Scanwiches

I'm starving and this post really isn't helping but I love this book! "Scanwiches" is a book that came from a beautiful blog. The book won't be relased by powerHouse Books until September but it is available for pre-order now.

Here are some of my latest favorites from the blog:

Yum!

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You Can't Give Bees As A Gift

For some reason, one of my favorite scenes from Arrested Development seems to be popping up everywhere lately. So, here is an ode to Lindsay and Gob Bluth's best entrepreneur endeavors.

And the video in case you're confused:



( bees / beads )

GOOD MONDAYS: Chicago Underground Library

I love living in Chicago. I love print media. I love libraries. I think I might also love Chicago Underground Library.

CUL is a collection of Chicago-specific media produced by and for the community. They archive books, magazines, zines, journals, broadsides, newspapers and art books of all types, genres and print runs from the Windy City area.

According to their website, their obsessive archiving "keeps records of everyone who contributed to a work, as well as keywording every subject, allows us to map the evolution (historically and contemporaneously) of Chicago’s communities and movements and encourage the production of new media by providing context, inspiration, and programming designed to support collaboration." Sounds pretty great to me.

CUL recently went mobile (library copter!) and is looking for a new home. Until they find a permanent location, they are doing pop-up libraries in Chicago's neighborhoods.

If you'd like help them find a home and really help them build and serve community, you can donate via PayPal. Or, if your wallet is looking a little slim lately, why not volunteer? Or both?!

CLICK HERE to learn more about CUL.


(CUL / books)

We Are the Friction

"We Are the Friction" is a collection of illustration and short fiction from Sing Statistics and it is really pretty.

The book features work by 12 pairs of illustrators and writers, including Ray Fenwick and Frank Chimero.

Unfortunately, "We Are the Friction" was released in 2009 and has since sold out. Bummer. The good news is Sing Statistics seems to have a few more books in the works.

(images / found via I Love Charts)

Bossypants

My mom goes WAY out for Easter baskets. Not just candy, but things like gift cards, coloring books and silly toys and coffee mugs. This year I found Tina Fey's "Bossypants" in my basket.

This cover is just so awkward and awesome, just like Liz Lemon (cover photo by Ruven Afanador, design by Mario J. Pulice).

I can't wait to read this. First, I need to finish "Kidnapped", which I keep forgetting about. Whoops!

Hampus Jageland

Hampus Jageland created this new identity design for RIF / Reading Is Fundamental as a student project. RIF is a non-profit that promotes literacy in America.

CLICK HERE to view more work by Hampus.


(images / found via Graphic ExchanGE)

Karl Lagerfeld & Book Smells

I am a little bit in love with Karl Lagerfeld's library. No matter how many times I see a photo of it, it still makes me swoon.

Now there is a rumor that Karl is creating a perfume that smells like books. Apparently it will be called Paper Passion and will come packaged as a hardcover book.

You can learn more over at StyleCaster.

(images via The Selby / found via Powell's)

Loose Leaf

So Loose Leaf isn't technically a book, but I like it too much to not mention it.

Loose Leaf is a collaborative effort curated in San Francisco. The first edition is San Francisco focused, with work by artists who live in the area or produce work inspired by the area. First issue contributors include Jeff Canham, Dave Eggers, Dwight Eschliman, Mark Giglio, Jake Longstreth, Michelle McCarron, Richard Misrach, Louisa Parris and Andrew Zuckerman.

The first issue has 10 sheets and comes with push pins so Loose Leaf can be experienced instead of just stored away. And on the back of each sheet, the artists lists what hangs on their walls.

I didn't realize how large Loose Leaf was until I watched the video below:


Loose Leaf - Edition One from Manual on Vimeo.

Something else I appreciate about Loose Leaf is the dedication to keeping things local. The paper and printer partners are both Bay Area based.

(all images / found via Creative Review)

Ferocious Quarterly

I love Twitter. I know people can tend to tweet some pretty boring things like pictures of their lunch (and I'm a guilty party) but Twitter has become such an amazing platform when used properly. Just this morning, I learned via my Twitter feed about a house fire in Detroit, that Jonathan Franzen keeps weed in his freezer and about this awesome publication called Ferocious Quarterly.

Ferocious Quarterly combines the work of illustrators, graphic artists and writers to create a nice kind-of quarterly publication (according to their website, the folks at Ferocious decided Quarterly sounded better than here-and-there). I am always a fan of all-things Mid-West and it just so happens FQ is curated by a group of friends in Indiana. So far there have been two issues of FQ and work for the third is being collected.

The covers really do the art inside justice. To see photos of the inside of each issue and for more information on FQ, click through the jump.


(all images are Ferocious / found via a Megabolt tweet)

At the Fights

I am really loving the cover for "At the Fights: American Writers on Boxing".

Not only is it simple, but it is hauntingly eerie; the sounds of a boxing match seem to echo through the cover image. I can't figure out who designed the cover but I'd love to know. I think the lights at the top are a great touch and I love the strong type used.

I've never been very interested in boxing but I would really love to own this collection.

(via Uncrate / img)

VJ Movement Book

Trapped in Suburbia is an agency of visual communication and creative concepts based in The Netherlands. As a journalist, one of my favorite projects from TiS has been the VJ Movement Book.

As described on the TiS website,

VJ Movement gives journalist around the world the opportunity to show their stories and tell their truths. Everyone can join the VJ Movement and pitch their story ideas to the journalists. If you want to hear more about a certain topic because you can’t see this on the regular news, you can pitch your idea. If your idea get the most votes, a professional VJ journalist will report the story for you and it will be published online.

The book was created by TiS along with an identity package and website. I didn't know about VJ Movement before Trapped in Suburbia and I'm really glad to have discovered it. The VJ belief that there is more than one truth, more than one side to a story, means they offer up more than one perspective on issues and let the user decide what the truth is. 



The group consists of 150 professional visual journalists and cartoonists from around the world, who use outside input and collaboration to tackle serious topics that don't always get the attention they deserve from mainstream media. Projects range from covering Same Sex Marriage to Child Labor to Press Freedom, and more. 


To learn more about Trapped in Suburbia and view their other wonderful work, CLICK HERE. To learn more about the VJ Movement, view their projects and even become a contributor, CLICK HERE.

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Hitchcock Novel Set

Sheldon Hui created this super unique Alfred Hitchcock novel set that is definitely pretty to look at. Hui designed the set around the idea that the novels were really the original screenplays for Hitchcock's films. Not only do the novels come in nice envelopes, they have great covers.

I love the illusion of the binding and the worn look of the covers.

You can see more work by Sheldon Hui by CLICKING HERE.

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Megabolt

So, here's something good for your Monday: Megabolt Sketchbooks.

Reading the story behind Megabolt is bound to bring a tear to your eye (in a good way) and make your heart soften a little. Megabolt was founded by a group of friends determined to take action instead of just talking about doing something good. Through the power of art and community, they are raising money for children in hospitals, while also inspiring them to keep fighting their illnesses.

When you buy one of their sketchbooks, they also send one to a child in a hospital. The sketchbooks are paired so you know exactly who gets your other sketchbook. Once the kiddo completes their sketchbook, their artwork is uploaded to the Megabolt website for you to flip through. How awesome!

You can purchase your sketchbook by CLICKING HERE.

(all images; found via Fine Little Day)

Speaking of Warhol...

Speaking of Andy Warhol, look at these catalogue of the artist's work from Phaidon.

The catalogue is in two volumes, and the second volume includes two books. I'd love to have the set on my bookshelf or coffee table.

Always great things from Phaidon; Great design and packaging by Julia Hasting.

(all images; found via Art Union)

Rorschach

Hey, remember when I posted about that awesome Jay-Z book, "Decoded"? Well I saw the original Warhol painting that is featured on the cover in person while I was at MoMA.



I had no idea how large the painting was. Check out the girl in the corner of my picture who isn't even half the height of the canvas.

I still haven't bought or read the book, but it remains on my to-read list.

Review: Fahrenheit 451

I'll be honest, I thought "Fahrenheit 451" was going to be one of those books I heard so much hype over that it disappointed me in the end. Bradbury surprised me, though. I started the book a few days before I left for New York and finished it on the plane, leading me to think about it during my entire trip. I even went back through to re-read some passages and marked some things to remember, so I hope this review says something you haven't already heard about "Fahrenheit 451".

I also really love the cover on the copy I own, designed by Joseph Mugnaini.  I love the type, the colors and the illustration. Really great stuff.

To read the review and some of my favorite pieces click through the jump.

Moleskine + Le Petit Prince

Moleskine always finds new wonderful things to merge with. In February, they released the Limited Edition Le Petit Prince Moleskine Collection.

And here's a promo video from Moleskine:



I don't believe this is currently available in the US yet, but I expect it should be shortly. What a cute notebook. This definitely inspired me to pull out my old copy of "The Little Prince" and read a few chapters. 

Thanks to Jaimie for sending me the video for this!

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Poe Recovered

Richard Arthur Stewart, a.k.a. Commoner Inc, read a few Edgar Allen Poe stories, deemed Poe "epic" and redesigned some covers for the king of terror tales.


My absolute favorite is for "The Black Cat" (but maybe that is just because I like my cat so much). 

Pretty sweet stuff. Definitely inspired me to reread some Poe tonight (and possibly have nightmares). Stewart's other work is equally as impressive. Check it out here.

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Firework Studies

My birthday is on July 2 and when I was younger, I though the fireworks on the 4th of July were for me. I've come to understand that they are not (unfortunately) but have still kept my love for fireworks anyway.

Pierre Le Hors' "Firework Studies" is a book of photos of fireworks, all in black and white.

 On his website, Pierre writes

firework studies is a book compiling photographs of fireworks in the night sky. by constraining nearly all tonal values to stark blacks and pure whites, the trails, explosions and clouds of debris are reduced to a series of simple repeated formal elements: arced lines, spherical bursts, and randomly dispersed particles. i made no effort to limit digital artifacts resulting from pushing the image files past their conventional range; the resulting noise becomes hard to distinguish from the texture of the fireworks themselves.

The book is available from Hassla for $35. CLICK HERE to see the book flipped through in its entirety if you still need to be convinced that "Firework Studies" is beautiful.

(book / fireworks / found via Black Journal)

Review: May Day

I finished reading "Fahrenheit 451" on my way to New York (review coming soon!) and needed a book for the plane ride back to Chicago, so while I was at BOOKMARC, I picked up a F. Scott Fitzgerald novella. OBVIOUSLY this book caught my eye for the cover.

"May Day" is part of the "The Art of the Novella" series from Melville House, and BOOKMARC sold about three different stories from it. The covers for the series are so simple and in various bold colors, and reminded me of the Wallpaper* City Guides I collect. I'd love to see them all lined up on my bookshelf, or in this lovely gift tote bag (hint hint):

Anyway, Fitzgerald made me fall in love with the idea of the novella. I could not put this book down and was annoyed with any interruptions. I finished it before we were even half-way to Chicago and wanted to read it over and over again. In fact, I may have just convinced myself to read it again tonight.

One of the reasons I loved this work was the way it was told. Fitzgerald writes of the May Day riots of 1919 through the experiences of characters at different levels of the social ladder. The characters experiences gradually weave together to create a story that escalates quickly and doesn't disappoint the reader in the end.

The girl who rang me up at BOOKMARC told me she absolutely loved this story, but that it was a little darker than Fitzgerald's other work. I agree. Although this story involves a lot of partying and nonsense, there is a sort of sad tone throughout the piece.

I don't want to spoil anything because I'd really love for everyone to read this. You can read the entire novella online by CLICKING HERE, thanks to the University of South Carolina.

I'd like to hear what other people thought about "May Day". So if you've read it, leave a comment with your own little review.

BOOKMARC

I had such a great time in New York. One of the highlights was definitely the drizzly afternoon Chase and I spent wandering until we came across Magnolia Bakery (one of his favorites). I didn't even notice the little Marc Jacobs bookstore across the street until we walked out of Magnolia, but it seemed perfect that the two were right next to each other. Chase is in the pastry business and I am clearly eager to go to any and every bookshop.

I walked out of BOOKMARC with a F. Scott Fitzgerald novella, which I'll be posting a review for later, and a nice little necklace. I am so proud of myself for being a responsible shopper because there were about fifteen books I wanted to buy there.

Also, I have to mention the staff at BOOKMARC, who were so friendly. They made the tiny little store feel cozy instead of cramped and like a one-of-a-kind experience instead of part of the huge world of Marc Jacobs.

(all images mine)