Book Covers: Inside the Abyss

I'm an impulse buyer at times. I've come to realize that and accept that. It's a situational affliction. That's a great deal. Or that looks real good. One of these days, I could just see myself falling. Into. Addiction. The fix. It would just be too much.

The part of the side I see myself like this is in bookstores. So I just happened to go to the bookstore recently to buy a birthday present for a cousin. I knew exactly what to buy and where to find it. I went straight to it.

But I was already inside the abyss. What harm could it be to just look around a little?

What struck my eye that day was I Love Dollars by Wen Zhu. It was not so much because of an author I had heard of (I hadn't) or praise from sources I respected (I didn't), but the cover, the cover, the cover.


Of course, I shouldn't give the cover all the credit, I was after all also intrigued by the synopsis of "a hilarious send-up of China's love affair with capitalism." It goes on to namedrop both Franz Kafka and Larry David, in describing the story collection as a synthesis of "slangy swagger" with "the inanities of everyday life in contemporary China."

But that wasn't the first thing to strike my eye.

I saw those gorgeous James Bond hardcovers:

And there are these new edition series of adventure books:

I'm reminded by all of this, that the Penguin Blog is a great interwebian destination, often detailing the beautiful process that goes into their covers.

Certificate for a Fix

Work has long been an enabler for my book addiction, but never quite so literally. On Tuesday, I received a gift certificate for Chapters Indigo worth 10 dollars as a goodbye present for my contributions to the team (generic contributions, we all got one).

What to buy? I want to spend it soon; it's burning a hole in my pocket as well as my soul.

Suggestions are absolutely welcome. Here's some candidates from my usual scope and loiter at the book shops:

Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard

Candide by Voltaire (which I already own in cheapo version-- but look an edition with Chris Ware cover and French flaps!-- meaning I'd have a copy to give away afterwards)

Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (the current frontrunner)

Book Covers: Penguin & George Orwell

I almost wish I didn't already own these. I'm almost tempted to buy them over again. Almost.

Designs by noted plagiarismo Shepard Fairey.



Source: The Penguin Blog

Stupid Sexy Bookstores

... and their stupid sexy books.

Latest buys:


and


I buy books faster than I can read them.

Literary Influences I

I found it. I truly did.
L'Étranger. A novel by Albert Camus. I don't know what it's about. I had been looking for it, though. I read the blurb on the back when I found it. I've already put it out of mind. An act of violence. All I remember, that I had known previous, is that it revolves around the protagonist doing that, making the choice to. I can't help but be in touch with this theme. An act of violence. I like to say my favourite book, thematically, is Crime and Punishment. I like to say that. Then I heard of the plot of Camus' novel here. I knew I couldn't write until I'd absorbed this Camus. I'm trying to avoid stepping on anybody's toes. I know that's an impossible task, but I can at least avoid the masters. So many books to read.

All this time I had been looking The Stranger until today when Penguin offers me The Outsider.
Here's one step closer to settling down and writing. Now I just have to read it.