don't read a whole lot, but I enjoy going to bookstores just to see all the different intricate designs that people decide to use on book covers. It turns the whole bookstore into an art museum in a way. E-books will never be able to achieve that, at least not with the current technology. The textural aspect, as well as other physical elements such as feel and smell, are advantages of the paperback book, whereas e-books are all about convenience (and a bit of sustainability, I guess). I still prefer real books because staring at a screen for so long makes my eyes hurt. Also, it doesn't have the same sense of accomplishment when you're done reading an e-book compared to a paperback. I thought it was funny how "e" is an abbreviation for "e-book" in the industry, as if the latter isn't already short enough to pronounce. 

On Book Covers - Maya

 To be honest, I did not think that we'd be talking about book covers in this course, but I must start this blog post by saying that yes, I also do think that a book cover is an extremely significant part of the literature. It is definitely something that I look at first whenever I'm trying to choose a book. I remember this one book that I read as a kid called "the Name of the Book is Secret". The first time I saw it was at the hands of my classmate, and besides the name of the book, the book cover was nothing like the other books that I had seen; it was very colorful and intriguing for a kid like me. Needless to say, that book became a sensation and many kids started to read it because of the cover (and then the story). 

There was also another book called "Mo'nun Gizemi" which literally translates to "the Mystery of Mo", and the only thing I remember about the book is that there was an alien, and a young couple, and the book cover. Lo and behold, you can not guess what the book cover is (!) (I put the image below). 

Also, now that I think about it, Japanese book covers are extremely different that the ones that I have seen in other cultures (more like western cultures). I might be mistaken but I feel like Japanese book covers are much more simpler, and word oriented (?). I feel like they are more concentrated on the fonts of the book titles rather than their color or image as a whole. However, manga are much more colorful and have a whole look when the series are together (which I love!) I especially love it when the covers create a story. I also need to say I hate it when the publisher or the person who made the cover changes and they change how the cover looks (like the height, color scheme etc.) and change the whole system of how the series look. 

11/4 Reading Comments - Ellerie Ross

 I think it's very true that books are often mostly judged by their covers. When I walk around a bookstore, I often pick up books based only on how interesting the cover looks to me. I think this is because book cover designers are creating an image that can form what the story is and what audience it appeals to. To the people walking by in a bookstore, they are innately drawn to the books that they know are targeting them. For example, people who love historical non fiction books will be drawn to black and white photos on the cover, and romance fans will be drawn to covers featuring two people embracing. Book covers are designed to be the judging panel for how well-liked a book will be by the reader.

In the Ted Talk, I found it interesting when they mentioned that a book cover designer needs to be both an interpreter and a translator and it made me think about the connection between our work in translating to a different language and the work of changing a book into a picture. In a way, they are similar in that they both need to bring the story to life in a different medium to be understood by the viewer or reader. They are also similar in that they need to appeal to the reader in the same way that the original text appeals to the reader. For translating, this is done by changing and rearranging the words of the test as necessary to bet the message and emotion of the story across. For book designers, this means condensing the entirety of the story to its main message and developing an image that can get that message across the best.

Book Covers- Carly

While the story is the most important part of a book, no one will know how great the story it is if no one wants to pick up the book and read it. In the Ted Talk, the book cover that stood out to me the most was the cover for the book "Dry." The cover gives a little hint about what the tumultuous journey of recovery looked like for Augusten Burroughs, all through just changing the typography of the one-word title. 

 I think I have always been a person who looks at the book cover, or its spine on a shelf, before I read the title. So it was interesting to hear from the people who design the covers how they make me do that. Chip Kidd mentions how the people who make the covers are also translators. He explained how he should first understand the story, and not make the cover too obvious as to not insult the reader. This aligns well with the advice from other translators about what you should and shouldn't do when it comes to translating. I actually looked up some famous book covers, and I found covers that explicitly say what the story will be about tend to only be children's books, so I guess that checks out. 

Through the Ted Talk, I saw how there were many unconventional ways to get the reader to understand what the book is trying to say without explaining every detail. Being creative and exploring ways to express different eras or even parallel planes can be the difference between someone wanting to read a book or not.  I think the cover of a book does play a big part into whether people will buy the physical version of the book. As a person who mostly has physical books, I can say that only my books with the best covers are on display. Even though E-Books are popular these days, I think the art of translating visually keeps people coming back to the paperback book. 

Reading/Video blog- Ryu

 In the reading, I found it fascinating how publishers are using aesthetic strategies to make print books more attractive in the digital age. The emphasis on beautiful covers, high-quality paper, and unique design elements seems like a smart way to make physical books feel more like collectibles rather than just another reading format. I thought it was particularly interesting how some books are even outselling their eBook versions due to their luxurious presentation. This trend shows that, for many readers, there’s still a strong desire for a tactile, visually pleasing reading experience that eBooks just can’t replicate. It made me think about how important these physical aspects are for creating a lasting connection between the reader and the book.

The video of the book designer’s talk was both humorous and insightful. I appreciated how the speaker’s passion for book design shone through, especially when he described giving books a "face" to match their story. His anecdotes, like designing the iconic "Jurassic Park" cover, highlighted the creativity that goes into this process and the powerful impact a good design can have. I also resonated with his perspective on the sensory experience of books—the smell of ink, the feel of paper—that gets lost with digital formats. The idea that great art in book design can also make good business sense really stuck with me. It reminded me that design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about creating an experience that stays with the reader long after they’ve finished the book.

11/4 Reading Reflection - Aaron

I found this article on the evolving book industry interesting, regarding Haruki Murakami's "1Q84". The distinctive design of the translucent jacket that has helped sell millions of print copies underlines the critical role presentation can play in literature. This may apply even more to translated works, because the physical book can take on some qualities of a cultural artifact alongside its content. Given that the article stresses the value of an aesthetically pleasing book (in addition to my personal preference of physical over electronic copies of books), I am instantly reminded of how the art of translation is extended to the visual and tactile experience of reading. It's interesting that this turns out to be in comparison with its Japanese original, possibly giving insight into cross-cultural book marketing strategies. 

11/3 Reading Reflection - Rachel

I agree that first impressions of a book can make or break whether a person buys it or not.  While some people may disagree, I love reading physical books, and avoid e-books as much as possible. I like stacking my books on my shelf, which makes the book design an important component in considering which book to purchase. So in that sense, physical books are selling an experience rather than the convenience and ease of an e-book. I notice I gravitate towards covers that are colorful and bright because I like to read novels with characters around my age, and I noticed that the books that I do enjoy are ones with bubbly and colorful designs or typography. In the TED Talk, Chip Kidd mentioned that "Once a book designer has read the text, they have to be an interpreter and a translator." This makes sense to me because similar to how I established what type of covers my favorite genre of novels tend to have, I'm sure many people gravitate towards a certain aesthetic of book covers. Because of that, book designers have to ensure they have a striking and eyecatching cover that matches the content of the book to give people the right impression. I also liked what Chip Kidd said about each book needing a face to give you a first impression. While scanning shelves full of books, the book cover most definitely has to be captivating enough for people to reach it. 

Reading Reflection 11/1 -Jaxon

 I think judging a book by its cover is natural, and that's why first impressions are so important. To be honest, when I go to the bookstores and look at an enormous number of books, I don't really have time to give each one of them a try, so it's always the ones with appealing titles or fancy covers that catch my heart. Especially for literature, from the title, I usually can't tell what type of stories they are, so I often try to speculate from the cover. Unfortunately, from what I recall, I didn't encounter any interesting book covers in China, and I will say from the book covers I saw, they are either too abstract(unrelated to the story) or too direct. (like an apple and an apple's picture) I used Kindle a long time ago when I was a primary school student. At that time, Kindle was kind of too advanced, but most importantly, I was a kid, and I had a bunch of time, so instead of reading books on a tiny screen, I enjoyed reading a physical book more.

I can tell that Chip Kidd is a great artist since his designs and the way he implements them is so surprising. I like Jurassic Park, but I just realized I never took a careful look at the icon. He describe his work process of the picture easily but I don't think it's as easy as he spoke. I especially like the way he created the jacket for "Naked." It fits the story perfectly while giving the physical book an interesting interaction when readers peel off the jacket. 

In my opinion, nowadays, e-books and physical books' functionality are separated. E-books are more portable and convenient, and physical books now have a better collection value. I know in Japan, many books have a kind of "pocket version" where they are smaller and more portable. I don't really see that in China or America. I still carry one portal book I bought from Japan, but since I don't ride T to commute, I don't really find a chance to read it since it's less convenient than my phone when I was lining, and the page size is too small when I try to sit down and read those portal books.

11/1 reading Bowen Ran

    Watching Chip Kidd's TED Talk, The Hilarious Art of Book Design,”was really eye-opening for me. I loved how he compared book covers to haikus—it was such a clever way to explain how designers use simple elements to capture the essence of a book. The haiku analogy made it clear that creating a cover is all about distilling complex emotions into something visually appealing. It made me appreciate how much thought goes into those first impressions that draw readers in.

    On the flip side, the reading about publishers jazzing up print books didn’t resonate with me as much. I'm all about e-books and haven't bought a physical book in years since I started reading online. Honestly, no matter how stunning a cover is, carrying around a hardcover just feels like too much hassle when I can easily download a book to my iPad or laptop. While I get why publishers are trying to make print books more attractive, I'm still not sure it's enough to change my digital habits. It's interesting to see the push for beautiful print, but for me, convenience wins every time.