Peter Mendelsund

A Knopf art director presents a fully illustrated investigation into how we visualize images while reading works of literature, sharing example fragments of artwork that provide insights into how authors imagined their characters and settings. Original. 20,000 first printing.

A Phenomenology ; with Illustrations

What We See when We Read

The fiction debut from the LA Times bestselling author of What We See When We Read-- a novel of ideas set in a mysterious institute in the desert. In the shifting desert sands on the outskirts of a Middle Eastern city sits a mysterious Institute, where Fellows in every field of knowledge and endeavor under the (inhospitably hot) sun work on Projects and give Discourses(TM) and dedicate themselves to copying, cloning, replicating, and reproducing a world to which none of them seem to have any intention of returning. Same Same is Percy Frobisher's account of his tenure as a Fellow at the Institute, and his attempt to realize--or is it simulate?--his own audacious Project. Imagining a world in which simulacra have as much value as the real--so much so that any distinction between the two vanishes, and even language seeks to reproduce meaning through ever more degraded copies of itself--Peter Mendelsund has crafted a deeply unsettling novel about what it means to exist, and to create . . . and a future that may not be far off.

A Novel

Same Same

David J. Alworth

Why do some book covers instantly grab your attention, while others never get a second glance? Fusing word and image, as well as design thinking and literary criticism, this captivating investigation goes behind the scenes of the cover design process to answer this question and more. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW As the outward face of the text, the book cover makes an all-important first impression. The Look of the Book examines art at the edges of literature through notable covers and the stories behind them, galleries of the many different jackets of bestselling books, an overview of book cover trends throughout history, and insights from dozens of literary and design luminaries. Co-authored by celebrated designer and creative director Peter Mendelsund and scholar David Alworth, this fascinating collaboration, featuring hundreds of covers, challenges our notions of what a book cover can and should be.

Jackets, Covers, and Art at the Edges of Literature

The Look of the Book

An original and visually engaging book cover can help make the difference between a flop and a smash, and over the years more than a few designers have taken the creative and mysterious process to levels of supreme beauty and imagination. Peter Mendelsund is that kind of designer and Cover is the story of his love affair with books. Amongst the many recognisable covers he has created are those for the American edition of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vintage); collections of the works of Joyce, Kafka and Dostoevsky; Peter Carey; Martin Amis and more.

Cover

Why do some book covers become instant classics? This captivating visual exploration of the book cover sheds light on the creative genius sitting on our shelves. As readers, we're all guilty of judging a book by its cover. The cover is the outward face of the text--done right, a cover can become iconic, but done wrong, it can become an object of ridicule. The Look of the Book examines the art of the book cover through notable covers and the stories behind them, interviews with artists and literary luminaries, galleries of the many different jackets of bestselling books, and more. Authored by legendary designer and art director Peter Mendelsund--who has designed iconic covers for authors such as David Sedaris, Stieg Larsson, Yaa Gyasi, Jo Nesbo, and Kazuo Ishiguro--and Harvard humanities professor David Alworth, this fascinating inside look at the intersection of culture and commerce challenges our notions of what a book cover can and should be.

Enter the world of the Delivery Boy, who must peddle his way to 5-star customer ratings—and, perhaps, freedom—in novelist and graphic designer Peter Mendelsund’s The Delivery. Countries go wrong, sometimes, and sometimes the luckier citizens of those countries have a chance to escape and seek refuge in another country—a country that might itself be in the process of going wrong. In the bustling indifference of an unnamed city, one such citizen finds himself trapped working for a company that makes its money dispatching an army of undocumented refugees to bring the well-off men and women of this confounding metropolis their dinners. Whatever he might have been at home, this citizen is now a Delivery Boy: member of a new and invisible working class, pedaling his power-assist bike through traffic hoping for a decent tip and a five star rating. He is decidedly a Delivery Boy; sometimes he even feels like a Delivery Baby; certainly he's not yet a Delivery Man, though he'll have to "man-up" if he wants to impress N.—the aloof dispatcher who sends him his orders and helps him with his English. Can our hero avoid the wrath of his Supervisor, get the girl, and escape his indentured servitude? Can someone in his predicament ever get a happy ending? Who gets to decide? And who's telling this story, anyway? Harrowing and hilarious, The Delivery is a fable for and about our times: an exploration of the ways language and commerce unites and isolates every one of us, native and immigrant both.

The Delivery

Che cosa vediamo quando leggiamo

resimli bir fenomenoloji

Okurken ne görürüz?

O Que Vemos Quando Lemos

¿Describió Tolstói a Ana Karenina? ¿Nos contó Melville alguna vez cuál era el aspecto de Ismael? ¿Cómo nos imaginamos el Londres de Dickens o el Dublín de Joyce? Peter Mendelsund, uno de los mejores diseñadores de cubiertas de libros del mundo, ha escrito una exploración única del fenómeno de la lectura que nos revela hasta qué punto leer es un acto creativo.

Peter Mendelsund

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