Breaking Bad reimagined as a Penguin Classic

I'm a serious Breaking Bad addict, bitch. So I obviously very much love this:

I found this on Tumblr (Thank you, Aaron) but after much Googling, still couldn't figure out the creator. If you know who made this beautiful thing, comment and let me know!

ps. this is how I feel when artists don't get the credit they deserve:

Election 2012

Happy Election Day everyone! 

I woke up super early this morning to vote before work and loved it. It was my first time not using an absentee ballot and I very nerdily enjoyed completing the arrows next to each candidate's name. I even wrote a super sappy piece about it for my local paper (which is also part of the company where I work), Chicago Journal.

After work I'll be joining the same friends I went to the polls with for an election watch party and some red, white and blue food and sangria (of course). But really, part of me just wants to choose a book off of Penguin's Election 2012 list and have myself a patriotic reading party.

There are a lot of great books on this list, from writers in both parties, but let's get serious. The real winners here are those awesome Civic Classics covers. According to Booketing, the cover design is by Sabrina Bowers of Penguin but that cover for the Declaration of Independence instantly reminded me of the work of Dan Cassaro.

Here's a closer work (via Penguin's Tumblr):

I love the lack of color and the simplicity of these covers. They also follow a lot of design trends we've been seeing so much of lately (ribbon, giant X's, diamond shapes, etc). Of course I'd love to own the whole set.

Okay, GO VOTE.

Plus, one of my favorite books with a warning message about government
and the importance of historical context.

Daily Drop Cap Penguin Classics

I've been a fan of Jessica Hische's Daily Drop Cap project since it's beginning. I've even purchased a few prints as wedding gifts for friends. So of course I'm very excited to see her drop cap talent going towards Penguin Classics covers. Match made in book cover heaven.

According to her Twitter, Hische worked with Paul Buckley on the covers and I think they look great so far. Some of the color combinations aren't my favorite but seeing as my lettering talent is near zero, I have slim room to criticize. I can not wait to see the rest of the alphabet.

More wonderful work by Hische
& the Top 10 Essential Penguin Classics

(images via imprint)

Mugs and Books

I need to do a lil' bit of bragging for a minute, because I really never win contests. So here we go... 

About a month ago I entered a little contest over on the Penguin Books Facebook page called "Mugs and Books Go Hand in Hand". Basically you just had to upload a photo of your favorite mug and book spending a lil' time together. I entered this photo and was one of the winners! Which means I am now the proud owner of this Penguin Classics mug.

So cute. And I think I got pretty lucky with the book on my mug (I secretly wanted to beg for anything except Jane Eyre).

You can find the rest of the mugs here, along with other fun Penguin merch.

More Penguin love, plus some cheeky matchboxes.

Fab and Penguin

First of all, if you are a design nerd like me and aren't on Fab.com yet, you should be. And you should probably hurry to sign up because their sale on Penguin Classics Graphic Deluxe Editions ends in two days. Each book is about $8-12, down from the $16 retail price.

All the covers from the set are really beautiful but here are a few of my favorites:

Illustrators
The Three Musketeers | Tom Gauld
The Jungle | Charles Burns
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Lilli Carre
White Noise | Michael Cho 

To see all of the books on sale, CLICK HERE. To see more of the Graphic Deluxe Editions, CLICK HERE.

And seriously, join Fab.

(all images Penguin)

Penguin Postcards, again!

Last month I posted my interview with Alan Trotter about his video work for Penguin's Mini Modern Classics. Alan's videos did a great job of showing off how great this series is and how simple and perfect the design for the Modern Classics is.

And now there are postcards to go along with the books. Because, you know, I really needed more Penguin goods to pine over.

I really love these black and white portraits used for the covers of the modern classics and its so nice to see them as postcards, too. They aren't available yet, but keep checking the Penguin shop!

And of course, Penguin already has this lovely set of postcards for their classics.

(found via Classic Penguins Twitter feed)

INTERVIEW: Alan Trotter

Back in July, I received an e-mail from the wonderful Alan Trotter, letting me know about a video project he was working on for Penguin's new line of Mini Modern Classics. The concept for the new classics line reminded me a lot of Melville House's Art of the Novella series, but that's not to say Penguin isn't doing something great here. 

Alan was kind enough to answer a few questions for me about his work with Penguin and the process of putting these videos together.

To Be Shelved: For myself, and I'm assuming many other people as well, "Penguin Classics" are such a well-known, trusted collection that somehow seems to be more part of the past than the present. And to me, video is very much a present and future medium. How did you bring that beloved spirit of Penguin into the videos?
Alan Trotter: It's hard, for me anyway and my guess is for other people like me, to imagine a cultural landscape without Penguin Classics, and I think (I hope) that's what you mean when you say it's 'part of the past'. It's such an institution at this point that it's easy to take it for granted. But so much care and attention goes into good publishing, and a lot of it not immediately obvious to readers, that making the videos seemed like a good way to draw out all that hard behind-the-scenes work, all the thought and rigour that goes into everything from the blurb to the selection of author photograph and from the design of the series to the proofreading...
   So for example there's an artworker who had to adjust by hand the letter-spacing of each of the fifty quotes that are on page one of the fifty books, because the typeface they're set in looks better when it's tightly kerned. So there's a willingness to do a lot of work on every last detail because the books deserve it.
    And I think the 'spirit of Penguin' comes from that kind of dedication, and the videos are hopefully capturing some of that dedication, as well as the pleasure everyone involved feels in getting to work with truly great books.

TBS: How did you decide what to include and what not to include in these videos?
AT: Really it was just a case of speaking to everyone I could who was working on them in Penguin, and going out to the printers to film the books being printed, and then the editing process is largely a matter of condensing everything down in a coherent way.

TBS: I love the music you've placed with the videos. How did you choose that?
AT: The band's called Good Old Neon and I stumbled on them online and immediately developed these grand plans for how perfect their music would be for the videos (this is before filming had even started). The only downside was that they might not have been interested.
    But they're named after a great David Foster Wallace short story, so I took that was a sign they might have some affinity for the Mini Modern Classics, which include a lot of the best short story writers of the last 100 years (though no DFW, sadly), and be willing to help out.
    I'm just lucky that as well as making great music they're also well-read individuals of discerning literary taste. You can download their music, including everything in the videos from their website http://goodoldneon.com/.

TBS: Do you have a favorite video so far from this series? Why that video?
AT: So far I like the second video, on the origins of the series, but I'm both really looking forward to (and dreading a little bit) the editing of the video on the series' design. The designer was Jim Stoddart, who's also responsible for the design of the Modern Classics, on which the littler books are based.
    I'm endlessly interested in Penguin's design history and Jim is an endlessly nice guy, so we talked for a long time – longer than it would have taken most people to tell me to screw off because they had more important things to do. I hope the end result manages to convey all that went into these apparently very simple designs. 

TBS: Anything you'd like to add about the process of creating these videos?
AT: I don't think so. I will say that the none of the work's diminished my enthusiasm for the books, which are an absolute treat to read and I can't recommend highly enough. My favourite's probably the Barthelme, though he's not to everyone's tastes (I will never understand why). Though the Borges includes two of the greatest short stories ever written, so that's right up there too.

To view the rest of Alan's videos for Penguin, CLICK HERE. And, Alan's website is pretty wonderful so I suggest heading over there and clicking around.

By the way, that quote up at the top is from the second video, said by Penguin Classics Publisher Adam Freudenheim. Good stuff.

Penguin Threads

I've heard so many rumors about this Penguin Threads collection. It is so nice to finally see the finished works by Jillian Tamaki.


My favorite is definitely the cover for "Black Beauty".



For more information on the amazingly talented Jillian Tamaki and Penguin Threads, visit her website.

(all images)

My First Coralie Clothbound

Coralie Bickford-Smith's designs for Penguin's Clothbound Classics are pretty well known, and for good reason: They are beautiful. I mentioned them here just over a year ago, when the first series came out but now there are dozens.

And as of this week, I officially own one (yes, just one unfortunately). The clothbounds are usually $20, but I picked mine up for 40% off at a closing Borders. I actually already own a similar Dickens Christmas collection but I couldn't pass this up. When I left the store I felt like I had purchased a work of art by Coralie, not just a story collection.

Coralie is a senior cover designer at Penguin, and has a lot of other great work up on her website.

(cover image Coralie; hipstaprints mine)

Meet the Classics

Awesome ad campaign.

"Typewriters placed in computer department of bookstores to call people's attention to Penguin Classic Books"

Thanks, Jaimie for showing me this! 


(all images)

Penguin Classics (RED) editions

Two great things have merged and I am ecstatic about their literary baby.

Penguin Classics (RED) editions are out and they are absolutely lovely, and for a great cause. I've always been a fan of the (RED) campaign and am always pleased when they find a new partner.

On their site, Penguin Books CEO John Makinson says of the partnership:

"Penguin is hugely proud to be partnering with (PRODUCT)RED. Since the 1940s Penguin Classics have been a significant creative and educational force around the world and we are delighted to harness that to support the Global Fund through the sale of our new (RED) classics. We have chosen the eight launch titles with great care and included some old favourites along with some of the hidden jewels of rhte classics list."

So far, there are eight books in this collection. 50% of their sales go towards the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa. They can be bought individually for £6.99-9.99 or as a set for £62.92. Or, register to win a set HERE.



Some of my favorite covers include Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth" and Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Agent".






You can also visit the Penguin Classics (RED) site to vote for your favorite classic to be added in time for Christmas. It's probably no secret I chose "War & Peace" by Leo Tolstoy.

Speaking of Christmas, if someone would like to buy me the set, I would love to see it under my tree come December 25.

But what do you think? Do you think this works as far as cover design goes? What about the red compared to the usual Penguin orange or black?

Coralie Bickford-Smith

One of my favorite Web sites, Design*Sponge, did an interview with Coralie Bickford-Smith back in October. Bickford-Smith is a senior cover designer at Penguin Books and has received a number of awards for her design work.

The designs that originally caught my eye were for the new Penguin Classics. One of the reasons I think these covers are so successful is their cloth binding. I just find cloth binding to be far classier than the more recently popular paper jacket.

Bickford-Smith designed each cover using simple patterns that have a conformed look but unique patterns to appropriately fit the story they enclose. In an interview with The Penguin Blog, Bickford-Smith said "I have a real enthusiasm for pattern design so I was obsessed by this project. I wanted to create sumptuous books for people to enjoy, cherish and pass on."

The Ten Essential Penguin Classics

Without a doubt, Penguin Books creates the most effective and aesthetically pleasing book covers. In fact, sometimes I browse my favorite used bookstore, Grounds For Thought, looking only for that pretty Penguin binding.

Penguin recently released a special mini-site  for what they consider their "Ten Essential Penguin Classics." They even created a small series of videos about each book on the list.