Keenan/Brian Barth: All Shall Be Well And All Shall Be Well...

Keenan designed the US paperback (top), Brian Barth designed the hardcover (center) and the UK paperback's designer is unknown (bottom). "Meet Burt Hecker: a mead-drinking, tunic-wearing medieval re-enactor from upstate New York. He prefers oat gruel to French fries because potatoes were unavailable in Europe before 1200 AD; and, at war with the modern world, he enjoys hosting large-scale re-enactments at the Victorian bed and breakfast he calls home." Also, his "... nose is a dead ringer for that of the rhinophyma victim in Ghirlandaio’s "Portrait of an Elderly Man with His Son," a miniature copy of which Burt carries in his pouch.

Michael Ian Kaye: Everything That Rises Must Converge

Illustration by Roxanna Bikadoroff. This book was featured on the season finale of Lost (spoiler alert if you haven't seen it.) Jacob reads from it as John Locke falls from a high window behind him and hits the ground. Amazon says it's a "...collection of nine short stories by Flannery O'connor, published posthumously in 1965. The flawed characters of each story are fully revealed in apocalyptic moments of conflict and violence that are presented with comic detachment." Thanks for the info, Cat. You can read more about the possible connection of this book to the series here:
http://thelaverytory.blogspot.com/2009/05/lost-and-everything-that-rises-must.html

Chris Brand: Rennie Airth

Chris Brand re-brands these mystery novels set in and between the great wars. I love the font, which was created by Chris, as well as the coloration of the images. And there are nifty spot-gloss scratches, dots and lines on top of everything.

Ben Wiseman/Rodrigo Corral Design: Pygmy

Awesome cover for Palahniuk's new novel about "an unlikely terrorist cell: foreign-exchange students who arrive at a midwestern city, bent on unleashing Operation Havoc." The image of the toy soldier brandishing his own disembodied arm as it clutches Mao's Red Book is hilarious. Originally, this cover was to have no title or author, just the illustration, like Palahniuk's Rant. Custom type and illustrations by Ben Wiseman. Check out his website: http://ben-wiseman.com/

Chin-Yee Lai, Yentus & Booher: The Wishmaker

A gorgeous hand-lettered cover. Printed on matte paper with foil ornaments and embossed, spot gloss type.
"The turbulence of contemporary Pakistani politics is refracted through the intimate prism of a fractious extended family" in this novel, which takes place between early 90s and post-9/11 Lahore. New from Riverhead.

Rodrigo Corral/Tracy Morford: Sag Harbor

Great photo and type. In 1985, A 15-year old African-American Manhattan prep-shool kid comes of age during his yearly summer vacation in Long Island's Sag Harbor. The photo was taken on-site by a great photographer who's been collaborating with RCD, Tracy Morford:

http://www.tracymorford.com

The finish is surprisingly gloss. And the title is embossed.

Gregg Kulick: Always Magic in the Air

This is one of Kulick's first jackets, from 2005. It's awesome fun. The book "enthusiastically chronicles the lives and careers of seven songwriting teams from the 50s to the 60s."

Darren Haggar: Irvine Welsh

New Welsh books being released starting May 26. These are both fantastic. I love the gigantic retro type and giant images, which are both obnoxious and funny. Crime is a novel about a British detective on vacation in Miami, a vacation that turns into a nightmare when he tries to save a friend's 10-year-old daughter, who's been targeted by an organized ring of pedophiles. I've heard that Welsh's books can be disgusting and difficult to swallow. And these covers somehow hint at that but also make them look delicious.

Pictures at an Exhibition

Similar to our last post, but also stunning. The frame is printed with some metallic effect. The novel concerns a Jewish gallery owner who is forced into hiding during WWII, and returns to Paris only to find his gallery empty - having been looted by Nazis.

Peter Mendelsund: The Missing

Apart from being graceful and pretty, I love how this cover combines the old riverboat scene with a geometric form. It's also nice to see such small type. This novel takes place in post WWI New Orleans, where young girl is kidnapped and a man who feels responsible goes looking for her . The man's own son has died, and I'm guessing the ambiguous silhouette may refer to this child as well. I'm pretty sure this was printed on reverse side.

Charlotte Strick: Shadow and Light

This is a mystery set in Berlin between the world wars. When an executive of the Ufa Film Studios is murdered, a detective must inflitrate Berlin's sex and drug trade and Hitler's Browshirts to find the killer. I love the period detail here - from the frame to the awesome title font. And those searchlights rock. The cover is printed on metallic paper so it has a great sheen, and the border is gold foil.

Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich: Love & Obstacles

I don't know anything about the book aside from that it is a collection of short stories. But I love the circus-like feeling contrasted with the pile of paper as if to say that this is a collection of short stories that feels like a carnival. The stories follow the same character in a span of time, who undergoes surreal experiences.

Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich: Little Bee

There's so much here to love, but my favorite part of this jacket is the author type. Anyone know if this is an actual typeface or found type? It breaks my heart.

Adrian Tomine: Low Boy

I love the simplicity of this. There's no design credit, but the illustration is by Adrian Tomine--one of my favorites. His New Yorker covers always succeed on so many levels.

Evan Gaffney: Blond Roots

Top is the final cover. The novel recounts "...an alternative history that goes back several centuries to flip the slave trade, with Aphrikans enslaving the people of Europa and exporting many of them to Amarika. The plot revolves around Doris, the daughter of a long line of proud cabbage farmers who live in serfdom. After she's kidnapped by slavers, she experiences the horror and inhumanity of slave transport, is sold and works her way back to freedom." Evan originally pitched a two-cover idea (images 2 and 3) where the girl would be shown going from freedom to slavery on some covers and from slavery to freedom on the others. New from Riverhead.

Penguin UK Modern Classics

I really like the template for these UK paperbacks. And how about that boobage?

Jen Wang: The Angel Maker

Top is the final cover, bottom two are some first-round comps. The novel is inspired by Frankenstein, and deals with a scientist doing questionable genetic experiments in a European village. I love how all this is suggested by the final cover in the way the village houses drip into the gothic title like DNA strands. I also like how Jen places the Penguin logo. Gurl ain't afraid to slap it in da middle.

"The village of Wolfheim is a quiet little place until the geneticist Dr. Victor Hoppe returns after an absence of nearly twenty years. The doctor brings with him his infant children—three identical boys all sharing a disturbing disfigurement. He keeps them hidden away until Charlotte, the woman who is hired to care for them, begins to suspect that the triplets—and the good doctor— aren’t quite what they seem."(Penguin)

Spike Jonze: Where the Wild Things Are

The trailer is premiering on March 27 right before Monsters vs. Aliens. The film is directed by Spike Jonze. Stop reading now if you don't want to know what music will be performed in the trailer. I'm gonna tell you now. Arcade Fire's "Wake Up". Thank you Spike Jonze Fan Blog: http://s-jonze.blogspot.com/

Spotco: Gem of the Ocean

A theater poster design for the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis done by the NYC-based SpotCo. I think the giant figure in the water alludes to one of the characters being a former slave and the ship could be a slave ship.

Milan Bozic, Ervin Serrano, Keith Hayes: Sequels

Some new releases that aren't all sequels, but have all retained the same designer and look of the previous book.

Roberto de Vicq: Bonjour Tristesse

I've loved this cover for a while now. I pray it hasn't been featured on another blog. I would just DIE. Oh wait,
http://paper-kate.blogspot.com/2009/01/bonjour-tristesse.html

Jennifer Carrow: Security

I was at Books 192 this weekend and this book really stood out as one of the simplest and boldest designs of the season. And I couldn't help but smile at the comical eye image, which is a reference to the neiborhood watch signs you see in the suburbs; it also reminds me of the old Pink Panther movie titles. The story takes place in an affluent Massachusetts college town, where "...Edward Inman, owner of Stoneleigh Sentinel Security, gets a late-night alarm from the home of Doyle Cutler, one of his wealthiest clients. Edward thinks nothing of it—until a local student claims that she was sexually assaulted that same night at Cutler’s house."

Matte with spot gloss and emboss on the type.

Nina Paley: Sita Sings the Blues

Tonight on Reel 13, a cool animated film from Nina Paley:
"Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by e-mail. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana, set to the 1920’s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw"

You can watch the entire film here:
http://www.thirteen.org/sites/reel13/this-week/current-indie/indie-sita-sings-the-blues/241/

Gaffney/Ferguson/Staehle/Gray: The Believers

Nice cover, and check out the list of all-stars who worked on it. Rather unusual to see an enormous list like this on a cover. The illustration is foil-stamped on tomahawk paper.

Jarrod Taylor: Wonderful World

Spotted this new jacket on Jarrod Taylor's design:related page. What a stunner!