This masterful debut novel was so astonishing that Oprah had to share it with the world. Watch the video down below to find out what Oprah loved so much about Ayana Mathis’ The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. Published by Knopf, 256 pages, in stores now. For more information about how to join Oprah’s Book Club, just CLICK HERE!

Here’s some really great news that just came in. Over at the Christian Science Monitor website they just published a very excellent review for Pantheon Books’ latest Chris Ware Graphic Novel, BUILDING STORIES. The review, written by David Unger, is very well thought out and also takes up two whole pages, wow! One quote from the article reads, “Chris Ware’s unusual graphic novel is a triumph of imagination and originality.” But we should just let you read what David had to say in full, so please, just CLICK HERE! ( Thanks David, good job! )

Here’s a quick post to share some super-fun news that we’re also very proud of. Pantheon Books’ brand-new Graphic Novel Book by Charles Burns, THE HIVE, was released 2 months ago and it has already been picked up by a French Publisher & translated into French. Wow! How cool is that?!

But instead of “The Hive”, they call it, “La Ruche”. Also, Burns’ previous book in this trilogy, “X-ed Out”, also got the translation treatment & is simply titled, “Toxic”. You can see a photo of both books way down below. Oh yeah, this next photo is of the back cover to THE HIVE, I mean, La Ruche! (Awesome)

WOW! We have some incredible news to share. Chris Ware’s New Graphic Novel, BUILDING STORIES, has made the list of “THE 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2012″ at the New York Times Book Review!! Basically, every year the Editors at the NYT Book Review pick five Fiction and five Non-Fiction Books to include in their TOP TEN List. This year they included Chris Ware’s latest work published by Pantheon Books. We can not even begin to explain how super-excited and totally honored we are to be in such company. To see the complete list, with excellent information & reviews, please CLICK HERE. Also, We want to express a deeply heart-felt THANK YOU to the New York Times for this wonderful honor.

Chris Ware’s latest “Book in a Box” Graphic Novel, BUILDING STORIES, has been getting incredible reviews and kudos from almost every news source ever since it came out and we could not be happier. We just reported about this book being included in the New York Times’ TOP TEN LIST for the year and then, yesterday (Dec 4th) , TIME Magazine gives the book equal honors as well… WOW!

TIME Magazine just released their year-end list they like to call, “The TOP 10 EVERYTHING of 2012″. Now, when they say “everything” they mean it, ha! They focus on the Best: Movies, Books, Music, Plays, TV Series, etc. The fun thing is that Chris Ware’s BUILDING STORIES came in as #7 on the “Top 10 Fiction Books” List. Yes! Congrats to Chris Ware & everyone at Pantheon Books for receiving this honor. This is so cool, Thank You TIME Magazine. Book Readers, to see what they had to say, please CLICK HERE!

On March 24, 2012, the University of Southern California had an event where they had Gary Panter and Chip Kidd as Lecture Guests. Here’s a nice sample of video showing the proceedings:

USC Roski School of Fine Arts and Visions and Voices present “Shelf Life 2: A Big Day for Small Press”, a unique one-day event that gathers a diverse group of independent publishers, writers, artists, and designers whose voices and images have questioned and pushed the boundaries of popular culture. In addition to speaker presentations moderated by writer Byron Coley and featuring artist Gary Panter and Graphic Designer Chip Kidd, there will also be a series of hands-on workshops in zine publishing, e-publications, and blogging as well as a Bazaar with one-of-a-kind goods from a variety of vendors. Organized by Ewa Wojciak and Haven Lin-Kirk (USC Roski School of Fine Arts).

The first video is the main introduction and then Gary Panter’s lecture, the second features Chip Kidd, and then the last one is a discussion with both. Here they are down below, enjoy & share.

Chip Kidd will be making an appearance at UCLA’s HAMMER MUSEUM in conjunction with a major exhibit titled, “Graphic Design: Now in Production”. The event takes place on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012, from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, at the UCLA Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater. All Hammer public programs are free. Hammer members receive priority seating, subject to availability. Reservations not accepted, RSVPs not required. Parking is available under the museum for $3 after 6:00pm.

For more information, CLICK HERE!

If you have been reading this awesome website for a few weeks then you might remember a blog post we did awhile back where we mention a documentary called, “TOKYO TOY GUY”. You can see that post by clicking right HERE. Anyway, TOKYO TOY GUY is a brand-new film being created by our friend Yuji and it’s all about Vintage Batman Toys. Yuji spent five years traveling all around the world to speak with major Batman Toy Collectors. The fun thing is that Yuji came to New York City where he talked with Chip Kidd. Up above is a film still showing Chip talking about his collection. Then, down below, is the brand-new movie trailer which features some new footage and we also get a chance to see some of the other people that will appear in the movie. We’re really excited about this and can’t wait to see it. The movie has a new release date around December 2012. Stay tuned to CHIPKIDD.COM and as soon as we have more info, then so will you!

Posted here, for your learning enjoyment, is a new video in which John Green kicks off the CRASH COURSE Literature mini-series with a reasonable set of questions. Why do we read? What’s the point of reading critically? John will argue that reading is about effectively communicating with other people. Unlike a direct communication though, the writer has to communicate with a stranger, through time and space, with only “words on a page.”

Tom Flinn, over at the ICv2 Website, recently wrote an excellent Book Review for the release of Chris Ware’s latest Graphic Novel, BUILDING STORIES. This brand-new book, published by Pantheon, has been getting some very good reviews and we’re really proud to be adding ICv2 to the list! So, please be sure to visit their site and check it out, it’s very well written with a lot of fun information, just CLICK HERE! ( Thanks Tom! )