Semi-Annual Post On Book Design

I'm working on a cover right now for a collection of short stories for children and young adults that the University of Minnesota Press is doing (in conjunction with the Mid-continental Oceanographic Institute/MOI). For that reason I just went back to look at some of the stuff I've come across over the last few months for inspiration – when I'm out in the world I generally try and keep my eyes open for interesting book covers. The images below come variously from the Miami Book Festival, a flea market in Paris, an antique market in Portland and a hotel in Astoria, Oregon... and elsewhere. Along with covers I'm also especially interested in ways designers play with a book's spine,. In my opinion it's an under-appreciated aspect of the package. If only contemporary books for adults were as playful and visually interesting as the old-school YA spines shown toward the bottom of this post.

I love the silhouette images that make up the framing on these Doctor Dolittle books. These were especially fun to find because I am trying to do something vaguely similar with panelling in some comics I'm working on at the moment.

The next two images are of a nice use of a die-cut. From a magazine, not a book, but whatever.

And spines:

(My apologies to the various illustrators and designers who's names I am generally too lazy to track down/look up. Commenters please pipe up if you know)

Conversation Gardening, Part One

Okay, so word is out (I guess that's what happens when you start telling people about stuff) so I'm going to begin posting a digital version of this strip, now. I'll continue it tomorrow.

Click here for part 2.

Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi

The current show at Lula, Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi's paintings and constructions, is on its way down. The work in the bar came out two days ago and the rest of the work comes down next Tuesday. Because you are, after all, reading the blog of someone who makes books, it seemed appropriate to post some of the stuff, much of it book based, that they had in the cases in the bar (for those of you who have never been, the bar at Lula is made from old humidors salvaged from the cigar store that used to occupy the space...so the bar is hollow and covered in glass–we show art there, as well as on the walls). The first two pieces are children's books that Nadine painted in to alter/interact with. As is often the case, the physicality of these is pretty well lost in just zeros and ones, but they're awesome. Here are two of my favorite spreads:


The next three are Nick's, from a blank book in which he did a series of small paintings.



Lastly is a handmade book of what I'll call improvisational screen printing. Nick made a number of small screens with various geometric shapes and used them to create different compositions, ultimately binding them together in the book. Again...physicality, uselessness of computer screens, subtlety, awesomeness, etc etc ad naseum. Following these last book pieces are two more drawing/painting collage type things. Did I mention their posters?

A book, another book, an appliance out of doors

Monologues for Calculating the Density of Black Holes, the follow up to Monologues for the Coming Plague is now out. This is the cover (sort of):


Monologues for Calculating the Density of Black Holes is the second in what will eventually be a trilogy. The third one will be out...sometime before the next millenium. Here is an excerpt from the present work (click on the image to get a better look):







(Thanks Kyle) Here is the back cover, which carries a perfunctory, incomplete list of the volume's contents:


There is one other excerpt on the Publisher's Weekly site, though if you're a regular reader of this internet world wide web log of mine, you'll have already seen it.

Another book with my name on it also came out last month, but only in Denmark (from Abenmaler) . It's a collection of shorter pieces, some random drawings etc. Below is the cover, partly folded out.


If you were to continue unfolding it, in addition to the material above, you would be presented with a Danish translation of The Game, a three page painted strip I did for Kramer's Ergot #7.

By way of ending for today, here is a picture of a washing machine: