And I'm Back

Neil Strauss’s The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists has a simple, perfect cover. There would be no other design befitting for a book such as this this. The black with gold font reminds me of a rule book for some debonair event. The silhouettes are a nice touch—though some of them are bit too provocative and take away from the suave elegance of the cover. The cover just wouldn’t be the same without these images though.

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
By Neil Strauss
HarperCollins
Design by Richard Ljoenes

I definitely want to give this work a gander. From what I hear Strauss does not see himself as the best looking type of guy. Perhaps there is hope for all men.

American Pastoral

American Pastoral was not my favorite book. During my on going quest to find the "Great American Novel" Philip Roth’s Pulitzer Prize winner was supposed to make a run at the title—it failed to deliver. Let’s look at the book I read.

American Pastoral
By Philip Roth
Cover Design and Photograph by gray318
Vintage International

I enjoy what Vintage has done with Philip Roth’s collection. I think the stark colors along with the thematic picture towards the bottom have really created an eye-catching set of works. The font, however, is rather plain and I am not sure if that really adds anything to the novel. The caps just leave the center of the cover rather bleak but in a way powerful—I blame the imprint. The broken frame is an obvious choice for American Pastoral but it is also the best.

The other covers for this title just don’t seem to capture what happens to Levov’s as well as this one. Using a picture of a family is just not enough and the torn American flag version just seems to miss where the true element of the story lies.

Any takers?

The Sal My Pal Dilemma

After years of discussing book cover art, Sal and I finally seem to have a forum for our arguments. We’ve squabbled over the use of minimalism and its merits; its best use in the American cover of J.M. Coetzee’s “Disgrace.” It’s mainly been his reluctance for simplicity against my affinity towards empty space.

Seeing as he and I have always been advocates for well thought out covers that are masterfully executed—it’s safe to say we both despise film poster covers for novels—it seems best that I present a cover he suggested to me:

The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Author: Michael Pollan
Designer: Darren Hagger
Photographer: Hans Gissinger

As an avid photographer, it’s ironic that I don’t like covers consisting solely of a single photograph. I need stylization, thought—something that doesn’t look like it was ripped from a stock-photo bin. The color scheme is interesting. It’s drab and the still life is rather unappetizing but I think those points are reflective of the themes of the work. I commend those choices.

The fonts were well executed too. For a small amount of words, they seem to balance large caps, italics, and regular fonts in a good way. The changes don’t distract from the words on the cover.

I believe Sal was reading the hardbound print of Pollan’s work. I am not a fan of hardbacks in general—I enjoy a good flexible cover, preferably one that can fit in my back pocket—but the gold spine makes the whole work look elegant and would add a touch of class to a bookshelf. I wish Barnes and Noble could show me a picture of the book without a jacket on it.

Any takers?

Side Note: Michael Pollan reminds me of Michael Palin and I cannot help but think the title “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” would have only made for a hilarious sketch on Monty Python’s Flying Circus.