Gimmicks

Description
Books which challenge formal conventions of the reading experience (i.e., the layout of the book, reading order, the relationship between main text and secondary matter such as notes, titles, etc.). For this list I'm not interested in postmodern and metafictional experiments with style/genre or narrative point of view.
1
4,578 members
280 reviews
3.9
6 Members
acenturyofsleep, sturlington, souloftherose, spiphany, cej1027, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Gradual erasure of letters of the alphabet from the narrative.
spiphany: Story is told using ever fewer letters of the alphabet.
2
2,982 members
70 reviews
4.2
3
9,295 members
105 reviews
3.9
3 Members
sturlington, spiphany, ahef1963
Explanations
spiphany: Pages and chapters are numbered backwards
4
722 members
21 reviews
3.8
3 Members
acenturyofsleep, spiphany, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations
spiphany: Can be read straight through or in an order chosen by the reader according to instructions at the beginning of the book.
5
19,331 members
438 reviews
4.1
6
5,017 members
265 reviews
3.9
3 Members
KimarieBee, sturlington, ahef1963,spiphany
Explanations
sturlington: The narrator reads another book, which is contained inside the first book, but the last chapters are missing.
7
4,388 members
97 reviews
3.8
2 Members
acenturyofsleep, spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Published as a vintage-looking library book with marginal notations and loose documents (letters, postcards, notes, etc.) tucked between the pages
8
2,250 members
36 reviews
3.1
2 Members
acenturyofsleep, spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Two stories printed 180° from each other, requiring the reader to rotate the book while reading
9
1,945 members
60 reviews
3.8
2 Members
charl08, spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Consists of two stories; half the printings of the book start with one story, half with the other
10
612 members
13 reviews
½ 3.7
2 Members
charl08, spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: The "front" and "back" of the book are each the starting place for two stories that meet in the middle.
11
365 members
33 reviews
3.9
12
359 members
56 reviews
½ 3.6
2 Members
acenturyofsleep, spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Bound like an accordian with two parallel stories, one on each side of the page.
13
332 members
13 reviews
½ 3.3
2 Members
acenturyofsleep, spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Consists only of footnotes
14
86 members
4.2
2 Members
acenturyofsleep, spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Two separate version of the book were written ("female" perspective and "male" perspective); the printed editions are the same except for a key chapter.
15
5,994 members
110 reviews
4.2
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Suggested reading order requires the reader to skip forwards and backwards through the book rather than reading the chapters in order.
16
1,723 members
44 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Written without the use of the letter "e"
17
1,069 members
42 reviews
½ 4.4
Member
spiphany
18
1,020 members
35 reviews
4
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Consists entirely of footnotes
19
851 members
41 reviews
4
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Published in two editions ("dark" and "light") which have the same main text but contain different extra material (advertisements, recommendations, etc) between the chapters.
20
797 members
140 reviews
½ 3.4
21
636 members
21 reviews
4
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Each chapter uses only a single vowel.
22
512 members
17 reviews
3.8
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Consists of die-cut pages of Bruno Schulz's "Street of Crocodiles"; the story is formed using the non-cut-out words and letters.
23
456 members
9 reviews
4.1
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: The individual sections of the book are sold in a box rather than being bound together in a fixed reading order.
24
443 members
15 reviews
½ 3.4
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Every sentence is a question.
25
420 members
8 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: The book is about the breakdown of language, as experienced by the narrator.
26
388 members
68 reviews
½ 3.4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Told as if from the point of view of multiple security monitors, often with text in corresponding columns.
27
323 members
10 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Consists of a set of letters which, the reader is informed, can be read in any order.
28
317 members
3 reviews
½ 3.3
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Epistolary novel; the reader is presented with three suggested reading orders: the Conformist, the Cynic, and the Quixotic
29
271 members
6 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
spiphany
30
197 members
2 reviews
3.9
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: The "front" and "back" of the book are each the starting place for two stories that meet in the middle.
31
155 members
1 review
½ 3.6
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Chapters can be read in any order. The book is laid out like a Tarot deck.
32
119 members
2 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
Moomin_Mama
Explanations
Moomin_Mama: A grown up choose-your-own-adventure that can also be read cover to cover.
33
104 members
3 reviews
4.1
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: The "front" and "back" of the book are each the starting place for two stories that meet in the middle.
34
101 members
2 reviews
3
Member
uenvs
35
88 members
3 reviews
3.8
Member
spiphany
36
87 members
3.2
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Mixture of prose and other documents; the paragraphs are randomly shuffled so that each printed edition is different.
37
82 members
5 reviews
3.2
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Sold as loose, unbound pages in a box.
38
58 members
1 review
2.8
Member
spiphany
39
54 members
2 reviews
5
Member
uenvs
40
15 members
1 review
½ 4.5
Member
spiphany
41
11 members
5
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Sold as a collection of color-coded booklets in a slipcase; the author provides 16 suggested reading orders
42
8 members
1
Member
spiphany
43
7 members
1 review
3
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Each page has two columns, one with the main story and a second in smaller print with thoughts or comments on the characters and sometimes completely unrelated material.
44
6 members
1 review
4
Member
spiphany
45
4 members
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: Text consists of the last sentences of 375 other novels.
46
4 members
Member
spiphany
Explanations
spiphany: The "front" and "back" of the book are each the starting place for two stories that meet in the middle.
47
1 member
Member
spiphany
48
740 members
16 reviews
3.8
Member
aulsmith,spiphany
Explanations
aulsmith: Two main narrators, one the author of a book, the other either a character in that book or the author's grandson.
spiphany : experiments with narrative conventions, not the physical characteristics of the book
49
476 members
25 reviews
3.9
50
184 members
7 reviews
3
51
76 members
1 review
½ 3.6
52
61 members
2 reviews
3.8
53
37 members
5 reviews
3.2
54
35 members
2 reviews
3.8
55
1 member
56
2,515 members
22 reviews
3.9
2 Members
aulsmith, souloftherose,sturlington ,spiphany ,uenvs
Explanations
aulsmith: A set of ethnographic notes about a future Pacific Northwest with a novella twined into the notes.
spiphany : experiments with narrative conventions, not the physical characteristics of the book