That furry book.

Now.  While I'm very curious about the Wild Things movie, I'm not really interested in the novelization of the original book.  I just don't see the point, when the original was perfectly perfect as it was.  It doesn't have me gnashing my teeth or anything, just disinterested.  But, whatever.  The decision to offer a furry version of the book just struck me as rather gimmicky, and reminded me that pain-in-the-ass monster book (I don't remember what it was called, but it was covered in extremely fake shaggy black fur) we had to deal with at the bookstore.

However.  All that didn't prevent me from finding this tidbit from a brief interview with Dave Eggers in the New Yorker very interesting:

“The Wild Things” will come in a fur edition, I hear?

It was just an idea I had, that it could be cool to have a book covered in fake fur. I told Maurice about it, and he told me a story of someone trying the same thing, with real fur, back in the sixties. I guess they made thousands of them, wrapped in some kind of real fur, and sent them to a warehouse for a while before shipping them to stores. By the time they came to ship the books, the warehouse was full of moths, and most of the fur had been eaten. Anyway, we went to a printer in Singapore about this, and they sent us a bunch of faux-fur samples. We chose one that’s usually used to repair small holes in mink coats. I think we ordered more of this fur than had ever been ordered at one time. The result looks pretty good, though. Very creepy.

(via Powell's)

Comments

[miranda]

I recall hearing that story, too. It was Little Fur Family.

[Leila]

Oh, I forgot about Little Fur Family. That one does come in a (fake) furry edition, and the publisher even puts it (if I'm remembering correctly) in a little box, which makes it easy to shelve and everything!

[Celia]

WEIRD. I think I'd run screaming...it reminds me too much of that Monster book that Hagrid assigned to the Care of Magical Creatures class in the the Harry Potter books.

[liz]

I hate to be spoilsport but I'm not interested in the Where The Wild Things are movie either.

[MaggieStiefvater]

Okay, I totally want a furry covered edition of Shiver. C'mon, WEREWOLVES. Don't I deserve fur?

[Brooke]

Or why not go whole hog and get Venus in Furs in furs?

[Francesca]

Fake fur, though, naturally. Apparently, Little Fur Family was originally covered in real fur (rabbit, I think) and is now covered in synthetic. It's still nice to pet, but really, it's a one shot deal. Can't have a whole shelf in the bookstore devoted to furry books.

I remain deeply suspicious of the whole Where the Wild Things Are goings-on. (But will probably see the movie because I am curious as well as suspicious.)

Wandered here via Alimum.

[dani]

I like that the original fur books were a bust and moth ridden. Rowan has the Litle Fur Family and it sheds its fakey fur horribly... we lost the box somewhere too.