Rob Kovitz, 669 pgs, Treyf Books, treyf.com, $33
Got any plans this weekend? Next week? For the next five years? No? No sweat, friend; Rob Kovitz has enough plans for all of us. In his new book, According to Plan, Kovitz skillfully edits excerpts from film, television, literature and newspapers, all having to do with “plans”. Having created his own publishing outfit, Treyf Books, Kovitz is known for this juxtaposition-style of book, identifying as an author-artist.
This style of book was completely foreign to me, and admittedly, a little overwhelming. Although there is structure to the book, each section laid out in chapters used the copying and pasting of quotes and unsettled my type-A personality — the part of my brain that was trying to fit this style into the traditional format of continuous words.
Personal qualms aside, I did manage to appreciate the book. Kovitz has brought editing to the forefront and turned it into an art form. While initially I was searching for even a paragraph written by the author in order to really hear his voice, I slowly realized that the quotes he used, and how he used them, were his voice. Even his bio is a list of quotes.
The sheer amount of planning that went into this hefty tome is incredibly impressive, and is quite notable as one reads through the various sections. Kovitz has managed to execute a hybrid genre, combining literature and design to make an elaborate collection of information on one deceptively specific subject.(Carissa Ainslie)