NYT's 10 Best Books of the Year
Hot on the heels of the last list comes the best of the best, according to the New York Times:
Check it out. (Nice graphic, too. Kudos.)
Posted by Giles, Friday, December 1, 2006, at 12:59 AM.
Posted to Book prizes | Books | Publishing
Three of Potential Interest
Checking my email online tonight, to discover more than thirty open tabs in the browser; stuff to read later, stuff to blog on, stuff to deal with, etc. Here are three:
— Sports Artist Sued for Mix of Crimson and Tide:
In the solemn cathedral of college football devotion and instruction that is the Paul W. Bryant Museum here, a large painting dominates the main chamber. It is called “The Sack,” and it shows an encounter between a Notre Dame quarterback and a human locomotive in crimson and white.
“I’ve never been hit like that before,” the quarterback, Steve Beuerlein, said after his near-lethal sack by Cornelius Bennett in 1986, in the University of Alabama’s first victory ever over his team.
Daniel A. Moore, who painted “The Sack” and scores of other renditions of signal moments in Alabama football history, said he felt something similar last year, when his fax machine began to spit out a lawsuit from the university.
Downward spiral. Here’s a wish for recovery before impact.
— Droolworthy, and, uh, funny as hell:
MacRumors Apple ad contest winner. See more.
— I’d noticed the font used in the Sony Alpha ads recently, and wondered about it. Lo and behold, in my (astonishingly large stack of) email was an ad for it:
Vista Sans, from Emigre. (Natch. Love their stuff.) Read some of the designer’s notes on Vista and others at FontShop.
More ASAP.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, November 14, 2006, at 12:00 AM.
Posted to Advertising | Computers | Design | Ethics | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Public domain | Publishing | Technology | Type and typography | Whatever
NYT: Non-Bookstore Book Sales
Books are turning up in the oddest places these days.
With book sales sagging — down 2.6 percent as of August over the same period last year, according to the Association of American Publishers — publishers are pushing their books into butcher shops, carwashes, cookware stores, cheese shops, even chi-chi clothing boutiques where high-end literary titles are used to amplify the elegant lifestyle they are attempting to project.
What began as a trickle of cookbooks in kitchen shops and do-it-yourself titles in hardware stores has become, in recent months, the fastest growing component in many major publishers’ retail strategies.
“It’s a way for the book business to stay alive,” said Abby Hoffman, the vice president of sales and marketing for Chronicle Books in San Francisco, which sells most of its 350 offbeat titles each year to places like high-end grocery stores, children’s clothing stores and wineries. “Anyplace that sells merchandise is a place to sell books.”
When Starbucks got into the book business last month, it hitched its brand to Mitch Albom’s latest inevitable best seller, “For One More Day,” helping propel it to the top of the lists. But the shift in the business can more clearly be seen in the sale of lower-profile authors in lower-profile settings, where the right title in the right location can make all the difference for a book that might otherwise sink without a trace.
Is this the beginning of the end for bookstores? Lots of questions. The NYTimes article has more thoughts here.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, November 2, 2006, at 9:14 AM.
Posted to Books | Publishing | Whatever
NYT: Trying Again to Make Books Obsolete
David Pogue on Sony’s latest e-book gadget:
“The market for downloadable books will grow by 400 percent in each of the next two years, to over $25 billion by 2008,” predicted the keynote speaker at the 2001 Women’s National Book Association meeting. “Within a few years after the end of this decade, e-books will be the preponderant delivery format for book content.”
Whoops.
The opening paragraphs. Should say something — which I’d summarize as a big meh. Read why.
As if we expected differently!
Posted by Giles, Monday, October 16, 2006, at 6:16 AM.
Posted to Books | Freedoms and rights | Libraries | Publishing | Technology
Google Books Highlights Banned Books
For decades, literary classics such as The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye have had a profound impact on millions of readers. Yet every year, there are hundreds of attempts to remove great books from schools and libraries nationwide. Fortunately, the American Library Association and many other organizations are fighting back with Banned Books Week, taking place this year Sept. 23-30.
Now Google has joined the party. At google.com/bannedbooks, you can use Google Book Search to explore some of the best novels of the 20th century which have been challenged or banned. And while libraries and bookstores around the country celebrate the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week with special readings, displays, and more, you just might end up with a visit to your local library or bookstore and an old favorite or a new banned book in hand.
I don’t even like typing the phrase “banned books.” Glad that Google’s drawing some attention to it — and pushing the use of libraries instead of just their offering.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, September 13, 2006, at 9:49 PM.
Posted to Ethics | Freedoms and rights | Libraries | Personal | Publishing
A Million Little Refunds
James Frey, the author who admitted making up portions of his best-selling memoir, “A Million Little Pieces,” and his publisher, Random House, have agreed in principle on a settlement with readers who filed lawsuits claiming they had been defrauded.
Neither Mr. Frey nor Random House are admitting any wrongdoing, but consumers who bought the book on or before Jan. 26 — when both the publisher and author released statements acknowledging that Mr. Frey had altered certain facts — will be eligible for a full refund, said a person familiar with the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement still has to be approved by a judge.
The NYTimes has more.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, September 7, 2006, at 9:16 PM.
Posted to Book people | Books | Ethics | Publishing
Google Book Search Allowing Downloads of Some Books
From Ars:
When Google Print was first unveiled, it was clear that the site would become an amazing resource. It provided full access to books that were already out of copyright, but only if you viewed them online, one page at a time. What people most wanted, though, was the ability to download full PDF versions of the books, which they could read or print at their leisure and on their own machines. Oh, and they wanted Google to provide this free of charge.
Google went ahead and did it. Books no longer in copyright are now available for download from the Google Book Search site.
Wow. Google strikes again, in a big way.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, joining Apple’s board is an interesting thing, too. They certainly have become the company to watch.…
Posted by Giles, Friday, September 1, 2006, at 12:36 AM.
Posted to Book sellers | Books | Computers | Freedoms and rights | Libraries | Public domain | Publishing | Technology | Writing
Second Part of Paul Buckley Interview Up
…over at Hear, Hear. Tons of great insights and stories behind covers — including some frank talk, mind the youngins — with this wonderful Penguin designer and art director.
Check out his office, too:
Always like to see someone’s office. Neat offices scare me — glad to see one that looks worked in.…
Enjoy!
Special kudos to Hear, Hear for publishing this great interview. Thank you!
Posted by Giles, Friday, July 21, 2006, at 12:41 PM.
Posted to Book design | Books, design, art | Design | Publishing | Type and typography
'Nuther Entry in the DIY Book Market
…but this time, the design’s included. More from today’s NYTimes:
When Steve Mandel, a management trainer from Santa Cruz, Calif., wants to show his friends why he stays up late to peer through a telescope, he pulls out a copy of his latest book, “Light in the Sky,” filled with pictures he has taken of distant nebulae, star clusters and galaxies.
Mr. Mandel, 56, put his book together himself with free software from Blurb.com. The 119-page edition is printed on coated paper, bound with a linen fabric hard cover, and then wrapped with a dust jacket. Anyone who wants one can buy it for $37.95, and Blurb will make a copy just for that buyer.
The print-on-demand business is gradually moving toward the center of the marketplace. What began as a way for publishers to reduce their inventory and stop wasting paper is becoming a tool for anyone who needs a bound document. Short-run presses can turn out books economically in small quantities or singly, and new software simplifies the process of designing a book.
As the technology becomes simpler, the market is expanding beyond the earliest adopters, the aspiring authors. The first companies like AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse and others pushed themselves as new models of publishing, with an eye on shaking up the dusty book business. They aimed at authors looking for someone to edit a manuscript, lay out the book and bring it to market.
The newer ventures also produce bound books, but they do not offer the same hand-holding or the same drive for the best-seller list. Blurb’s product will appeal to people searching for a publisher, but its business is aimed at anyone who needs a professional-looking book, from architects with plans to present to clients, to travelers looking to immortalize a trip.
Interesting. An amalgamation of iPhoto’s book design templates with Lulu’s printing capabilities — available to anyone, Mac or PC.
On the one hand, it’s nice to see a decentralization of the publishing world. Print-on-demand allows all sorts of projects, including academic and documentary pieces, to be published that wouldn’t have been otherwise. So this is another in a long string of Good Things™.
On the other, more people without taste — or a clue — will be able to publish their stuff, cheaply and easily. Perhaps less of a Good Thing.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, July 20, 2006, at 11:30 AM.
Posted to Book design | Book printers | Printing | Publishing | Technology
Interview with Penguin's Paul Buckley
…over at Hear, Hear:
No matter what you’re selling - a product, an idea or a skill - the presentation is just as important as the thing itself. Your customers will only do so much research (if at all) when purchasing your product, and when presented with similar choices, they will choose the one they feel most comfortable with. And that decision is most likely based on the packaging. Nothing illustrates this better than the experience of shopping for new books: before we even bother to read the description on the back of a book we have never heard of, we need to first notice the book and have enough desire to pick it up. And that decision is based on the book’s cover.
In this interview, Hear, Hear chats with an expert in book cover design - Paul Buckley, a veteran art director of one of the largest book publishers in the world, Penguin Group.
The interview will be published in two installments; the first went up yesterday (thanks for letting me know, Shawn!), while the next will be next Friday.
Some great stuff here, too, including a bunch of click-for-larger covers to get in to.… Hear, hear — nicely done!
Posted by Giles, Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 9:39 AM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book design | Book people | Books | Business | Design | Publishing | Type and typography
Independence Day, Part One
Heard how easy it is to steal an election?
On this Independence Day in America, please think about what made our nation great and one way we can working on making it great again — by supporting the Steal This Election project.
The suggested outcome? A how-to book, which as someone suggested in the comments, should be called Stealing Elections For Fun And Profit: A Practical Guide To Making Modern Democracy Work For You.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
This post is ospreydesign.com’s 2000th in the Movable Type system — not as prolific as some (or even what was originally planned here), but still, not bad for three years and change. Most of ’em are even about book design, too…;)
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, July 4, 2006, at 1:53 PM.
Posted to Ethics | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Public domain | Publishing
"Better Than Suicide"
ArsTechnica has posted a comprehensive review of Quark 7 — from an InDesign user’s perspective:
With a new face, you would hope that there would come a new heart for Quark, one capable of stopping the flow of customers it once so confidently thought it would never lose. The new text engine is a welcome, but long overdue change, and it’s hard to call things like full Opentype support and decent onscreen rendering “features” in this day and age. The addition of powerful transparency options are a boon but otherwise, the main new features in XPress 7—Collaboration Setup and Job Jackets—are not going to appeal to every user and the latter feature even misses the mark as a substitute for a preflighting tool. This while Quark still avoids basic features like drag-and-drop that people have been waiting on for years. It’s not encouraging and doesn’t say “we’ve clued in to your needs” to me.
[…] In the end, XPress 7 is good for QuarkXPress but not great compared to the competition and while I enjoy using it much more than previous versions, it doesn’t have me excited or itching to leave InDesign.
See the rest, including screen captures, specific features, and a good comparison of Quark 7 and InDesign CS2, here.
Posted by Giles, Sunday, June 25, 2006, at 8:50 PM.
Posted to Advertising | Book design | Computers | Design | Publishing | Technology | Type and typography
Interesting Press Release, Speaking of POD
A tremendous amount of stuff crosses my (virtual) desk — press releases, especially — that I just don’t have time to chase down. Usually, a quick glance is enough. This one caught my eye:
Wheatmark, Inc., an industry leading self-publishing service focused on helping authors “break through,” today announced that effective July 1, the company will double the royalty rate it pays authors on sales through its online storefront at www.wheatmark.com/bookstore. From that date the company will pay its authors an unsurpassed 40% of receipts on book sales — the highest among top-tier self-publishing and print-on-demand companies. This royalty increase will apply to all Wheatmark-published books including those prior to July 1, 2006. Book sales through third party channels affiliated with Wheatmark will continue to pay authors a 20% royalty on receipts.
“The popularity of self-publishing has increased exponentially in recent years, having become a viable mainstream option for aspiring authors,” said Sam G. Henrie, founder and president of Wheatmark and president of the Arizona Book Publishing Association. “The Internet and print-on-demand book manufacturing have fostered a new generation of ‘do-it-yourself authors’ who not only want to circumvent the hassle and protracted timeline inherent with traditional publishing houses to bring a title to market, but can also readily market books on their own, or with the help of marketing and PR contractors, online. Indeed, self-publishing is among the fastest growing sectors in the publishing industry today, and our industry-high royalty rate will help foster the burgeoning popularity of this modern-day publishing option.”
Reminder: it’s only 40% through their store, but still, an interesting move. As I’ve been discovering in recent weeks and months, the possibilities POD bring to the table are huge. I’ll be curious whether this is just a splash or the start of something larger.
Posted by Giles, Monday, June 12, 2006, at 10:07 AM.
Posted to Publishing
BEA Podcasts Available
If you weren’t able to attend BookExpo America 2006 in Washington DC this year, we now have a valuable FREE service from the show — Podcasts from BEA.
We have recorded approximately 24 of the favorite events and sessions and will release them as podcasts over the next couple of months.
Plus, our roving reporter has captured some special interviews in his quest to find out “What’s the Buzz” at BEA this year.
Please visit www.bookexpocast.com where you can subscribe to our podcast by email, iTunes or other popular podcast software. We also have a complete list of our scheduled podcast events under “Upcoming Podcasts” on the site.
I’ve spoken with a couple of people who went to BEA this year; both said it was “underwhelming” and “not as busy as usual.” Anyone else want to venture an opinion?
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, June 6, 2006, at 12:40 PM.
Posted to Book design | Book people | Book sellers | Books | Books, design, art | Business | Jobs | Publishing
Speaking of Joseph,
…must give credit for this wonderful find — and his notation of the “little plastic people” trend:
Good stuff. I like ’em all — Sarah Vowell and Will Self included.
Nicely done, Joseph!
(For the record — pun intended — the first thing that went through my mind when I saw the phrease “little plastic people” was a Little Plastic Castle. Heheh.)
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, May 31, 2006, at 11:54 AM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book design | Publishing
An Approach to RGB-CMYK Conversion
A very interesting article on one approach to CMYK conversion has been posted over at The Luminous Landscape:
I have for many years worked in the CMYK colour space for press and printer image production. In doing to I discovered the most important area for me to consider when using Photoshop for RGB to CMYK conversion for printer or press printing, was the colour space conversion set-up to ensure the correct gamut on printers and printing presses is realised. As photographers are now encompassing Photoshop as their photo manipulation software of choice to process images, there is and will continue to be a service for printer and printing press ready CMYK files to be supplied. An understanding of the printing process and its relationship with Photoshop, will greatly assist in any a users abiltiy to ensure the maintenance of image quality and gamut control throughout the printing process.
It’s aimed at pro photographers getting stuff right for print, but it’s a great tutorial for those who need a refresher and contains some excellent tidbits for all so inclined on how the “color settings” palette in Photoshop can be a very big deal indeed.
Something to chew on if it’s a slow Monday for you…;)
Posted by Giles, Monday, May 8, 2006, at 1:41 PM.
Posted to Advertising | Book design | Book printers | Computers | Design | Photography | Printing | Publishing | Technology
Covered Forever: Germano Facetti
From the UK’s Guardian:
Germano Facetti - who died, aged 77, at the weekend - probably wouldn’t have liked the idea much, but he was the master of branding long before the word entered the popular consciousness. Facetti’s book covers for Penguin, where he was art director from 1961 to 1972, gave an extraordinary unity and unmatched visual impact to a publisher already regarded by readers as a vital part of British cultural life.
One of Mr. Facetti’s covers caught my eye (pun intended…;) early in my book design career:
Thoughtfully included in their extensive gallery of book he’d designed. Definitely worth a moment’s tribute.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, April 13, 2006, at 5:01 PM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Book people | Personal | Publishing | Type and typography
Kool-Aid Never Had It So Good
Another week, another major hat tip to Joseph. This time for some Kool-Aid:
I haven’t seen it in person, But electronically — whew. That’s a 10 in my book. (Well, on my blog…;) Oh, and there’s this:
[Y]ou have to check out Toure’s Web site. How long has it been since you’ve seen the Web site-as-city metaphor? Yeah, me too. 1998.
Bonus: Hardcover (left) and paperback versions of the author’s previous title.
There’s some (soul) food for thought!
Posted by Giles, Monday, April 10, 2006, at 7:09 AM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Book design | Publishing | Type and typography
Preserved for Posterity
Found myself downright barking at a professional photographer tonight who had argued that restricting access to her work online was better than dealing with a few people out to cause trouble. I felt kinda bad afterwards; I was perhaps a little harsh. (Who? Me?)
I’m not a professional photographer, in the sense that I earn a living exclusively selling photographs, but I do sell photos, deal with photographers’ rights, and sell a creative, copyrighted or work-for-hire product/service that, while not as easily “stolen for use elsewhere,” is subject to a good deal of competition. Above-board, honest people and grab-your-ideas-and-undersell-you-later types alike.
Pushing your work farther and farther out into the world instead of walling it off clearly works. Foreword is my evidence.
Click through to Flickr and look at all the little notes by moving your mouse over the boxes on the photo. They’ll run you through all the stuff in the picture, including the icons, menu items, etc. (Warning: geek alert…;)
Sure, there are hassles. (Looking at new web servers [hosts] this week, for instance, so we can rebuild pages in the middle of the day without timeouts. You wondered why so few mid-day posts…?) It’s definitely a challenge to post regularly with the quality we’d all like to see — and that keeps traffic growing. Oh, and have I mentioned there’s still the rest of the web site to finish?
But it’s so worth it. Glad we can be here together, learning about book design. Whether it’s your first visit or your thousandth, thanks for coming by.
Posted by Giles, Monday, April 10, 2006, at 5:51 AM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book cover photography | Book design | Books, design, art | Business | Computers | Design | Ethics | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Jobs | Love | Personal | Photography | Public domain | Publishing | Site news | Technology | Type and typography | Whatever | Writing
Bookmarkable: BibioOdyssey
Via BoingBoing comes this fascinating look at books, illustrations, science and history — including lots and lots of historic photos and illustrations, great reading, and tidbits like this:
A History of Color Systems. The above illustration is by Philipp Otto Runge, from 1810, for instance; the text includes ten other historical illustrations and several other reference sources. Very cool.
Check it out.
Posted by Giles, Friday, March 31, 2006, at 2:04 PM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Books | Books, design, art | Design | Printing | Publishing | Type and typography | Whatever
Cartoon Modern: Final Cover
Todd wrote tonight, asking:
My memory fails me, didn’t you blog about this a while back? …[I]t would be worth posting an update, the cover is looking great.
Yes, I did — and couldn’t agree more, it is looking great:
There are a great many comments at the introduction page, but let me add a few: I like the font choices, love the subtitle and author treatment on the front, like the little details like the handling of the bar code and publisher logo on the full version, and like the smaller cartoons. Only the cityscape on the back stands out as being “too different” for me, but I’m not an expert on the style (and the author says it fits).
Cover design by Brent McFadden. Nicely done, folks!
Posted by Giles, Monday, March 27, 2006, at 8:12 PM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book design | Book people | Publishing
Anybody in Vancouver?
Here’s an event if you are:
Glenn Goluska trains three decades of experience on his upcoming lecture Lead, Wood, and Laser: 30 Years of the Book, Design & Typography. Cosponsored by the Alcuin Society and host venue the Vancouver Museum, this 7 p.m. event next Thursday (March 30) should touch on Goluska’s stints at groundbreaking Toronto publisher Coach House Press, at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, where he designed exhibition catalogues and posters, and at Imprimerie Dromadaire, which Goluska has run off and on since 1975. As if that weren’t enough, The Elements of Typographic Style guru Robert Bringhurst introduces. To reserve, call 604-734-7368.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, March 23, 2006, at 4:28 PM.
Posted to Book design | Book people | Books, design, art | Publishing | Type and typography
The Search's Copyright: A Good Discussion
Tom Evslin, author of hackoff.com, mentioned not too long ago, has a good conversation with John Battelle, author of The Search — which is about Google et al — regarding the copyright warning in his book:
This warning seems directly aimed at Google Book Search, a project which intends to scan the collections of some of the world’s great libraries and make them searchable online. Now you can find similar language on the copyright page of lots of books but John Battelle is a known strong supporter of the value of having almost everything searchable as anyone who reads either his book or his blog knows.
So I emailed John and asked him about the apparent contradiction. He said the decision was the publisher’s (Penguin) decision to make but “I totally disagree with it.” Of course, at the time he signed his contract with Penguin, no one knew that this issue would exist. He readily agreed to talk to me it.
Tom also notes that hackoff.com has been selected for the short-list of titles being considered in the fiction category for the Lulu Blooker Prize. Congrats.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, March 9, 2006, at 1:18 PM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book people | Book prizes | Books | Business | Computers | Ethics | Freedoms and rights | Libraries | Public domain | Publishing | Technology
Theme of the London Book Fair
…was “what technology can do,” says the New York Times.
Margaret Atwood’s robotic arm seems especially amusing.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 11:35 AM.
Posted to Book people | Book sellers | Books | Business | Publishing | Technology
Software Conflict 2.0
Closed out Software Conflict 2.0 for new publisher developer.* Books — that’s pronounced “developer-dot-star,” by the way — and wanted to thank owners Dan and Gayle for selecting this title. It’s rare that I enjoy the text being formatted into book form as much as I did here; Robert Glass is a talented and insightful essayist.
As I mentioned when the cover was posted, it’s an interesting size, too: 7.5 x 9.25. Chosen as a nod to the myriad of software “how-to” titles out there, it makes for a comfortable interior page:
Software Conflict 2.0. Available soon.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 10:33 AM.
Posted to Book design | Book people | Computers | Personal | Publishing | Technology | Type and typography | Whatever
Covers You Love Today
Raimonds writes:
I enjoy reading your book design blog, and this is the book cover I love today:
Vintage look is well made with this font.
No arguments here — No Starch’s computer how-to series are the best out there that I’ve seen. (Less sure about Just Say No to Microsoft.)
Been using that font myself a bit recently. Pop quiz: what is it?
Thanks, RK!
Posted by Giles, Friday, February 24, 2006, at 1:22 AM.
Posted to Book design | Computers | Publishing | Technology | Type and typography
BEA Reminder
Email from Book Expo America today reminding us that this years’ show is May 19-21. Anybody know if they’re going yet? (I don’t plan to, but.…)
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, February 22, 2006, at 2:45 PM.
Posted to Books | Books, design, art | Business | Jobs | Publishing
Foreword: Connecting Point
Kelly Evans writes:
As I was searching for a cover designer for hackoff.com, I spent a good deal of time on your site. It inspired me and led me to the AIGA website where I found our designer. Long story short, I am just thrilled with the job our designer Rodrigo Corral did!
So I just wanted to email and say thank you so much!
Yeah, that Rodrigo Corral.
The newspaper “look” is tough. (I’ve yet to do one I like, for instance.) This one’s nice when cropped — the ink treatment in the author box is a deft touch — but looks especially good when you can see the whole jacket:
Kelly, it’s our pleasure to have those resources and to be able to help you make those connections with the book design professionals you need. Thank you.
Posted by Giles, Friday, February 17, 2006, at 12:55 PM.
Posted to Advertising | Book and design blogs | Book design | Books, design, art | Business | Design | Publishing | Site news
Book Design and the Spirit of Magritte
Karl Baden writes:
The book exhibition La Culture des Idées: Book design and the spirit of Magritte is currently on display through March 19, 2006, in the atrium of Bapst Art Library, on the campus of Boston College.
These are not Magrittes; the book covers in this exhibition are inspired by him, and appropriate his imagery. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Magritte might be said to be one of the most flattered of artists. The skeptical Walloon undoubtedly would have had something to say on this topic, however.
René Magritte (1898-1967) was the most important Belgian Surrealist; he transcends his national origins, and has become an artist of the world. His art was dedicated to the freedom of thought, and continues to have broad appeal to artists and members of the public who delight in the aesthetics of surprise. At the conclusion of his 1928 novel of mad love, Nadja, André Breton defined the essential quality of Surrealist art as “convulsive beauty” – “Beauty will be convulsive, or it will not be at all.”
The exhibition is free and open to the public — if you’re in or near Boston, enjoy!
Thanks, Karl.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, February 15, 2006, at 3:55 PM.
Posted to Book design | Book people | Book prizes | Books, design, art | Photography | Publishing
Widen the Debate
Blatently stolen from Joseph, because it’s such a great question:
Well, this should spur some debate. Would you feel comfortable designing this? Under what circumstances?
Let’s talk about it! Here or there, leave a comment. Thanks.
Posted by Giles, Monday, January 23, 2006, at 11:14 AM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book design | Books | Books, design, art | Ethics | Personal | Publishing | Whatever
Follow-Ups
Trying to break the (bad) habit of posting at four in the morning. Wish me luck…;)
If you haven’t alredy, read yesterday’s entry first. Thanks.
1. The poster went down in flames today. One word: “groupthink.” Monica defended it well, I understand, but that’s the way it goes. They’re going to pick another photo and we’ll try again. (Will save the details for another time, heheh.)
2. Managed to get through the missive last night without mentioning Google. Foreword is the #1 response to a search for book design, with or without quotes. Ahead of Amazon! That’s seriously cool.
That’s also exactly why I’d love to spur more conversation. The description on Google, a community in the service of books and book design, is exactly the purpose. Yes, it’s about me. But it’s also about Todd, Chip, Joseph, J., Amanda, and so many others, past, present, and future. Us. A diverse “community,” in the best sense of the word.
3. I don’t feel the “arrogant American” thing was worded well. I absolutely do not care where you physically work from, what language you grew up speaking, what color you are, or how you live your life. I do care about the quality of your work a great deal, however. And I want to help make it better. Because I learn — we all learn — as part of that process.
No matter who you are or where you’re from, if you’re here, it’s for the same reason I am: to have a greater knowledge and understanding of book design.
When I said “quest for expertise,” I meant “collective quest.” By posting a comment that brings an idea to the table, we all benefit. Good design ideas can, thankfully, transcend cultures — someone, somewhere, will look at that idea, and it will lead to another.
For freelancers in a trade such as book design, the internet is the great equalizer. It no longer matters where you live, only that you know what you’re doing. But that doesn’t remove culture.
Foreword is American-centric because the posters and active commenters are mostly American. I’d love to broaden that — we’d all benefit. Bring something to the table, though. Don’t just ask how to do it. Get involved in how to do it. That’s why we’re all here. Let’s share those ideas.
4. Speaking of sharing, I welcome feedback and ideas for improving how this site actually functions. The redesign includes some improvement in code related to comment moderation and posting, but will mostly be a visual thing. I’m currently going around (and around) regarding “quickie” posts; whether I’d do enough “Hey, this is cool…” posts to justify a third column and the CSS tricks necessary to do that properly. Probably not. Site loading speed’s a consideration, too. Simple code with striking visuals (well, and good posts…;) works best for me.
Now is the best time to talk about it. What would you like to see next? Leave a comment.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, January 19, 2006, at 10:46 PM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Book cover photography | Book design | Books | Books, design, art | Business | Design | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Photography | Publishing | Site news | Whatever | Writing
Holtzbrinck Gets Smart
and starts Podcasting!
Does anyone know of any other publishers who are doing this? Is Holtzbrinck the first? Why aren’t smaller, er, hipper publishers like Soft Skull and Vertical doing this? And what about independent bookstores? I’d love to listen to a weekly Podcast from Goerings in Gainesville or Lighthouse Books in St. Petersburg.
via BoingBoing
Posted by , Wednesday, September 7, 2005, at 6:18 AM.
Posted to Publishing
I beg of you, please help me II
For the past three weeks I have submitted countless printing quote requests for a small run 4-color gift book. I have requested quotes from American and overseas printers and am getting absolutely no responses—no phone calls, no e-mails, nothing.
Can anyone please help me at amanda(at)ospreydesign.com with a specific name of sales rep who handles such printing jobs?
Obviously, this is really embarrassing and time-consuming.
Posted by , Friday, July 29, 2005, at 10:52 AM.
Posted to Publishing
13-Digit ISBN
Thanks Evan for updating us on this issue. It deserves a fresh entry.
From Evan this morning:
We’re starting to make the transition, adding the 13-digit in conjunction with the old ISBN.
If you want an applescript that will convert your old ISBNs, there’s one here:
If you want to use an online converter (I have, because I don’t fully trust the applescript) there’s the converter from ISBN.org.
Also, go here for more on the new ISBN regulations or e-mail isbnrevision(at)bowker.com with your questions/concerns.
Posted by , Friday, July 29, 2005, at 10:34 AM.
Posted to Publishing