No Updates for a Few Days

Loyal readers: I'm off to Lollapalooza with my son, so there won't be any updates until Sunday, August 6. Very excited that my son's first concert experience will include the likes of Wilco, Flaming Lips, Ween, Common and Sonic Youth.

So while I'm gone, can the person who is thisclose to buying that 17" MacBook Pro go ahead and do so? C'mon, you know you want it :-)

Hello, Cruel World

Given the audience for this book, this strikes me as just about perfect:

A one-of-a-kind guide to staying alive outside the box, Hello, Cruel World is a much-needed unconventional approach to teenage suicide prevention for marginalized youth who want to stay on the edge, but alive.

The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs

UK on top, US on bottom.

Johnny Mad Dog

The paperback for Johnny Mad Dog (top), and the much hated hardcover (below). Hated by several of you, that is, when I originally posted it. I happen to love it.

Execution

Is it just me, or is the red noose a little bit too much? (And I will leave it up to you to find out what a "Spanish Donkey" is.)

Uncommon Carriers

Man, McPhee has written a lot of books -- according to Wikipedia, this is his 31st. I like this quite a bit -- it seems to be exactly the right tone for the subject -- but I want to see some hand lettering.

How This Night Is Different

Any strong feelings about explicit design references to packaged goods? The jacket with the bottle of Manischewitz is new; you might remember the cover with the hot dogs from a few months back. And didn't someone get into some legal trouble for a jacket that looked a little too much like a Hersheys chocolate bar wrapper?

I Feel Bad About My Neck

Something about this just doesn't work, but as my loyal readers have pointed out, maybe it's just because of my pesky Y chromosome. :-)

UK Version of Terrorist

Wow. Look at the UK version of John Updike's Terrorist:


I'm guessing the Chip Kidd-designed US cover might be a little too reminiscent of a photo of one of the London suicide bombers:

Lord Vishnu's Love Handles

If we can judge a book by it's cover, I think we would have to conclude that this is a delightfully odd novel.