“From papyrus to pixels, Merilyn Simonds is the perfect voice for how we read and write today. Her buoyant engagement with two simultaneous projects, the publishing of an e-book and the handsetting of that same book on letterpress, provides a fascinating lens into the feel, look and texture of words — from ancient scrolls to the scrolling screen. Gutenberg’s Fingerprint is much like Simonds beloved garden: casually but deliciously informative, a feast of facts about paper, ink, and digital technology. Simonds superb enterprise is both full of techie gusto and a sympathetic tolerance for the mistakes that only a letterpress lover can know.” — Molly Peacock, author of The Paper Garden and Alphabetique
“This erudite and charming book shows Merilyn Simonds at her best, giving us the history of the printed book as well as the future potential of digital books through the prism of her own publishing experience.” — Kate Pullinger, author of Landing Gear and The Mistress of Nothing
“Avoiding all reference to a foretold apocalypse, and firmly this side of idolatry, Gutenberg’s Fingerprint is a wise love letter to the printed page, as trustworthy as paper and as true as ink.” — Alberto Manguel, author of A History of Reading and The Library at Night
“Simonds wraps an on-the-scene report on choosing type, ink, paper, endpapers, and bindings around an entertaining history of book production and reading … a surprisingly fun read.” — Booklist
“Merilyn Simonds has an essayist’s mind, swooping and dipping here and there as fancy (and especially an attractive word, or a revealing phrase or story) lures her.” — Literary Review of Canada