art & design of the world

Illustrations by George Corsillo

A busy week has kept me out of the bookstores, so here are a few from home. Frequent BDR readers know I'm a big Harry Crews fan, constantly on the prowl for that copy of Naked In Garden Hills that *isn't* $150. (Should you ever see this at a garage sale or whatever, can you pick it up for me? Seriously.)

I'm not sure how many Crews books were published in this series; these are the ones I own. Two thoughts popped into my mind when I was scanning these:

1) Man, 1988 was a long time ago in book-cover-years.

2) Wow, these aren't just yellow. They're YELLOW. But yellow books don't sell...right?

Discuss.

Quiff is often called a pompadour as well, and the haircut is created by cutting the hair short in the back and much longer in the front. Typically, a small poof is used for men; however, a female version was created with a much more dramatic poof.

Design by Milan Bozic

I hope there's a word or a name for this -- and by "this" I mean a novel that starts on the front cover of the book. It's been done before (on a few older Penguins(?)), but can't put my hands on any other examples at the moment. Anyone got any? (UPDATE: See the comments for at least one other example several other examples.)

And the coolest thing about this, BTW: verso pages are even-numbered, and recto pages odd-numbered, right? Are you sure? Click the images to enlarge and check.

Design by Jarrod Taylor

Flirtation and the competition among students and teachers at an Upper East Side prep school is the focus of Hummingbirds; the jacket is beautifully whimsical and (sorry for the tired phrasing) jumps right off the shelf.


That vibrant blue really pops, just like it does on Digging to America. I've come to have such a low opinion of blue -- too many years spent in Web design -- but these restore my faith :-)

Russell Brand is one of Britain’s best loved comedians. His wily ways and crazy haircut has had many people talking and despite the recent controversy over some of his radio show ideas that has landed him in a little bit of hot water, he is still loved and adored by many fans.Russell Brand has very often been commented on for his wacky dress sense and his more than crazy hair and when he turned up for the Late Show with David Letterman, the famous hair was still intact, despite rumors that he was reportedly going to chop it all off. Classically back combed to within an inch of its life, any woman would have looked on at his hair with shock and horror but instead of forcing women to run away as fast as they can in the other direction, it would appear that Russell Brand’s hair seems to have become quite a hit with the ladies.

His hair is shoulder length, well shoulder length with all of the backcombing; it is not really known what his hair looks like without the wacky cut. Most men wouldn’t admit it, but they all seem to love long hair and this is something that Russell definitely has on his side.

Despite the fact that he looks scruffy and rather unkempt, it is almost reminiscent of the look adorned by Johnny Depp in the hit films “Pirates of the Caribbean” which is perhaps why it has been so well received.

Loser's Town; design by Ben Wiseman:


Money; design by Bert Krak, art direction by Paul Buckley:


This Is Where I Leave You; design by Gray318:


Chicago: A Biography; design by Matt Avery:


Can Capitalism Survive?; design by Milan Bozic: