Late '80s Harry Crews Harper Perennial Fiction editions

Illustrations by George Corsillo

A busy week has kept me out of the bookstores, so here are a few from home. Frequent BDR readers know I'm a big Harry Crews fan, constantly on the prowl for that copy of Naked In Garden Hills that *isn't* $150. (Should you ever see this at a garage sale or whatever, can you pick it up for me? Seriously.)

I'm not sure how many Crews books were published in this series; these are the ones I own. Two thoughts popped into my mind when I was scanning these:

1) Man, 1988 was a long time ago in book-cover-years.

2) Wow, these aren't just yellow. They're YELLOW. But yellow books don't sell...right?

Discuss.

Ten Storey Love Song

Design by Milan Bozic

I hope there's a word or a name for this -- and by "this" I mean a novel that starts on the front cover of the book. It's been done before (on a few older Penguins(?)), but can't put my hands on any other examples at the moment. Anyone got any? (UPDATE: See the comments for at least one other example several other examples.)

And the coolest thing about this, BTW: verso pages are even-numbered, and recto pages odd-numbered, right? Are you sure? Click the images to enlarge and check.

Hummingbirds

Design by Jarrod Taylor

Flirtation and the competition among students and teachers at an Upper East Side prep school is the focus of Hummingbirds; the jacket is beautifully whimsical and (sorry for the tired phrasing) jumps right off the shelf.


That vibrant blue really pops, just like it does on Digging to America. I've come to have such a low opinion of blue -- too many years spent in Web design -- but these restore my faith :-)

Five for Friday, 10.23.09

Loser's Town; design by Ben Wiseman:


Money; design by Bert Krak, art direction by Paul Buckley:


This Is Where I Leave You; design by Gray318:


Chicago: A Biography; design by Matt Avery:


Can Capitalism Survive?; design by Milan Bozic:

Penguin Great Stars

Design by Stefanie Posavec

New from Penguin, these covers for David Thomson's books about movie idols comprise what good series design is all about: beauty in the aggregate, with enough abstraction and variation to render each unique. Has anyone seen these in person? I so want those marquee lights to be spot varnish.

R. Crumb's The Book of Genesis

Just got my copy of R. Crumb's The Book of Genesis. It's unbelievable. Some highlights:

Back cover:


The front case:


The Serpent on the back case:


Detail of the flood:


UPDATE: The Serpent? Awesome:

Buy this book from Amazon.com

They're Not Booing, They're Saying Boook

Designs by Robert Jensen

"A BüK is an inexpensive pamphlet—just $1.49—containing one provocative essay, short story, portfolio of pictures, collection of poems, or other surprising entertainment, readable in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee" (from the BükAmerica Web site).

We don't talk about the business of publishing much here, but I wonder if (and hope that) there's room for this kind of chapbook meets the Pocket Penguins approach. Thoughts?

(PS: I did ask publisher Lisa Lyons about the use of everyone's favorite typeface, Comic Sans. Through her, designer Robert Jensen said: “It seemed apt. And as Vincent Connare, its creator, has written: "If you love comic sans, you really don’t know much about typography. And if you hate it, you really don’t know much about typography either." That quote always makes me giggle; here's a great article about Comic Sans and its creator.)

Five for Friday, 10.16.09

Gimme Something Better; design by Jen Wang:


Love and Obstacles; design by Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich:


The Education of a British-Protected Child; design by Barbara de Wilde:


Sex With Kings; design by Faith Laurel:


Nothing to Be Frightened Of; design by Megan Wilson:

Who's To Say What's Obscene?

Designer credit to come
Cover art by Wally Wood

Wally Wood's "Disneyland Memorial Orgy," first published in The Realist in 1967, is reproduced (in part) on the cover of counterculture icon Paul Krassner's recent collection of essays.

I didn't really think about this or see it at first, but it's pretty cool how the design reiterated the question asked in the title. What's covered up by the other design elements? Why are *those* things covered up? Oh, because they're obscene. But says who?


If you want to see Mickey shooting up and Dumbo pooping on Donald Duck (among other things), check out the uncolored original.

We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism

Design by W.G. Cookman

John Derbyshire sounds like a total jackhole, but he's got to have a sense of humor, because this is one of the funniest author photos I've ever seen. Not sure if that's supposed to be him on the button on the cover (probably not), but both of them have the Republican frown down pat.