The Books were an American-Dutch duo that formed in New York City in 1999. It consisted of guitarist and vocalist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul de Jong, who described their sound as "new folk music". They met while sharing the same apartment building and began collaborating after discovering similar approaches to music. Their debut album, Thought for Food, was released in 2002 on Tomlab. The duo's subsequent albums, including The Lemon of Pink (2003) and Lost and Safe (2005), were well received, though Zammuto's change in sound in the latter album was criticized. The Books released their final studio album, The Way Out, on Temporary Residence Limited in 2010. After touring extensively between 2005 and 2007, the duo announced their split in January 2012 to focus on individual projects.
