OK, first off, we gotta say that this video might contain spoilers if you have not read the book yet. Here’s a wonderful “Book Review” Video that explains a true sci-fi classic, “Fahrenheit 451″ by Ray Bradbury. It’s a dystopian novel that the Author wrote in 1953 and has since become a must-read on many Book Lover’s Reading Lists. The novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and Firemen burn any house that contains them. Sadly, Ray Bradbury recently died. But his extremely intriguing stories will live on forever.

About the video you’re about to watch:

This guy has an interesting take on the book and explains some of the unusual details to it’s storyline. Plus, it’s kinda funny!

We recently discovered a very interesting article on the web the other day and we instantly knew we just HAD to totally share it! You can read it over at the THINK PROGRESS Website. There, they have a page for one of their Bloggers named ALYSSA and while she was on vacation she allowed a Guest Blogger, named Andrea Peterson, to write for her. Well, for Andrea’s topic she chose the subject & title, “Chip Kidd Keeps Book Covers Relevant in the Digital Age”. In it she wrote a short bio on Chip Kidd & shared his TED Speech Video but, more importantly, she also shares her personal story of how Chip touched her life through the creation of his novel, “The Cheese Monkeys”, and it’s very heart-warming. Thank you Andrea!

This post is a shout out to all the Fans of Dr. Seuss ( a.k.a. Theodore Seuss Geisel ). Before finding fame and fortune as a major Children’s Book Author Mr. Geisel supported himself and his family with commercial art work. Yes, during the Depression he was an Illustrator and did a lot of Advertising Graphics for Magazines. He quickly developed a large list of Clients like General Electric, FLIT Bug Killer, Holly Sugar, NBC and many more.

Well, One great source to view his advertising artwork is at the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego. The library has scanned a selection of these advertisements for greater access, which they call “The Dr. Seuss Collection”, and they can be viewed by clicking right HERE. Please be sure to check it out sometime because it’s not only important historically, but is also very inspiring.

A statement from David Rakoff’s longtime hardcover editor, Bill Thomas:

“It is with a deeply heavy heart that I tell you our dear friend and beloved author David Rakoff passed away today at the age of 47. As many of you know David had battled cancer over the last few years; quite recently it became apparent that the cancer had returned in a form that could not be treated.

David wrote three bestselling books for Doubleday - FRAUD, DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE and HALF EMPTY. Because David's writing was so goddamn funny, he was often mischaracterized as a satirist, but a satirist employs exaggeration to drive home social criticism, and David saw and portrayed the world clearly. Underneath the indelible wit and perfect turns of phrase lay a sadness that people can be so cruel and selfish, and a belief that the only weapon against the world's brutality was kindness and beauty. And so he lived - he was the most gracious and considerate of men. Civility mattered a great deal to David, but for him manners were not merely a social lubricant; he believed deeply that every person was due true and meaningful attention.

It is one of the reasons hundreds of people loved David. Of course he was incredibly charming, witty and learned, a brilliant raconteur with the quickest mind imaginable. And though his life was cut infuriatingly short, it was rich beyond measure. In addition to his writing, David was a stage and screen actor, a playwright, a screenwriter (the short film for which he adapted the screenplay and starred in, "The New Tenants," won an Academy Award), a brilliant radio essayist for "This American Life," and an accomplished visual artist. He was also one of us - David spent nine years working at HarperCollins, and I urge everyone, especially assistants, to read his essays "Lush Life" (from FRAUD) and "The Satisfying Crunch of Dreams Underfoot" (from HALF EMPTY) for excruciating but uproarious portrayals of this our publishing culture. For publicists, go to YouTube and view "David Rakoff and Dave Hill Go On a Book Tour." He really did understand.

David called me five weeks ago and told me had finished his new book, which was not due until the Fall. He also told me we would be publishing it posthumously. (Characteristically, he apologized for giving me this news on the phone. Canadian to the end.) The book is a novel, in verse, called LOVE, DISHONOR, MARRY, DIE; CHERISH, PERISH. I had my doubts about the project when he proposed it, but I was wrong. It is written with humor and sympathy and tenderness, and proves him to be the master of an altogether different art form. The story leaps cities and decades as David sings the song of an America whose freedoms can be intoxicating, or devastating. It is the clearest expression of David's insistence on beauty and the necessity of kindness in a selfish world. I can think of no more fitting tribute to David than publishing the hell out of it.”

This is just a quick post to share this photo of an amazing new product from Funko, it’s an EDGAR ALLAN POE Wacky Wobbler Nodder! Yes, a “Bobble Head” of POE… with a Raven! This is the 1st one in the series but let’s hope they make many more. I wanna see one of Hunter S. Thompson or Ernest Hemingway, ha ha!

Shown here is an amazing piece of American Literary History. This is the ONLY film footage ever shot of the Great American Book Author, Mark Twain. The film was shot in 1909 at STORMFIELD, Mark Twain’s estate in Redding, Connecticut. The famous Inventor, Thomas Edison (who had just invented the Motion Picture Camera) went on a personal visit to Mark Twain’s home and while he was there he shot this short movie. We get to see Twain as he walks around his estate and he is also shown having tea with his two daughters, Clara and Jean. For prosperity, this footage is stored at The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.

It’s with a heavy heart that we have to report the sad news that Australian Author & Art Critic Robert Hughes has passed away. He died on Monday, August 6th, at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx due to prolonged illness. He was 74 and had lived for many years in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. He was known mainly as the Art Critic for TIME Magazine but was also a very prolific Author having written many books on Art History. He was also a Documentary Maker & we have a video down below as an example. Some of his most well-known books are “The Shock of The New”, “The Fatal Shore”, “Rome”, & “Goya” ( Chip Kidd designed the covers for two of these ).

First off, we would like to thank the HUFFINGTON POST for their recent article about this new book titled, WONDER, written by R. J. Palacio and published by Random House KNOPF. She has created a very inspiring book and it really deserves some attention & we appreciate it.

In the video above , Author R. J. Palacio and Chip Kidd discuss Palacio’s debut novel, WONDER. They also discuss the anti-bullying campaign, CHOOSE KIND, that was inspired by the book and more. The basic premise of the book is that it is about a little boy named Auggie. He is ten and he was born with a facial deformity that is really quite severe. One of the really interesting things R. J. has done is she writes from his point of view and she writes from other characters points' of view, and little by little, she describes what he looks like. You start to build it in your head, but it starts with people's reactions to it. The entire story is very inspirational and will change your point of view about both life, and people, in many good ways.

Please check out the Official Book Trailer for WONDER up above and then, for more information, please check out this extra “Introduction” Video with the Author R. J. Palacio down below:

We’re really happy to share some good news about a recent Book Review for, “The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy”. This book was designed by Chip Kidd and covers the entire film history of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. You can find the review over at the BATMAN-NEWS.COM website and it was written by Andrew Asberry. It’s very well thought-out & covers the entire book ( Thanks Andrew ).

His website’s main focus is to cover the world of Batman-related Cinema. Their coverage of the recent events revolving around “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” Movie has been excellent! Seriously, it’s a great news source. So, please be sure to read their New Book Review by clicking HERE!