In this Author History Lecture Video, recorded at the 92nd Street Y back in November, 2009, Martin Amis, Brian Boyd and Chip Kidd pay tribute to Vladimir Nabokov and read from his posthumous work, “The Original of Laura”. Biographer Brian Boyd begins with a presentation on the novel's place within Nabokov's canon; Martin Amis discusses Nabokov in relation to tragedy and the Holocaust; Chip Kidd discusses the design history of Nabokov's book covers from the past in reference to his own design of “The Original of Laura” Book Jacket ( shown up above ). A reading from Laura follows. Also, for more 92Y event information please visit: 92Y.org

Just a quick humor post to brighten your day. Here are some completely hilarious photos that all revolve around the great American Novel, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream” by Hunter S. Thompson ( Random House, 1971 ).

To celebrate the release of Chris Ware’s brand-new Graphic Novel Book published by Pantheon, BUILDING STORIES, Chris Ware will have two separate Art Gallery Openings that, together, will exhibit 126 drawings used to create the new story. The events will be held at Adam Baumgold Gallery (New York) and Carl Hammer Gallery (Chicago). The Art Shows open on September 8th, 2012 and run until October 27th. Hey, that’s going on right now, you better hurry!

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?!!

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 ).

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!

The BIG Book Reading News this Summer is the much-anticipated adventure story by Peter Heller titled, “THE DOG STARS, a novel”. The basic plot goes like this:

“Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life-something like his old life-exists beyond the airport. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return-not enough fuel to get him home-following the trail of the static-broken voice on the radio. But what he encounters and what he must face-in the people he meets, and in himself-is both better and worse than anything he could have hoped for.”

Narrated by a man who is part warrior and part dreamer, a hunter with a great shot and a heart that refuses to harden, The Dog Stars is both savagely funny and achingly sad, a breathtaking story about what it means to be human.

Peter Heller Book Signings:

Lemuria Book Store Inc
August 21st, 2012 at 5:00 pm
202 Banner Hall
4465 I-55 North
Jackson, MS 39206

SQUARE BOOKS
August 22st, 2012 at 5:00 pm
160 Courthouse Square
Oxford, MS 38655

Book Trailer Video:

Writers on Writing:

Today is a very important day in History! Yes, August 15th, 2012, is the 100th Birthday of Julia Child! Of course everyone at Alfred A. Knopf ( Random House ) is totally proud of this event because they’re the ones who published her Cookbook, ”Mastering The Art of French Cooking”, almost 51 years ago. The book has now become a total classic and is still a bestseller to this day. It became iconic for it’s use of very detailed illustrations that helped many people learn how to cook. One interesting side note is that Google posted a wonderful image of her today for their logo ( see pic down below ). In closing, Thank You for everything you taught us Julia Child. You are deeply missed by millions of people and will always be a true Icon and a National Treasure, “Bon Appetit!”