Christmas List

So, this is basically the Christmas list I sent my parents this year, per their requests. I warned them it was going to mostly be books. Plus, a film scanner, a new pair of TOMS and an Out of Print sweatshirt.

For the details on the books on my list, click through the jump.

Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life

Todd Oldham's book, Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life, is 424 pages of beautiful.



Although the publisher, AMMO Books, has it listed at $200, you can snag one on Amazon for just under $100. There is also a smaller version available at a much lower price. You know, if you wanted to buy yourself, or someone whose blog you love, an early Christmas gift.

And I'm Back

So my moving hiatus turned into a mega-moving hiatus, and then I spent three weeks in Africa and visited Bowling Green for Homecoming.

It is officially time to settle into living in Chicago. This means job hunting, but it also means blogging again.

And, I have a few covers to upload! Let's start with the horrific. These are from GFT. I have yet to find a used bookstore nearby that I really love.

I'm just too confused by both of these to go on any further. But more updates are coming in the near future, stay posted!

Books, Movies and Bad Covers

One thing that really upsets me is when a great book is turned into a movie, and after the movie is a big success, the book gets a new cover. Usually, this new cover features the actors from the movie and huge, tacky type proclaiming the movie was a big hit.

For example, Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. The original cover featured a charm bracelet, which is an important part of the book's plot. The movie cover looks very similar to the movie poster and is pretty creepy.

Some designers have flipped this method. They've taken some awesome movies and created the book covers they deserve. Most of these are just designs and aren't actually in print, but they are worth checking out and, maybe, drooling over.

One set I love is from blogger Spacesick. He created an entire "I Can Read Movies" series that looks vintage and pretty worn. One of my favorites is for Space Jam.

Also, I love the illustration for Big.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for vintage design and spot color, but I think these are great and I wish I could actually own them. To see more of Spacesick's designs, click here to check out his Flickr.

Have you seen any "fake" book designs that you really enjoyed? Any up-and-coming designers that deserve some attention?

Horrible Hemingway

One of my assignments for the BG News today was photographing a burrito eating contest where a contestant almost vomited on me.

The experience was almost as disgusting as the book cover I found while seeking sanity at GFT after the contest.

Two words: poor Hemingway.

(front)

(back)

I'm sure the beloved author is rolling in his grave over this one. First of all, the colors. Why so many? Also, I'm sure the early 90s would like their palette back. Second, why does this book have supposed blood spatters on it? Since this is a biography of Hemingway, it seems to infer that he was a murderer. I guess I missed something. I could really go on forever but almost find it unnecessary. Even someone who doesn't have a small obsession with design can see this cover is a disaster.

Unfortunately, the inside pages are just as bad. Click through to the jump to see what I'm talking about.

Have an Ugly Cover? Cover it up!

Sometimes, unfortunately, the book you really want is going to have an ugly cover (like the too-busy front for Diddy's book which is obviously a coveted read). So like a true book lover, you'll breathe in deep, pick it up off the shelf and take it home with you. But I'll warn you: once you've got it on your bedside table that hideous thing is going to haunt you until you place it face-down.

I come bearing good news; there are solutions to these cover design nightmares. An additional book cover can provide a little extra cover-up for an unfortunate design mishap. Luckily, there are more options than the stretchy covers you used on your text books in middle school.

In this post I will concentrate on some of the jacket covers I like best, but there are a lot more out there to be found. I've chosen to highlight the JACKET+BOOKMARK designs by Icoeye, Book City Jackets' Fold-to-Fit products (below) and some pretty-patterned cotton creations I discovered on Etsy.

Click through to the jump to read more about these great designs, or check out this simple book cover creator to design your own.