The earliest movable type pieces consisted of reversed letters cast in relief on the ends of lead alloy stocks. 最早的活字是在铅铝坯料的一端铸造凸出的反字。

　　They were handmade and expensive, and the designs were as different as the people who carved their molds. 这些活字都是手工制成，价格昂贵，字样的设计因雕刻字模的工匠不同而异。

　　Standardization was not really possible until mass manufacturing and the creation of an accessible word processing system. 在大规模制造和易用的文字处理系统产生之前，标准化实际上根本不可能。

　　As for style, we can thank Nicolas Jenson for developing two types of Roman font that led to thousands of others, 我们应该感谢尼古拉斯·简森发明了两种罗马字体，那之后产生了上千种其他字形，

　　including the familiar Times Roman. 这其中包含了我们熟悉的Times Roman。

　　Something had to hold all this together, and until the late 15th century, 这一切要怎么组合在一起呢？直到十五世纪晚期，

　　covers consisted of either wood, or sheets of paper pasted together. 书的封面都是由木头或纸张粘贴在一起而成，

　　These would eventually be replaced by rope fiber millboard,  这些最后被绳纤维做成的纸板代替，

　　originally intended for high quality bindings in the late 17th century, but later as a less expensive option. 这在十七世纪晚期本来是作为较高级的装订方式，而后来变成了一种经济的选择。

　　And while today's mass produced cover illustrations are marketing tools, the cover designs of early books were made to order. 虽然封面插图在现在大规模生产的今天是一种营销手段，早期书的封面设计是定制的。

　　Even spines have a history. 连书脊都有一段历史。

　　Initially, they were not considered aesthetically important, and the earliest ones were flat, rather than rounded. 一开始它们被认为对美观并不重要，最早期的书脊都是直边而不是圆的。

　　The flat form made the books easier to read by allowing the book to rest easily on a table. 直的书脊让书可以平稳地放在桌子上以便读书。

　　But those spines were damaged easily from the stresses of normal use. 但是这种书脊因为每天的日常使用容易被损坏。

　　A rounded form solved that issue, although new problems arose, like having the book close in on itself. 圆形的书脊解决了这个问题。可是新的问题又出现了，比如书会自己合起来。

　　But flexibility was more important, especially for the on-the-go reader. 但尤其对于忙碌的读者来说，灵活性还是更重要。

　　As the book evolves and we replace bound texts with flat screens and electronic ink, are these objects and files really books? 当书继续进化，我们开始用平板屏幕和电子墨水代替固定文本，这些物品和文件真的是书吗？

　　Does the feel of the cover or the smell of the paper add something crucial to the experience? 封面的触感和纸张的气味会增强阅读的体验吗？

　　Or does the magic live only within the words, no matter what their presentation? 还是说阅读的魔力只在于文字的内容，与呈现的形式无关呢？