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And what about font size and type?
那字的大小和字體呢？
The earliest movable type pieces consisted of reversed letters cast in relief on the ends of lead alloy stocks.
最早的活字是在鉛鋁坯料的一端鑄造凸出的反字。
They were handmade and expensive, and the designs were as different as the people who carved their molds.
這些活字都是手工制成，價格昂貴，字樣的設計因雕刻字模的工匠不同而異。
Standardization was not really possible until mass manufacturing and the creation of an accessible word processing system.
在大規模制造和易用的文字處理系統產生之前，標準化實際上根本不可能。
As for style, we can thank Nicolas Jenson for developing two types of Roman font that led to thousands of others, including the familiar Times Roman.
我們應該感謝Nicolas Jenson發明了兩種羅馬字體，那之后產生了上千種其他字形，這其中包含了我們熟悉的Times Roman。
Something had to hold all this together, and until the late 15th century, covers consisted of either wood, or sheets of paper pasted together.
這一切要怎么組合在一起呢？直到十五世紀晚期，書的封面都是由木頭或紙張粘貼在一起而成，
These would eventually be replaced by rope fiber millboard, originally intended for high quality bindings in the late 17th century, but later as a less expensive option.
這些最后被繩纖維做成的紙板代替，這在十七世紀晚期本來是作為較高級的裝訂方式，而后來變成了一種經濟的選擇。
And while today's mass produced cover illustrations are marketing tools, the cover designs of early books were made to order.
雖然封面插圖在現在大規模生產的今天是一種營銷手段，早期書的封面設計是定制的。
Even spines have a history.
連書脊都有一段歷史。
Initially, they were not considered aesthetically important, and the earliest ones were flat, rather than rounded.
一開始它們被認為對美觀并不重要，最早期的書脊都是直邊而不是圓的。
The flat form made the books easier to read by allowing the book to rest easily on a table.
直的書脊讓書可以平穩地放在桌子上以便讀書。
But those spines were damaged easily from the stresses of normal use.
但是這種書脊因為每天的日常使用容易被損壞。
A rounded form solved that issue, although new problems arose, like having the book close in on itself.
圓形的書脊解決了這個問題。可是新的問題又出現了，比如書會自己合起來。
But flexibility was more important, especially for the on-the-go reader.
但尤其對于忙碌的讀者來說，靈活性還是更重要。
As the book evolves and we replace bound texts with flat screens and electronic ink, are these objects and files really books?
當書繼續進化，我們開始用平板屏幕和電子墨水代替固定文本，這些物品和文件真的是書嗎？
Does the feel of the cover or the smell of the paper add something crucial to the experience?
封面的觸感和紙張的氣味會增強閱讀的體驗嗎？
Or does the magic live only within the words, no matter what their presentation?
還是說閱讀的魔力只在于文字的內容，與呈現的形式無關呢？
