What is your book cover trying to tell us
Monthly Archives: March 2008
Wikipedia is not the beginning and end of research
…students don’t consult enough sources. Wikipedia is so easy and accessible that it stands out from all other reference works. Thirty years ago, students might check several encyclopedias…. Now, it’s Wikipedia first and, too often, last.
Mark Bauerlein, via The Chronicle of Higher Education. Link.
The ubiquitous Wikipedia
…the Wikipedia site was listed among the top three Google hits 100 percent of the time.
Michael Petrilli. Link.
Coffee snobs unite!
There’s coffee and then there’s coffee. Ditto what David Burn says:
“I have enough compromise in my life, I don’t need it in my coffee.”
“The surface of graphic design”
1) “the equal footing on which everything lends itself to art”
2) “the surface of conversion where words, forms, and things exchange roles”
3) “the surface of equivalence” between “the purity of art” and “forms of life.”
“Better content from trusted sources”
Just because a cell phone can shoot video doesn’t mean the person operating the device has the faintest clue about building an audience.
David Burn of AdPulp on Link
Love ’em/hate ’em — poetry book cover designs
Gary Sullivan on poetry book cover designs:
“Stephen Paul Miller’s Skinny Eighth Avenue… has enough design problems to send me quickly in the other direction…. screams not just DESKTOP PUBLISHING but PRINT ON DEMAND.
“In the 60s and 70s, amateurish often meant a simple type on a white cover with a hand-drawn black & white image. These items often have a kind of funky charm, and sometimes even elegance, to them…. With the rise of desktop publishing in the 80s, things began heading south. Link
Avoid scaring off potential readers with “desktop publishing/print on demand” covers and hire me a professional graphic designer.
Lost in translation
Considering that I just read a few books of French prose (translations), I find this vaguely interesting.
“Did you know that in America we publish less literature in translation by far than any other industrialized democracy (in America 1% while in France 60%)?” Link
Based on my reading habits, I am a minority among most American.
Weekend review
Another reason not to visit Disney: Fingertip biometrics at Disney turnstiles
Open society: largest data breaches
If it looks like a moleskine: “stylish little pocket notebook”
Book Design Review’s latest: Kate Christensen Wins PEN/Faulker
And finally, from Seth Godin:
“So, there’s plenty of bad economic news floating around. From the price of oil to Wall Street to bailouts to the death of traditional advertising.
Which is great news for anyone hoping to grow or to make an impact.”
Quote: Persistence is having the same goal over and over
Persistence isn’t using the same tactics over and over. That’s just annoying.
Persistence is having the same goal over and over.
Seth Godin. Link.
Coffeehouse Junkie 