The Orientalist

Watching basketball recently, I was struck by how god-awful ugly "Boston College" looks on their uniforms, on the gym floor, etc. Why? All italicized caps. Check it out here.

Note the italicized caps on the otherwise attractive design below.

Is this ever a good idea?

Without a Net

Soccer mom or struggling, homeless mother of three? This picture just doesn't cut it, but I've got 5 bucks that says the designer wanted to do something different and someone thought this lovely royalty-free photo was the way to go.

The Crisis

Can't make up my mind about this. Can't even find anything to say. Anyone else?

John Kenneth Galbraith

K e r n i n g ? ? ?

Command of Office

Yikes. What would YOU do with a 100-character subtitle. Oy, the poor designer...

Pol Pot

Love this. Rugged. Powerful. And the treatment of the subtitle is great.

Elizabeth Bowen: The Enforced Return

I really like the balance in this design. The continuation of the pattern in the dress in the bottom panel, on a different scale, is nice. I hate the screaming "Oxford" at the bottom, however. Thank you, Marketing Department.

Nice Big American Baby

Sweet. Fun. Who wouldn't want this in their portfolio?

Perfect Madness

A familiar approach. What could make it better?

Nature Noir

Want to see this one in person. That's a door, I think. Kudos for the intense color. And it's nice to see a nature title that doesn't use a soft, script font.

Hotel Babylon

There is something off about this.

The Displaced of Capital

Odd title, absolutely nothing in the design to make it stand out...it must be a poetry title from an academic press!

Big Bang

Elegant or boring? I think I would have liked to see something not so centered.

Empire Rising

Buy this book! (Actually, I haven't read it, but the author is a friend from college, so...buy his book!) I want to see this in person, because I'm not quite sure exactly what's going on here.

UPDATE: Saw this in a bookstore. I still can't quite read the photo.

Please Don't Come Back from the Moon

Betcha that blue pops like crazy in the bookstore...

UPDATE: Seen in a bookstore. I was wrong...

In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs

Nice photo. Dated design, I think.

The Society of Others

I'm pretty sure there's something in the sun -- "A Novel," maybe something more -- but you can't see it in the scan.

The Kreutzer Sonata

Death of an Ordinary Man

How much stronger would this be without the people at the bottom? Much stronger, I think.

Kafka on the Shore

Murakami is a delightfully odd, engaging author. This cover looks great in person.

The Sea of Tears

More feet. Way too many feet.

And End to Suffering

God's Politics

Do the elephant and donkey help or hurt this?

Judgment Days

Could the placement of the title be worse? I wonder...

Giles, what do you think? Use the comments.

Also going to do a red lobster / white background just to see what it will look like.