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Book Review

This book wasn't on my reading list, but came as a recommendation from a recent article I read and my interest in them.  

The first half of the book has some great information.  Unfortunately, the second half seemed squeezed in to a certain number of pages because of the extraordinarily small fonts used that resulted in difficulty reading (e.g. instructions for silkscreen printing).  There was also a very light blue grey color used with some fonts that resulted in them being too light for easy reading.  Considering the book was put together by 'zinesters', it is disappointing that they didn't figure this out and correct it before the book was published.  

Much of the book includes articles written by zine makers from around 2006.  The technology discussed in it is now quite old (Xerox machines, duplication machines) so not exactly how someone would produced them (on mass) in the 2020s.  In addition, some of the websites referenced are no longer active.

Overall, the information is still good, and I enjoyed parts of the book.  The changing fonts, however, were distracting and added a sense of overwhelm in terms of content absorption.  I will say that I didn't realize the history of zine-making and just how long an underground activity it has been, what the range of 'whys' are in creating them, the various methods of their distribution, and just how 'big' zine-making has been.    




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