Tag Archives: books

Top Five: Book Covers

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I’ve been thinking a lot about book design lately, hence this Top Five Favorite Book Covers post. I also decided to limit my selections to only books from my own collection, otherwise the pool is much too vast to chose from in a timely matter.

(all book covers are shown below)

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, Jacket art by Carson Ellis. There are several things I love about this cover, but above all I love that it instantly established itself as a book I must read, and a book I knew I would love. Yes, that’s Judging A Book By Its Cover at its most primal. But I admit it. I was hooked. Next, and most likely the reality behind reason 1, is that the art style channels my favorite artist, Edward Gorey. The art reveals so much about what to expect from the book – that it’s fun, quirky, mischievous, charming, adventurous and mysterious. And it reveals details about the characters that we find out in the book. I frequently turned back while reading to gaze at the cover.

2. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, Jacket design by Paul Buckley. I love the contrast between the bright red and black squares with modern design, and the tan band that’s much more classic. I suppose if you wanted to dig deep you could say the traditional design of the tan band represents Blue’s upbringing and father, a little stuffy and classic, and the other, colorful boxes represent her new school friends and Hannah. I like the “Ex Libris” bookplate for the author’s name. Overall it’s a great package that really pops off the shelf and makes you want to pick it up and read.

Side note: However much I like the US cover, I felt jipped when I saw the beauty of Christopher Silas’s Penguin UK edition of the book. That is the style of art that I go nuts for.  (Shown below)


3. Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, Jacket design by Anne Chalmers. This cover starts the book with a bang, and I love it. It’s very bold, just like the story. It’s also very unusual, just like the story. It does a great job of conveying the craziness and shenanigans that are going to occur inside. On the cover of the paperback, the barcode is actual right on the front, stuck in crooked between the words. I love that.

4. The Paris Review Interviews, Vol. 1, Jacket design by Henry Sene Yee. Mainly I just love the beauty of the quotation marks, with the text inside. Everything is perfectly balanced, and the color choices are excellent. A great piece of graphic design. The design would work well on a poster too.

5. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, Jacket painting by Komar & Melamid. This book, as with each of the others on this list, immediately told me that I needed to buy this book, that this book was for someone like me. Simple and gorgeous typography set on a beautiful painting. Just like the title, the complete cover is almost mockingly self important, it goes just far enough to look suspiciously attractive, while secretly not taking itself seriously. That’s the joke. And it’s brilliant.

A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS
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The Yiddish Policemen's Union

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The Michael Chabon signing was pleasant. There was one obnoxious person who felt he had to ask a dumb/embarrassing question to kick things off. But overall it was good, and I’m excited to read the book.

I probably won’t get to it for a while; there are a lot of other books on my plate first. And Reading Like a Writer is adding dozens of books to my To Be Read pile every chapter. The most recent addition is I Sailed With Magellan, by Stuart Dybek. He’s from my hometown in Michigan, and I think this book of short stories is going to be excellent.

I Sailed with Magellan
Stuart Dybek
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Top Five: Caldecott Books

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Last summer I completed my quest of reading all 69 Caldecott Medal winners. Since then, one of my favorite children’s book authors and illustrators, David Wiesner, won the 2007 Caldecott Medal for Flotsam.

The Caldecott Medal is primarily recognition for outstanding art and illustrations, though how these illustrations work with the text of the book is a factor in its excellence. In my own list of favorites, text plays heavily into how much I like the book – almost equal in importance. Thus my list is more of a list of my picks for all around brilliance and personal all time favorites out of the 70 Medal winners.

1. Where the Wild Things Are written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. (1964 Medal)
This is one of the most beloved children’s books of all time, and holds top spot in my heart as well. Every word, picture, and detail is imaginative and perfect.

2. Many Moons written by James Thurber and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. (1944 Medal)
James Thurber is just as brilliant and funny while telling a children’s story. Slobodkin’s pen and color illustrations are squiggly and charming. I have no idea why someone felt the need to release a later version with different illustrations. Why redo a Caldecott winner? This is the story of a Princess named Lenore who is sick and wants the moon to make her feel well again. The story is hilarious, and the moral is wise: perspective is everything.

3. May I Bring a Friend? written by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers and illustrated by Beni Montresor. (1965 Medal)
This is a cute story of a king and queen who are friends with a small boy and invite him to meals. The boy always asks if he can bring a friend. The answer is always yes, even though he keeps bringing zoo animals as his guests! The illustrations are grand and expressive – they do a great job showing how over the top and funny it is to have animals at the dinner table.

4. Fables written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. (1981 Medal)
I love Arnold Lobel (the imagination behind Frog and Toad), and this book is my favorite of his. Each spread is a different fable, one side for the story, and one side for the accompanying illustration. The fables are funny and creative, and they each have a fitting moral at the end. The illustrations are of the same beautiful style as the Frog and Toad books.

5. Song and Dance Man written by Karen Ackerman and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. (1989 Medal)
This is a beautifully sweet story of a grandfather revisiting his youthful days to people who appreciate it as if it were new: his grandchildren. Grandpa was a vaudeville song and dance man, and revives his music and jokes to entertain his loving audience of three. The illustrations are gorgeous and creative, with lots of bright colors.

Song and Dance Man Fables Many Moons May I Bring a Friend? Where the Wild Things Are


I haven’t read all the Caldecott Honor books yet (there are 221) but here is my Top Five so far:

1. Sector 7 written and illustrated by David Wiesner (2000 Honor)
2. Zen Shorts written and illustrated by Jon J. Muth (2006 Honor)
3. What Do You Say, Dear? written by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Maurice Sendak (1959 Honor)
4. Peppe the Lamplighter written by Elisa Barton and illustrated by Ted Lewin (1994 Honor)
5. Lion written and illustrated by William Pene de Bois (1957 Honor)

Zen Shorts (Caldecott Honor Book) Sector 7 (Caldecott Honor Book) Peppe the Lamplighter What Do You Say, Dear? Lion
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Vox Hunt: It's Been With Me Forever

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Show us something you’ve had for a really long time.
Submitted by dee.

If I were at home, I would have a lot more very old things to pick from. But after looking around my apartment, it seems clear that, besides my body, this copy of Where the Wild Things Are is the thing I’ve had for the longest amount of time. I’ve had it since I was quite small. When I got a little older and became interested in using all my books for a pretend library, I made a date due slip and glued it in the back of this book. I guess I was a little distracted while writing it, because I forgot the word “Wild” – thus it says “Where the Things Are” on the slip.

I still frequently wonder Where The Things Are.

This is still one of my favorite children’s books of all time, and eventually I’ll buy a nice hardcover copy with the caldecott medal on it. But I will never get rid of this old, trusty paperback copy.

"Date Due Slip"
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Recent Purchases

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While I was in Michigan last weekend I bought Fates Worse than Death by Kurt Vonnegut. I have several Vonnegut novels that I still haven’t read, but I wanted to purchase Palm Sunday and Fates Worse Than Death to read next because they are autobiographical, and I feel like reading more about him as a person right now. Today I ordered Palm Sunday from Barnes and Noble.

Also this weekend, I saw The Annotated Pride and Prejudice at Schuller’s. I browsed through it quite a bit in the store, and it looks really good. Each page of the novel has an accompanying full page of notes about historical context, interesting observations, and references. I’ve been wanting to re-read Pride and Prejudice, and I think this will be a great way to do so. I found a copy at Strand for 50% off.

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Vox Hunt: It's All True

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Book:  Show us a great non-fiction book.

I love how funny this book is while still being incredibly interesting and informative. It’s a solid report of the science behind the creation of the universe and our planet. Making it completely entertaining as well is something only Bill Bryson could pull off.

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Chabon, Rowling, and Clinqiue Happy

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Tonight I finished The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. It was incredibly good. I recommend this book, but must offer a warning: it’s a long, rich, epic book. Make sure you’re in the mood/able to read such a book whenever you decide to start it. That being said, it’s definitely not a drudge to read. It moves quickly and you won’t want to put it down for too long.

Michael Chabon is a gifted writer, and makes every page of this book a pleasure to read. His characters come alive and each win your heart in their own way. The subject matter (comic books, among other things) and the period in history (WWII era) work together for incredibly fascinating read. Even for someone like me, whose love for comics only went so far as Archie before picking up this novel.

Now I’m reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I need to pick up the pace if I’m going to accomplish my goal of re-reading the first six Harry Potter books before July 21. I should try to be done with 3 and 4 before the end of April.

In other news, Clinique has something fun going on right now. You can send a happy video to a friend (it’s like a e-card) and for every e-card you send, Clinique will donate $1 to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Plus, just for sending a video, you get a coupon to print out and redeem for a free Clinique Happy purse spray. Pretty fun promotion, I think.

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On my nightstand 3.31.07

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I’ve seen cool features on other book blogs where you take pictures (or describe) what books are on your nightstand. This is not at all a picture or description of everything on your To Be Read List, but just a picture of what things you keep by your bed for daily or frequent reading. Mine usually has my copy of Good Poems, and my copy of The Intellectual Devotional. I try to read at least one poem and one entry in the I.D. each evening. I also have the book I’m currently reading (Right now, still The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) as well as some lighter books to read right before bed. (Currently Winnie The Pooh.) Mine also has Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban because I’m going to start re-reading that next. Post yours too, if interested! I’ll update this when it significantly changes.

Nightstand 3.31.07
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