Book wonks are still abuzz about the whole Amazon vs. Macmillan thing (see here previously) — who won, who didn’t, WTF?, and Rupert Murdoch’s shit-stirring — but I’m reliably informed by someone whose job is looking cool at the photocopier* that it is a really boring topic of conversation, so I’m going to move on…
The AIGA Design Archives — including the wonderful 50 Books/50 Covers — has been redesigned by Second Story, mercifully moving it away from its previous Flash interface so we can all link to it properly when we talk about it (pictured above: Brooklyn Modern designed by Projects Projects)
Elements of an Incendiary Blog Post — Painfully on the money (via Kottke):
This sentence contains the thesis of the blog post, a trite and obvious statement cast as a dazzling and controversial insight.
This sentence claims that there are many people who do not agree with the thesis of the blog post as expressed in the previous sentence. This sentence speculates as to the mental and ethical character of the people mentioned in the previous sentence. This sentence contains a link to the most egregiously ill-argued, intemperate, hateful and ridiculous example of such people the author could find.
Coverspy — “publishing nerds hit the subways, streets, parks & bars to find out what New Yorkers are reading…” A cover-oriented variation on Toronto’s Seen Reading (via SwissMiss).
Context and Connections — A great interview with illustrator, graphic designer and writer Frank Chimero:
There’s value to… knowing what your peers are working on, but it’s not a day-to-day concern. You’d probably get further checking a food blog every day, because it triangulates your interests and you’ll naturally come towards it wanting to make connections to what you’re doing and what you already know. Sure, you want your knowledge of the field to be deep, but it’s optimal to have your interests wide and varied. It’s makes your consumption more nourishing too, because all of a sudden you get context!
And finally…
Agent of Chaos — Bonkers and awesome, Werner Herzog (not really) reads Curious George:
(No really, it’s not Werner Herzog).
* Nic: I love you man.
what a great “something for the weekend”. Love the interview link. great points and lessons. Not entirely clear on the controversy with Amazon/Macmillan—but I’ll take your word.
Also, if you have not already seen these lovely editions from Penguin, please enjoy: http://causticcovercritic.blogspot.com/2010/02/this-is-how-to-do-it.html
Thanks Ian! That Frank Chimero is a smart guy. I like his blog a lot.
And thanks for the CCC link — it’s a great blog and I would love to see those Penguin’s in a bookstore.
As for the Amazon/Macmillan controversy, I actually think it has really significant implications for the industry as a whole, but other people — e.g. MobyLives, E-Reads, Sarah Weinman, Jacket Copy, Digital Book World, John Scalzi and the Twitterati (Guy LeCharles Gonazlez and Don Linn et al) — are covering it better (and more frankly) than I can and I don’t know that this is the best forum to further the discussion.
That said, I will continue to do round-ups when I think it is useful to collect various opinions in one place. Anecdotally I’ve heard that people (especially book designers who aren’t mired in this stuff everyday) find these helpful, but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. If you think I should just concentrate on other things, just let me know…
Hey there Casual Optimist! We’re glad you liked our interview with Frank! He has so many interesting things to say, I’m still re-reading his responses. Nice blog! Keep up the good work!