We all love reading good books. Here’s a great example: An Art Group in Russia, named “Color of the City”, recently transformed a run-down building in a local Tyumen schoolyard into a painted bookshelf. The cool thing is that they got their inspiration from the beautifully painted wall mural of the Kansas City Public Library in the USA (1st photo). WOW, The World just got a little better.

“Arrgghh, You kids get outta my yard!”

Fans of Preppy Fashion and good books will love this news. Lisa Birnbach and Chip Kidd were recently interviewed about their new book, TRUE PREP. They appeared on FOCUS GROUP RADIO with John Nash. The interview is very entertaining and also gives us a look into how this book came about plus the creative process of dealing with so much material in such a short time. So, please give the interview a listen, we embedded it down below:

FOCUS GROUP RADIO is hosted by Tim Bennett and John Nash. This excellent program appears every Saturday morning LIVE at 11am EST, with a replay on Sunday's at 10am. The Call Letters are SiriusXM OutQ 108 and you can get more information about their programming by clicking right HERE!

OK, This is pretty cool news! A company in Barcelona, Spain called “Ecc Ediciones” will be publishing Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor’s BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN (DC Comics) into a foreign language! The new title will be called, “Batman: Arquitectura Mortal”. They even created a really nice Book Trailer Video which you can see down below. We’re not really sure of an exact release date but it is due in 2013. Stay tuned to this site and once we know we’ll pass it on. Also, for more information, please be sure to check out their website, just CLICK HERE!

This is just a quick post to share the amazing news that, for a limited time, the Official Website of Book Author Jane Austen is offering her classic story, “Pride & Prejudice”, as an online book you can read for free. Yes, FREE!! Woo Hoo! It’s important to note that 2013 is the 200th anniversary of this book. So, if you’re tired of being embarrassed at fancy dinner parties where people have snubbed you because you have not read this important piece of literature yet then here’s your chance to do so, just CLICK HERE!

OH MY GOD!! Today, over at the NYR Blog, Architecture critic Martin Filler wrote a lot of very kind words at the New York Review of Books for Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor's BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN!! Now, for the few people who have not read this new Batman Graphic Novel (DC Comics) the basic plot revolves heavily around the idea of “Architectural issues”. So, Martin Filler was the perfect person to write this article, ha!

The wonderful thing, Mr. Filler wrote a very thought-provoking piece and it’s a great article. In fact, this review seems to be one of the main reviews that really “got the book”. The title of his article is “Batman vs. Koolhaas” and we’re asking all our readers to please check it out and while you’re there please feel free to leave a comment. Also, please be sure to share this link inside your online social activity. Yes, we’re talking to our facebook and Twitter Friends here, ha ha!

Thank You Martin Filler for your excellent review.

The Biblio-Mat is a random book dispenser built by Craig Small (thejuggernaut.ca) for The Monkey's Paw, an idiosyncratic antiquarian bookshop in Toronto, Canada. Biblio-Mat books, which vary widely in size and subject matter, cost two dollars. The machine was conceived as an artful alternative to the ubiquitous and often ignored discount sidewalk bin. When a customer puts coins into it, the Biblio-Mat dramatically whirrs and vibrates as the machine is set in motion. The ring of an old telephone bell enhances the thrill when the customer's mystery book is delivered with a satisfying clunk into the receptacle below.

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins turns 75 in 2013. So, to celebrate, Random House created a special foil-covered Anniversary Edition with a newly color-enhanced interior that would please even King Derwin himself! When the royal carriage approaches, young Bartholomew Cubbins removes his hat as is required by the haughty king. But as soon as Bartholomew does so, another hat appears on his head! This goes on and on, angering the king and frustrating his royal assistants until Bartholomew (quite literally) sheds 500 hats and almost loses his head! A delightfully strange story about an event that “just happened to happen and was not very likely to happen again,” the 75th anniversary of “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” is likewise an event that won’t happen again, and their 75th Anniversary Edition will be available for a limited time only at the regular edition price of $14.95. Dr. Seuss fans won’t want to miss it!

This post is just for fun and it’s where we post some recent pictures we have found that are all pretty funny! The 1st pic is the very recent cover to George Orwell’s classic book, Nineteen Eighty Four 1984 ( not designed by Chip Kidd ). This is a Penguin Group printing and it’s hard to believe that they blacked-out the title of the book AND the Author’s name. Oh man, that really takes some balls, ha ha! But the design concept here is really cool. Actually, the black bars are dull black and the lettering is high-gloss. So, you can see the title if the light hits it right.

Next up is a photo that is Chip Kidd related. It shows two people using the Book jacket for Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 (Knopf 2011) to cover their faces. It matches up pretty good with their own heads and it’s totally hilarious!!

LOL, Ha Ha!