It's been a great ride. I've enjoyed almost every minute of it. But the joy of discovering and sharing has, over the past few months, become the tedium of finding and posting. So it's time to stop. I might resurrect The BDR if it feels right, or I might blog about something else. It's too early to tell.
2009 was a wonderful year, and I can't thank you enough for showing up: a third of a million visits from 190 countries yielded just shy of 640,000 page views. 3 of those visits came from Nuuk, Greenland. Thank you, Nuuk :-)Follow me on Twitter (@theBDR) for book-related (and other) stuff, and satisfy your book design jones over at The Casual Optimist, Faceout Books, and The Book Cover Archive. Those guys are the best.
Again, my heartfelt thanks for 5 fun years. Talk to you soon.
Oh, I'll miss you and your sharp observations! Thanks so much for your efforts to bring the world of design home to me. Enjoy your break!
ReplyDeleteBest, Michael
Thanks Michael.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear it, man.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ben. You need to step up for the good people of Nuuk :-)
ReplyDeleteBummer for us - I've really enjoyed checking in - but congrats to you. It was always interesting, even for a non-designer like me. Thank you for sharing the art and the thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYour site has been one of my weekly habits. Thanks for the past 5 years and I wish you happiness in what lies ahead.
ReplyDeleteOh, no!! I'm going to miss the BDR a lot... Thank you for putting so much time into a great blog. Good luck in your other projects.
ReplyDeleteAs a latecomer to this blog I am sorry to hear this news. I just got here. Still, I can start attacking the archive now. Thanks for providing an engaging look at book design.
ReplyDeleteReally sad news... I'll miss The Book Design Review. :(
ReplyDeleteBest of luck for your future projects! Let's hope you'll be back one day on the BDR...
Aw man, that's sad – but thanks so much for the site these last years. It's been really great.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a great adventure. i also want to explore that big lonesome land in northern hemisphere.
ReplyDeleteoh come on dont give up now. I like your blog....
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great ride... and too bad it stops, I liked it a lot.
ReplyDeleteBest luck for what's to come.
Also, since the comments (and thus you people) are also a great part of what so good about this blog, I suggest we all switch to the same book design blog. Any preference?
ReplyDeleteYou're of course more than welcome to join Joseph.
Thanks for all your work-- I'll take this opportunity to browse through your archives! Wonderful project. Good luck in your next ventures.
ReplyDeletei just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading your blog. Although I'm not a designer, The BDR gave me insight into book cover design and was a pleasure to read.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with everything you do,
Ken.
Hey Joseph. Thanks for all your work over the last 5 years. The BDR was amazing and clearly a labour of love. I can honestly say that I would not have started The Casual Optimist without it. I certainly can't replace you! Good luck with all your future projects and stay in touch man.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joseph, for sticking it out this long. Keeping up with a blog is quite the committment, and you sticking it out for five years is a testament to your dedication.
ReplyDeleteThis blog was one of the first - and certainly the most high-profile - blogs to showcase book cover design. You set the standard. Thank you for shining some light on this curious subgenre of design.
Thx so much for all the posts. (And please don't give up.)
ReplyDeleteP
Thanks for all the love and hard work you put into this blog over the years Joseph. I will miss it and hope you return after your hiatus. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI just realized this probably makes my BDR t-shirt a collector's item. Hot dang.
ReplyDeleteBen: hah!
ReplyDeleteSad to hear, but you can go on in the happy knowledge that after discovering your blog and coming back to it on a fairly regular basis, I no longer look at books in a book store the way I did before. So thanks, and take care.
ReplyDeleteDang it! The BDR is one of my favorite blogs....
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of the great design, commentary and fun over the years. You are a class act, sir, and The BDR will be sorely missed. I look forward to joining you on your next online adventure, whenever and wherever that may be.
Break a leg, Joe.
I will really miss your posts! You always chose great covers to feature and I thought your commentary (and comebacks!) were always smart and classy.
ReplyDeleteHi Joseph, I've really enjoyed everything you've done here - didn't realise you'd been at it for 5 years! Time for a well deserved break and new pastures... Hope you bring your wit and insight to some new project in the future. Cheers! Dan
ReplyDeleteYou will be missed Joseph. Thanks for the 5 years of BDR.
ReplyDeleteI've got a very short list of blogs I visit and it just got shorter. Thanks for all the posts over the years Joseph.
ReplyDeletegrazie, mi mancherà
ReplyDeleteOh, SOOOO sad! Yours is one of the blogs I most look forward to seeing. I've enjoyed the interesting covers, and especially hearing your insightful comments.
ReplyDeleteI certainly respect what you're saying though. If the passion is gone, what's the point? Good luck with whatever your passion leads you to do next.
But if you feel the urge to occasionally post a cover, just for the fun of it? I won't be deleting the BDR from my reader, and I'll always be delighted to hear from you.
Good luck in whatever you do. Thank you so much for your wonderful blog posts.
ReplyDeleteFirst John Self, now you! You'll be very much missed, but I can well imagine the weariness that five years of such inventive blogging can produce in a man.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your break!
Thanks for the always entertaining, thought-provoking and enlightening blog, and all the best for whatever you do next!
ReplyDeleteI'm an editor at a small book publishing company and your blog has changed the way I think about and look at book design: thank you. I know I'll continue to explore your archives. You'll be missed!
gosh, ill miss this blog. thanks for all your hard work--its been an amazing time.
ReplyDeletenoooo! i sent this post to a friend and she had the same dismayed reaction. i'll miss your delightful posts. best wishes.
ReplyDeleteI'm really gonna miss your posts, thanks for everything (and please reconsider ;-))
ReplyDeleteVery best wishes moving forward, and congrats on a great run.
ReplyDeleteJoseph, thank you for the wonderful five years you have devoted to helping expand our horizons when it comes to book cover design. It's been a pleasure to ride along on this journey, and I wish you well moving forward.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your nice words. I'm very humbled.
ReplyDeleteGood. I won't miss you and your empty criticisms.
ReplyDeleteAnon: but I will miss your comments.
ReplyDeleteAnd be sure to follow me on Twitter, Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteTwitter.com/EmptyCriticisms...that has a nice ring...I wonder if it's taken.
ReplyDeleteIt's a real shame that you're not going to continue... You're blog is definitely one I check every day, and I'll miss your observations, and cover choices.
ReplyDeleteHope you come back to it soon!
Thanks for great posts - I only found your blog last year, so I'm sad to see it go, but it was great while it lasted.
ReplyDeleteOh NO. How can I get through the week without your blog?
ReplyDeleteI'll miss you!
Saludos from Mexico City, I've been reading your blog for close to four years now. Can't even remember how I got here. Sad to see it go. Good luck on everything and thanks for showing us all those cool covers.
ReplyDeleteHasta pronto
Juan Carlos
Wow… I'm really saddened to hear this. You've been one of my favorites for a long time. Let me know if you ever want to briefly jump back into the world of book cover bloggin!
ReplyDeleteOh. What a pity...
ReplyDeleteOh no!! But thanks--it's been a great read.
ReplyDeleteThis is heartbreaking!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I go into a book store, I find myself picking up books just because I recognize the cover from your blog.
Thanks so much!
Looking forward again on your site sir. Maybe I'll be back here sooner if you update again.
ReplyDeleteJoseph,
ReplyDeleteReally bummed to hear you are closing down shop. This was a great blog and I enjoyed it tremedously. Always fun to dissect book covers! Best of luck with all other endeavours.
Thanks for the engaging, entertaining, and engorging read thus far Joseph.
ReplyDeleteAll the best in your new season of life.
Blessings,
Dave :)
Any chance of passing off the blog to someone else you trust? It does serve a good purpose.
ReplyDeleteWe miss you!!!
ReplyDeleteFrom México!!!
Oh my god, i will miss you a lot.
ReplyDeleteAndrea from Turin, Italy (ok that's not esotic like Nuuk, but whatever!)
You comments will be missed!
ReplyDelete--Duncan Long
=====================
Freelance magazine and book cover illustrator (and sometimes book cover designer) for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers. See my cover illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
A big thank you from the Netherlands and take care !!
ReplyDelete5 years and 1,112 posts, wooooo, no wonder your blog is so hot.
ReplyDeleteaw! I've been very busy doing my work, I was once visiting here, but wanted to say sorry because you left for a while. Take care.
ReplyDeleteWe will really miss you.
ReplyDeleteThank you very, very much.
If you ever come to Buenos Aires please let me know, ok?
Thank you Joseph to share it with us. We glad to know you and expect lot more from you.
ReplyDeleteWait! No! I discover you two months AFTER you go on hiatus? That is so wrong.
ReplyDeleteCome back so Abilene, Texas can join your fan in Nuuk, Greenland on analytics reports!
Lazy.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing the right thing - I think work should be fun, and if the one you do for pleasure isn't anymore, then it's time to stop :)
ReplyDeleteRio de Janeiro will sorely miss you though.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNow what am I supposed to do? One less blog - one less coffee cup! Are you sure you want to jeopardize the coffee market? If so .. we had a good ride. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI only started reading your wonderful blog about 2 months ago - am very sorry as a latecomer that you've taken this decision. I wish you very best of luck, hope you might start another blog one day. Cheers, Tony.
ReplyDeleteNO DONT DO THIS PLEASE!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great work and good luck. the team from www.aussenleuchten-aussenlampen.de aus Deutschland.
ReplyDeleteWow... it has been 5 years! thanks. I've always been fascinated by book cover designs. And your creative observations has been my inspirations. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time sinec you stop blogging. And we still waiting for your coming back.
ReplyDelete