Reading in a new book format (since 2009) #dwarsligger #flipback

Do you know what a ‘dwarsligger‘ is? I happen to have a few of these at home so I’ll explain it a little and then I’ll show you my small collection.

A dwarsligger is a teeny tiny book the size of a small smartphone with text that is printed horizontally (hence the Dutch name which basically means something similar to ‘landscape’). One page of a conventional book is printed on two horizontal pages of 8 x 12 cm.

It was a publisher of Christian books that invented this new book format in 2009. If you haven’t heard of it it’s probably because there were only Dutch titles at first, then in 2010 there was a launch on the Spanish market and a year later Hodder and Stoughton published some titles in English (using the term flipback) but it’s only now in 2018 that it’s growing even more with Penguin Books who will publish John Green’s titles in the US. Good going, right?!

So the dwarsligger/flipback is held horizontally and the idea is that you can flip the pages with one hand. It’s ideal if you commute and you only have one hand free. The paper is super thin, similar to the pages of the Bible. I personally really like the idea of the format but I’m not a fan of the paper.

So here’s my little collection. They are all numbered at the back too so you can easily keep track of the ones you already have. I think I’ve only read one of them since I had them though (as a birthday gift some 10 years ago), but maybe I should give it another chance. I have to admit that it IS indeed a great idea if you go somewhere where you’re not supposed to take a book with you, it’s so small it fits in the pocket of your jeans ;-), or if you go on vacation and you want to read a paper copy.

If you don’t have a lot of space in your library, then this is a great solution to invest in, it’s very compact :-).

As for the price, it’s a little bit cheaper than a regular book but not that much. It’s 12,50 euro (most books have a price set at 19,99 euro, some 13,95 euro). It might be a lot cheaper in other countries though, as it is with traditional books.

I read there also exist special leather pockets to keep them in (gah that’s so cute!)

If you want to read more about it and see all the titles they already have (close to 500 in Dutch), you can check out the sites about the Flipbackbook (in English) or Dwarsligger (in Dutch).

So what do you think? Would you ever consider reading one of these babies? Why not give a few as a Christmas gift (or ask them) to another bookworm? Oh and have you read my post about Bookazines (another Dutch invention!). Check out my post on that topic here.