Summertime reading book list

If you want to learn more about typefaces, graphic design and embrace your inner font nerd, here is a short book list to get you started:

• Just My Type by Simon Garfield. Find out how Helvetica and Comic Sans took over the world.
• Branding with Type, EM Ginger editor. This book will entertain and remind you of the most profound 500-year-old business lesson around: type sells.
• Stop Stealing Sheep by Erik Spiekermann & EM Ginger. This best seller since 1993 will show how type is used as a powerful communications tool.
• The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst. My signed, well-thumbed copy is my go-to reference book for typographic style. It offers a deeper appreciation of letters and what they mean.
• Shady Characters by Keith Houston. I’ve just started this book about symbols and the stories behind them. I’ll find out why the @ symbol is called a strudel in Hebrew and a rollmop herring in Czech. OK, I’ve just confirmed that I am a font nerd.