They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and in a metaphorical sense that’s true. But when it comes down to the real thing, nothing quite compares to holding a beautiful book in your hands. In a world where entire volumes can be downloaded at the touch of a button, and pages turned without lifting a finger, the books we buy have to offer us something extra. And in this respect, art books take pride of place. Whether it’s thumbing through a photobook or perusing an aesthetic zine, there’s a quality in physical print objects which will never translate to the digital realm.  A kindle will never take centre stage on a coffee table — and so a publication’s cover is the first thing that sets it apart.
With our eyes open and hearts aglow, SLEEK headed to Miss Read 2018 to eye-up the best art books Berlin has to offer. And you’ll forgive us for judging them by their covers — here are our most eye-catching finds.

WE ARE DEVO!

THINK PINK! This comic-meets-zine is as head-turning as it is fierce.

Annette Frick & Sylvie Paoli

Annette Frick’s punk aesthetic speaks for itself in this Walther König-published photobook.

Window Shopping – Kelly Beeman

Beautiful and refined, just like the Brooklyn-based artist’s work, this Editon Patrick Frey-published book is 100% coffee-table ready.

Human Nature – Daikichi Amano

Flesh meets flesh in this surreal depiction of tentacle titivation, published by Bongout.

Die Epilog – No. 7

Prince Charles adjusting his tie. Say no more Die Epilog.

Lonely Planet. Yamatai Koku. Susan Kooi

Japanese porcelain never looked as good as it does here, fronting the second part of a beguiling triptych by Jap Sam Books.

Pretend You’re Happy

Nothing is not spot on about this millennial zine published by Bebe Books.

Ixiptla Volume I

Aesthetic anthropology from the occasion of the 8th Berlin Biennale with Bomdia Books.

The Struggle is Not Over Yet

A beautiful archive, published by none other than Archive Books, exploring Guinea-Bissau’s cinematic expression of Portuguese colonialism.

Winona Fanzine

Vintage Winona on yellow. What’s not to love?

Capitol Records Shit Toots – Parker Ito

Everyone appreciates a noughties-does-nineties aesthetic, and apparently no one does it better than Parker Ito.

TECHNO1

Simple and clean techno propaganda from Leon Lothschütz.

Portrait Styles – Nicole Shinn

TXTBooks bringing back spiral binding with this neon rendition by Nicole Shinn.

La Societé du Spéculateur – Anna Szaflarski

Honing in on the hand-drawn aesthetic is Anna M. Szaflarski with this sci-fi short, published by AKV Berlin.