Monday, November 30, 2015

Penguin By Hand: Karen Jay Fowler, Sarah Blake, Kathryn Stockett, Elif Shafak, Melissa Bank, and Kim Edwards Embroidered, Quilted, Etched, and Cross-Stitched

Penguin commissioned artists to create crafty covers for six of Penguin's best-selling books by women.  The covers are, among other things, quilted, embroidered, crocheted, and cross-stitched.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Ticket Books: Subway Tickets That Double as Books in Brazil

Pocket book publisher L&PM Editions have created Ticket Books to increase the number of books Brazilians read by embedding a subway ticket card in copies of books.  This is such a cool idea!  L&PM passed out 10,000 free books loaded with 10 free rides on World Book Day.  They can even be loaded up with more rides!  The books are also really well designed, with illustrations of iconic characters or items from the books rendered in subway map lines.  Here's a list of the ten books that are currently available: Peanuts: Friendship. That’s What Friends Are For by Charles M. Schulz, Garfield: Sorry by Jim Davis, Hundred Love Sonnets by Pablo Neruda, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Murder Alley by Agatha Christie, Chives In Trouble! by Mauricio de Sousa, and Quintana Pocket by Mario Quintana.
(1, 2, 3 via Mental Floss)

Monday, November 23, 2015

Hardback Virago Modern Classics

Virago, which publishes often overlooked fiction and non-fiction by female authors from the 19th and 20th centuries, has always been one of my favorite presses.  The British publisher has introduced me to hundreds of fascinating authors and novels.  They now have a series of gorgeous hardback versions of some of their best works.  The covers are decorated with fabric designs by major British designers, like Celia Birtwell, Cath Kidston, Orla Kiely, and Florence Broadhurst.
(1, 2)