Chip Kidd recently gave a talk at the GRID Summit in Stockholm, Sweden. The title for his speech was “Failing better” and it revolves around the idea of getting past tough moments in the creative process. The lecture is also about “Book Cover Design”. GRID is a yearly two-day event where speakers and storytellers share courageous ideas with passionate people from across the Design World. Much more than your average media conference, every participant plays an active part in making GRID what it is - a unique experience filled with exciting ideas and inspiring encounters. Here’s what Chip had to say:

Here’s a quick post to share some hilarious comic strips & a photo that all revolve around a love of reading books. The one with Dr. Seuss’ “Horton” character totally cracks me up!

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY. OK, Who has not heard of this extremely successful book series? It’s taking the Publishing & Book Reading World by storm! It was written by British Author E. L. James in 2011 and has quickly become THE major hit of the season. In fact, this book has topped best-seller lists around the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The series has sold over 40 million copies worldwide and set the record as the fastest-selling paperback of all time, even surpassing the Harry Potter Series. We should also note it was published by Vintage Books ( Random House ).

So, who is E. L. James? Well, ABC News 20/20 Reporter, Elizabeth Vargas, gets this early interview:

OK, I thought this would be a fun post and I have to admit that I totally love Dr. Seuss Books so that could be a reason too, ha! If you collect Vintage Dr. Seuss Books then you know all about the nightmare of trying to identify early “First Editions”. In most cases the books are not labeled with the standard “1st Edition” marking but, instead, they use strange numbers & symbols. Well, we found an interesting website that helps to explain a few of these concepts. You can check that out by clicking right HERE!

Oh yeah, just to explain the photos. These are all “First Edition” Seuss Books. The cover art is totally amazing! The 1st image, of course, is one of the most popular, THE CAT IN THE HAT from 1957. Then, we get to view SCRAMBLED EGGS SUPER & IF I RAN THE ZOO, all Classics!!

The idea for this post came about when, online, I came across a photo of the “First Edition” Copy of Ralph Ellison’s, “Invisible Man”. This cover ( 1st photo up above ) is both extremely iconic & beautiful. We have all heard of this Classic American Book and it’s a “must read” on any Book Lover’s Reading List. “Invisible Man” was published by Random House in 1953 and almost instantly won the National Book Award for fiction and catapulted Mr. Ellison to national prominence. Sadly, after the success of this book, Mr. Ellison only wrote 2 more books that were actually collected essays. In other words, he never created another novel. But, this book will always live in greatness as his one true masterpiece! The 2nd picture ( down below ) shows the modern-day version of the cover and it’s so cool that they gave it a “retro 1950′s” vibe, it’s Jazzy!

Now, the main focus of this post is not Ralph Ellison’s major book but the actual man himself. Doing a little research I came across this YouTube Video that was filmed at the Library of Congress. It’s a lecture by Arnold Rampersad, the first scholar given complete access to Ellison’s papers at the Library of Congress. He ended up writing the definitive story on the Author titled, “Ralph Ellison, A Biography”.

The cover is shown here but please give the video a view too, it’s pretty interesting. Mr. Rampersad did some amazing research and he shares Ellison’s evolution very nicely. Now, to be honest I have not read this book yet, just discovered it, but it’s on my personal reading list right now. Oh yeah, one last thing to share, the very last photo ( way down below ) is the real-life “Ralph Ellison Library” in Oklahoma City, OK. How cool is that?!!

Because I’m a serious Book Lover ( and you probably are too ) I always enjoy reading quotes from Famous Authors. Here are just a few examples. The list includes: Stephen Fry, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, and Dr. Seuss!!

While mindlessly surfing the internet this morning I came across this very interesting profile/interview on Camilla Zhang at the AA LIMELIGHT website. Camilla works at DC Comics, as the Executive Assistant to the VP of Art & Design, Mark Chiarello. She was the Assistant Editor for BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN, by Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor. She also edited BATMAN: NOEL, by Lee Bermejo and she is currently working on all the BEFORE WATCHMEN titles. the interview is pretty interesting so I thought I’d post a LINK here for others to enjoy. ( Plus, dare I say it? I think she’s HOT! )

Here’s a quick post to share some interesting Literary History. Here are actual Vintage Magazine Ads for “New Books Coming Out”. The 1st one is for Cormac McCarthy’s Novel OUTER DARK ( Published by Random House in 1968 ). Then we have Ernest Hemingway’s THE SUN ALSO RISES ( 1926 ), Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five ( 1969 ), and A.A. Milne’s WINNIE THE POOH ( 1926 ).

Yes, this Famous Book Author needs NO introduction. Here’s a little Edgar Allan Poe humor to brighten your day, enjoy!

HUMANS INVENT, a website set in the UK who’s main focus is Innovation, Craftsmanship, & Design; recently published a very interesting article on Chip Kidd. The interview was conducted by Reporter Leo Kent. He & Chip discuss important matters concerning the design of a book’s cover. How important is it to selling a book? Plus, what are some of the Graphic Design ideas to think about when creating a Book Jacket? Overall a very excellent discussion, Thanks Leo and Thank you Humans Invent! Readers, to view the full-story please CLICK HERE!