I enjoy looking at type. I really enjoy looking at the typography used in logos (too much Papyrus out there) and book covers.
But when I need a quick fix and want to bask in the glow of cool creative type treatments I click over to Forget the film, Watch the titles. It’s a growing collection of title sequences from the big screen.
I won’t share how much time I burn on this site.
I read Nick Toshes book In the Hand of Dante a couple of years ago and have just run across his writing twice today in two different places. Here he’s reviewing a Dante bio (Bookforum link via fade theory) and here he’s participating in Esquire‘s Napkin Project.
I have to say that his napkin my favorite thing he’s written.
The Napkin Project is pretty cool and I killed too much time there today. Some of the writing is good, but what I’ve enjoyed is looking how all of the authors used the space of the napkin. There’s even an entry from Bama-boy Rick Moody, who took up both sides of his napkin.
The Books Arts Program over in Tuscaloosa posts podcasts of interviews with book artists from around the country. I wish I had discovered this sooner. It’s great listening and amazing to compare the thoughts and processes of such an eclectic and talented group.
I hope they keep it up for years to come. Imagine having an archive full of these colorful folks 20 years down the road…
Simon & Schuster is producing a new online “get published” site. It’s called First Chapters and is being touted as a web-based “American Idol for books”. Basically, unpublished authors submit works, then everyone votes, etc., etc. After weeks of narrowing the field a panel of judges awards the winner $5,000 and a publishing contract.
Here’s the NY Times full article.
I guess any publicity for the publishing industry is good. But this just seems like a convoluted way of arriving at a book with mass appeal via the “lowest common denominator”.
I’ll check in once the field has been cut to the finalists. The whole point of relying on publishers and editors is so they cut through all the crap for me and I don’t have to waste time wading through stuff that’s not any good.