Fashionably bookish.

via Kate Spade

The Book Clutch – for the fashionably nerdy.

Cover story.

Judge a book by its cover. Sometimes what is on the outside can be just as interesting as what is on the inside (or more interesting if it is a bad book). If you are searching for some good procrastination activity – check out the gallery for some fantastic blogs/websites dedicated to book cover design.

Colour Lovers

NYT The Book Design Review

The Book Cover Design Archives

Covers

AIGA Design Archives

Honey Tech Blog

10, 11, Twelve.

Taking big risks sometimes leads to getting big rewards. Author Nick McDonnell has probably figured this out by now. The first of his three novels – Twelve – is being released as a movie later this month. McDonell’s books (the other two being The Third Brother, and An Expensive Education) are some of the best I have read in awhile and even if this indie movie is a total dud (which reviews say it is), I won’t be too upset. Combining an intriguing book with the face of Chace Crawford will make any girl happy…

My reasons for liking McDonell’s novels – each is entirely different yet the same. Be it the story line of a drug dealer, ivy leaguer, or international spy, he finds a way to twist together and interconnect the world of trust funds with places foreign to wealth. Call it Gossip Girl meets Babel…

But back to why McDonnell should get the whole “risk and reward” theory – he wrote Twelve at age 17. Nothing like putting your first work out there and having it come back with critical praise. Why didn’t I try that… oh right, there is a talent factor to take into consideration, hmmm.

With her nose stuck in a book.

“Featuring a book on your bookshelf is akin to displaying a trophy. You’ve accomplished something in reading a book; it feels like a victory. The opportunity to display your literary conquests in unique or unexpected ways is something I will greatly miss with e-readers.”

The New Yorker’s The Book Bench on Bookshelf Porn

Take that Kindle, Nook, and iPad…

via And the Pursuit of Happiness – George is Everywhere

via Bookshelf Porn

via Jane Mount

via Victoria Reichelt

via Bookshelf Porn

via Amanda’s Facebook

via Absolut Materialist

via Jane Mount

via Kristen Angelo

Read Please.

I’m not really asking you to read my blog post. I’m just asking you to read, you know the general pick-up-a-book-and-open-it-up type of activity.

Tonight I went to see, The Last Song (insert groan here). I’m not a Nicholas Sparks fan, but I did love that book. So, naturally I had to see the movie and, naturally, it wasn’t as good as the book. Isn’t that always the case? But at the end of the movie I wasn’t upset by its omission of several key story lines. What I was mad about was how few people in the theater had actually read the book.

I live in a college bubble. So I am going to relate my observations to what I know. In college, most people neglect to read anything outside of assigned material (and even that most students struggle to truly complete). They don’t read beyond the assigned material and they don’t even read for fun. People wonder why younger generations don’t read the newspaper – yes it has to do with the fact we like our news online or in video form, but it also has to do with the fact most college kids are appalled by the idea of sitting down and simply reading. Somewhere between our parents reading us bedtime books and us living on our own reading became a nonexistent activity. And I’m afraid this trend won’t end once we wear our caps and gowns and walk across the quad for graduation. There won’t be a magic on switch that tells us it is time to start reading again. For some people, after college they won’t read anything except for the files on their desk at work and the instruction manuel to set up their new television.

But I have found reading is what pushes us. It pushes our interests into new areas. It pushes our minds to be open to new things. It makes us better, even if it is just a Nicholas Sparks book. So this is my plea for people to start reading. You will get something out of it and you will know when a book turned movie deserves two thumbs down.