Gifted in translation (2): The Arabian Nights

Earlier posts this week were about books in translation and books designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. Coralie also designed Penguin’s Limited Edition Clothbound Classic version of The Arabian Nights, translated by Malcolm Lyons with his wife, Ursula Lyons. The Limited Edition version is no longer available (unless you have over £600 to spend on Amazon). But …

Gifting a book by its cover: Christmas gifts as heirlooms

  In a recent article in the Guardian, Stuart Walton asks: “Do books furnish a room, as Anthony Powell’s Bagshaw insists? Or are they just a massive encumbrance?”. It depends on the book, surely. Any designed by Coralie Beckford-Smith would add beauty and delight to any room. Coralie designs for Penguin, and her books would make …

Planning a new website? Communicate! (with your translator too)

One of my clients told me recently that their company is re-doing its website. They’re working with web-designers and -developers, copy-writers, graphic designers and search-engine optimisation (SEO) specialists based in Spain, the US and various Italian cities. The client, a company based in north-east Italy, already works with designers and suppliers based in Spain, Denmark, …

Getting kids hooked on books… as art

My last post was about the unexpected pleasures that reading to children can bring – sometimes years afterwards. Another, more immediate added pleasure comes from children’s book illustrations. Here are two examples: The first two are from The Frog Who Wanted to See the Sea, by Guy Billout. And the third, sadly only published as a …

Book covers (2): an archive of book cover designs and designers…

…for the purpose of appreciation and categorisation. Or, if you like book covers, a website to get lost in: The Book Cover Archive.  The beautifully designed Archive is run by Ben Pieratt of General Projects and Eric Jacobsen of Whisky Van Gogh Go. You can search the archive by designer, title, author, art director, photographer, illustrator, genre, …

Book covers (1): transformed in translation

“Birdsong”, by Sebastian Faulks. UK version (left) and Chinese version (right) A recent Observer newspaper article warns us, Don’t judge a book by its cover, particularly in France. Books are routinely given completely different covers abroad, often with baffling results. This doesn’t just apply to foreign language versions. When I lived in Rome and shopped …

A blizzard of books (1)

I don’t know whether to be delighted or dismayed. Peachpit Press has published new titles by Robin Williams. Dismayed, because I’m in the middle of a clear-out and decluttering exercise that involves tens if not hundreds of books that I’ve accumulated over many years. And I’ve just splashed out on cut-price books at Borders, so I …