Stylish Books?

A few weeks ago I got a package in the mail from Zondervan, the faith-based publishing company. I've grown up in a Christian upbringing and my faith is a big part of my life, so I was interested in seeing what what they had to share with me. Don't worry, I'm not about to go all religious on you guys, but I'd just like to point out that they've taken book design to a whole new level. 

They didn't make Bibles like this when I was a kid. Granted, there's a whole lot that we have these days that didn't exist when I was a kid...

These are the samples from this season that they sent me: 

And then there's my personal one--I bought this one last year before coming to college. It's designed as a clutch...with actual space inside for credit cards. 

My mind was blown when I found it at Barnes and Noble last year. I just find it so interesting how the publishing industry is catering to the modern day needs of style and functionality. I think these are snazzy looking, who knew Bibles could be so classy looking?

Also, with the technology of Kindles and Nooks these days, I'm curious, do you guys prefer books or tablet readers? I have to say that I have a soft spot for having the physical book to flip through. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the ownership of a book when it's in the form of a file on a memory drive.

I'm also partial to really old books. I intend to go thrifting for old books one day, just because I love how much character they have. But I digress, I'm getting off topic.

Anyway, if you're interested in looking at some of Zondervan's publications and their other designs, visit their site! And I'd love to hear your thoughts on books and how the publishing world is evolving, I find it to be a rather interesting topic!