50 Books/50 Covers

I'm out of town again this weekend (another wedding!), so spend some time with these covers, all of which were selected for the AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers exhibit. These aren't necessarily my favorites (although wouldn't you kill to have ONE of these in your portfolio?), but rather are some that haven't appeared on this blog before. Check them all out at http://designarchives.aiga.org/.

Only Revolutions

It's not often that we get to look at book interiors. But here's a really interesting one. (Be sure to click on the image of the page to get a larger view.) Like Derrida's Glas and Avital Ronnel's The Telephone Book, this might be more interesting to look at than actually read. I know I'll want to spend some time looking through it.

I Hate Ann Coulter

According to the Huffington Report (in a story picked up from the NY Post), the authors wish to remain anonymous, with one of them stating "None of us want our real names in the hands of gun-toting, abortion clinic-bombing, self-proclaimed 'wing nuts,' who follow Coulter." The NY Post article goes on to note that the publisher, Simon & Schuster, has only once before published an anonymous title (Go Ask Alice, in 1971.)

While we normally keep strictly to book design around here (and to be honest, this cover could have been done by my cat), I'd like to ask you what you think about honoring the authors' request. Is this just a publicity stunt to sell books?

The Book of Lost Things

This sounds pretty cool, and the cover is sufficiently whimsical without going overboard:

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld.

L.A. Rex

Love the treatment of the title. The overall design may be a little too busy, but the graffiti / tattoo inspired type is great.

The Theocons

I almost missed the cross on top of the White House, and it's by far the most (the only?) interesting thing here.

A Small Death in Lisbon

For whatever reason, lots of designers forget how much impact well thought out negative space can have. This designer didn't forget.

Half of a Yellow Sun

Looks like about one-fifth of a yellow sun to me ;-)

Forgetfulness

This probably helps explain why the title is set in such small type: Moroccan terrorists kill the wife of a CIA freelancer. He's invited to the interrogation after they're caught. And he discovers "forgetfulness is not a reasonable response to assault, either personal or national."

C'mon, Canada!

I've been using Google Analytics for the blog for about a month now. It's fantastic. This map represents Tuesday's activity. Canada, have I done something to upset you? :-)



What's that? How can you help? Well, Google also tells me that my returning visitors have outnumbered my new visitors by 3:1 or so over the last two weeks. If you like this blog, spread the love and link to it. Tell your mom about it. More readers = more comments = we all learn more, and that's a good thing. Thanks.