Chip Kidd recently sat down with BOOKish Reporter, Jessi Klein to discuss his new graphic novel book published by DC Comics, “Batman: Death By Design”. They also talk a lot about books in general and on the BOOKish website they have two very excellent videos showcasing their discussion. Jessi did a very nice interview and asked a ton of great questions. Plus, Chip did a pretty decent job answering them ( ha ha ). So, Please CLICK HERE to check them out!!

Ever since Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor’s brand-new Batman Graphic Novel (DC Comics) came out there has been a really good buzz about it. Oh man, you know we’re really happy about that! It’s been great & we really appreciate it. But, the funny thing is, at first, all the reviews were conducted by “comic book related” blogs and websites. Then, the next wave were all the serious “Book Review people” like, The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, NPR Books, etc… Now, it seems that the next wave are sites dedicated to Architecture.

Here’s a great example: Over at the ARCH DAILY website, a site dedicated to very serious Architectural News. They have a Writer named Nicky Rackard who just did a very excellent review on the book. Of course their focus on the article is “the ideas about Architecture”, that were a main theme to the story. (Thanks Nicky!) It’s a wonderful article, very well thought out, so please be sure to visit their page & give it a quick read -Hey, just CLICK HERE!

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Dr. Seuss’s Classic Children Book, “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins”. Random House has released a special anniversary edition ( holographic foil cover ) and, also in honor of the book, the Seuss Estate has decided to start the “Hats off to Dr. Seuss!” campaign.

Yes, Dr. Seuss was an extremely serious Hat Collector. He had hundreds of them and, in one way or another, many of them made their way into his artwork. So, Dr. Seuss’s widow, Audrey S. Geisel, decided to open up his collection of hats to the public for a never-before-seen glimpse at the amazing array of head wear. This is the first time any of these hats have traveled outside the Seuss Estate.

The Dr. Seuss hat exhibit launched at the Children's Center of the New York Public Library (42nd Street branch). It will be in New York until February 12th, 2013, and then will go on to 15 additional locations throughout 2013. Here’s the list:

All photos are courtesy of TM & 2013 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved.

Over at the CHARITY BUZZ website we’re proud to announce a new auction where, if YOU WIN, you can have the Book Designer Chip Kidd design a cover for your book. So, if you’re a Publisher or Author you need to jump on this rare opportunity! Just image, YOUR book cover designed by Chip Kidd!! All proceeds benefit the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute and it’s a really great cause.

For more details, and to enter the contest, please CLICK HERE!

Random House recently hired a company to discover the statistics on ebook readers and their habits. Then, they created this series of infographics. The data is pretty interesting and might hold a few surprises, check it out.

We’re all familiar with the famous British World War II Propaganda Poster, “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON”. It’s become something of a major icon in graphic art history. I know, I know, the millions of parodies that have popped-up lately make me sick to my stomach too but it’s still a great piece of art. Well, here’s a very clever video telling it’s origin story and it’s extremely interesting to hear about. Plus, this poster was “re-discovered” at a famous UK Bookstore named BARTER BOOKS and that, in itself, is worth watching the video for. It’s a fun building & looks like a place where you could get lost into books forever. It used to be an old train station & it’s completely beautiful.

If you have been reading this blog for awhile then you might recall a post we did where we mentioned an event called, “LIVE from the NYPL: Building Stories Together” that featured the Authors Chris Ware and Zadie Smith. This public speaking event happened back in December of 2012 and was a CLOSING EVENT for the famous New York City Public Library. Both Authors talked about the art of writing and it was both informative & very entertaining. In fact, the post we did here revolved around a link to the PODCAST that was later posted of the event & if you didn’t get to go to it, then you could listen to it online.

Anyways, this post is about a review of that event. Paulina Reso, a Contributing Editor over at the WILD RIVER REVIEW website, just published a very excellent in-depth story about the event. She gives us an excellent idea on what it was like to be there and also what issues both Authors brought up that were pretty interesting. Her article is very informative. She also includes a bunch of excellent visuals to go along with her writing that are fun to see. ( Thanks Paulina! )

So, please be sure to check it out by clicking right HERE!

Right now is the time for you to own a piece of Book Selling History. Like, literally, right this minute! We just found out that the letters from the original BORDERS BOOKS flagship store are being auctioned off on eBay for charity and the sales end on January 31st, 2013. Holy Crap, that’s tomorrow!!

Yes, they’re selling the letters individually ( I want the Letter “B”, ha ha ) and they would make a great decorative item to display in your home. They each measure almost two feet tall and are made of metal & plexiglass. But the important thing is that the proceeds to these sales are going to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. This non-profit charity organization is dedicated to assisting booksellers and is a great cause. So, please click here to check out the EBAY AUCTION.

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!