Saturday, November 27, 2010

Chronicle Books: Happy Haul-idays Giveaway


Chronicle Books is giving away $500 worth of books to one lucky blogger! All you have to do is post a list of books from Chronicle valued up to $500 that you'd like to win. And one commenter of the winning post will also win all the books on the winning blogger's post. You can increase your chances of winning by commenting in other blogs that have already entered (e.g. this one!).

Here's my list (in no particular order):
  1. Paper + Craft ($19.95)
  2. Reprodepot Pattern Book ($24.95)
  3. How to be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul ($24.95)
  4. 642 Things to Draw ($16.95)
  5. Volume ($24.95)
  6. Graphic Design for Nondesigners ($22.95)
  7. Letters from the Avant-Garde ($24.95)
  8. Swimming with Strangers ($22.95)
  9. Paris Out of Hand ($22.95)
  10. This is NPR ($29.95)
  11. The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects ($24.95)
  12. How To ($9.95)
  13. The Official Nancy Drew Handbook ($16.95)
  14. Fast, Fresh, and Green ($24.95)
  15. New Vegetarian ($19.95)
  16. Yum-Yum Bento Box ($16.95)
  17. All Cakes Considered ($24.95)
  18. Cupcake Kit ($19.95)
  19. The Small Object: Today is Super Journal ($10.95)
  20. Greetings from the Onion ($19.95)
  21. Greetings from the Ocean's Sweaty Face ($19.95)
  22. Romance Pulp Postcard Box ($2.99)
  23. The Art of Vintage DC Comics ($18.95)
  24. San Francisco Greetings ($9.95)
  25. Oh Joy! Mix & Match Stationery ($8.95)
  26. Lotta Jansdotter Notes & To-Dos ($12.95)
My sub-total: $498.74

The deadline to submit your entry is December 10th. If you've entered the contest, post comment! I'd love to see what's on your wish list.

Discount code
Get 35% off your purchase and free shipping by using the promo code "FRIENDS" (offer expires December 5th December 12th!).

Linky links:
Visit Chronicle Books
Learn more about the giveaway.
Official rules & stuff.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

An Evening with Rainn Wilson


On Thursday I got the chance to attend a book reading/discussion/Q&A/signing for Rainn Wilson's book SoulPancake: Chew on Life's Big Questions, which is the companion piece for soulpancake.com.

Where "spirituality meets creativity," SoulPancake is a project that emerged during the time Rainn Wilson was gaining recognition for his role as Dwight Schrute on the sitcom The Office. According to Rainn, he wanted to create a place (soulpancake.com) where people can converse and debate issues about life, philosophy, spirituality and everything in between. SoulPancake (the book) is like the existential adult version of Highlights—encouraging readers to write, draw, or take apart the book (or you can just read it while on the toilet). The book also has a lot of great contributions from artists.


Co-authors Golriz Lucina and Devon Gundry (Rainn Wilson contemplating life's big questions in the backgroud)

Rainn Wilson was hilarious (as expected), but I was surprised the co-authors didn't add much to the discussion. When getting my book signed, I asked Rainn if he had any book recommendations. "Yes," he said. Then he went to the art section of the bookstore and came back with 30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space. He gave copies of this book as Christmas presents.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's SoulPancake's book trailer:


Rainn Wilson // SoulPancake Book // Video Trailer from SoulPancake on Vimeo.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Multipurpose Book Storage

Ex-libris
If only I had an office...


Rotate It by Sherry An
A good storage solution for dorm rooms.


Trick by Sakura Adachi (via dornob)
Awesome!


Bookcave also by Sakura Adachi
I might be too claustrophobic for this...


Lost in Sofa by Daisuke Motogi Architecture
Just imagine all the loose change you'll find in there.


Bookinist by Nils Holger Moormann
And it even has a secret compartment!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Bored to Death: Opening Credits

From hbo.com:
"The offbeat comedy series 'Bored to Death,' created by Jonathan Ames, follows the misadventures of a fictional Jonathan Ames as he pursues his quixotic dream of emulating his heroes from classic private detective novels."






Just watched the first season on Netflix. Very funny and amazing cast!

Visit the Bored to Death website.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Mike Stilkey is a Guy who Paints on Books

Mike Stilkey is an artist who uses discarded books, which would have ended up in a dumpster, as a canvas for murals and sculptures. Watch the video below to see his process.


Mike Stilkey's Reminiscent from Daniel "YB" Ybarra on Vimeo.

See more examples of his work: MikeStilkey.com

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Exquisite Book

The Exquisite Book is collaboration between 100 artists and is based on the game Exquisite corpse (I remember playing a variation of this game in my English class in junior high). With each artist contributing one page, the books is divided into 10 chapters. Each page is connected by a shared horizon line. Collaborators only have the page preceding their own to reference to.

Watch the video below for a better explanation:


The Exquisite Book from ALSO on Vimeo.

Win a copy! 
Mint is giving away a copy of The Exquisite Book and sketchbook on their blog. All you have to do is leave a comment (deadline to enter is Tuesday, November 9th). Why not try your luck?

Buy the book! 
Purchase the book at Chronicle Books and receive 25% off plus free shipping (sweet!) when you enter the promo code EXQ.

If you're holiday shopping, this is a great book for any art lover!