Book Cover of the Day

Johannes Cabal the Detective
By Jonathan L. Howard
Doubleday $25.95

I don't know much about this book but I stare at it every time I walk by it. There's a zeppelin, a red lightning bolt, a mysterious man with a top hat, and a giant red question mark, very intriguing. A blurb on the front flap reads, " Steampunk meets the classic Sherlockian mystery in this rip-roaring adventure in the sky, where anything could happen . . . and does.", oh yes, very intriguing indeed!

Book Cover of the Day

Super Sad True Love Story
By Gary Shteyngart
Random House $26.00

Today's selection also happens to be the Best Weller's selection for August-September meaning we're offering it for 20% off during those months! Reminiscent of a Twister mat, I really like the circles and the repetition of words. But let's face it, I can't sell this book as well as this video can:

Book Cover of the Day

Imperial Bedrooms
By Bret Easton Ellis
Knopf $24.95

I've in a way already warned you to the fact that I'm drawn to simple, iconic, imagery in a newsprint color scheme, so this cover should be no surprise. And who designed it? That's right, Chip Kidd. Man, that guy is too good, it's just not fair.

Book Cover of the Day

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet
By David Mitchell
Random House $26.00

Though this most likely wasn't done by hand, a computer is probably the culprit now-a-days, I love the hand-made feel of this design. Collage elements along with the typeface looking stamped and slightly not quite aligned properly, the colors pop and catch your eye. This is a fantastic cover.

Book Cover of the Day

Villain
By Shuichi Yoshida
Pantheon $25.95

This cover was designed by my favorite cover designer, Chip Kidd. What you can't tell from this scan of the cover is that the skeleton gun (which is a fantastic image) is raised on the front cover. Needless to say, I want to be Chip Kidd when I grow up, he, in my opinion, is the best book cover designer out there today.

Book Cover of the Day

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
By Stieg Larsson
Knopf $27.95

I love the sparing use of red on this silver, black, white, and gray palette, it's as if the red dots are drops of blood. As with the previous Book Cover of the Day, The Geometry of Pasta, simplicity is the key to this design and the key to why it catches my eye (not just because of its use of my favorite color combination).

Book Cover of the Day

The Geometry of Pasta
By Caz Hildebrand & Jacob Kenedy
Quirk Books $24.95

The elegance of this book is stunning. The design of the cover continues throughout the book making it the most beautiful cookbook I've seen. Each shape of pasta has a short history and a recipe all illustrated with these black iconic images.

Go ahead–judge a book by its cover.