Culture Diary: Fake Books

Yesterday, I became aware of a chilling trend. Caroline Moss, a writer and podcast host, tweeted just “Damn” with a photo of some “books” and their description. After I tweeted my own response, I had to do more digging.

The “books” are put out by Urban Decor Studio, which appears to be an Amazon brand (SHOCKING). Here’s the description from the Urban Decor page: “At Urban Decor Studio we design chic decorative books for your coffee tables and bookshelves. Created to be used as customizable modern interior design accessories, you can combine books of your favorite cities, dream vacation destinations, or motivational phrases in any order you want for a display that is uniquely you. We recommend stacking 3–5 books for the most impactful design. Check out our Amazon Author Page for a full selection of titles available and design inspirations.”

OK, first of all… “AUTHOR page”?! Hilarious.

Here’s the description that accompanies each individual “book:” THE NEWEST TREND IN HOME DECORATING — DECORATING WITH BOOKS*

• This is a decorative book. It is blank on the inside and has a soft matte cover. Full product details below.

They aren’t even HARDCOVER, y’all.

Also, let’s talk about the irony of their marketing message, which is that you can mix and match the different words to create…