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New York, 6:28 PM
Fri Dec 18
45 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Rozelle’s Bagman Rozelle’s Bagman
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    Nabokov, natch, took an active interest in the dust jacket and paperback cover art, liking most end products, pissing on some others.

    [therumpus.net]
     Reply
    Edited by Rozelle’s Bagman at 12/15/09 5:43 PM Rozelle’s Bagman was starred Rozelle’s Bagman was unstarred
    Image of the_pants the_pants
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    Hmmmm. With a name like Vladimir Nabokov, the books need more vampires on the covers. I only read books with vampires on the covers. Just throw a few vampires on the covers and we're good.
     Reply
    Princess Sparkle Pony approved this comment the_pants was starred the_pants was unstarred
    Image of Princess Sparkle Pony Princess Sparkle Pony
    12/15/09

    @the_pants:
    ...or Zombies.
     Reply
    Princess Sparkle Pony was starred Princess Sparkle Pony was unstarred
    Image of eatsshootsleaves eatsshootsleaves
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    So we're all pretentious literary twats here, right? That's what I thought.

    So anyway, apart from Pale Fire and Lolita, what are his best works? I've read Pnin (meh) and his biography of Gogol. What now? Speak, Memory?

    I also started Invitation to a Beheading but I found it hard to get into.
     Reply
    eatsshootsleaves was starred eatsshootsleaves was unstarred
    Image of contains_hot_liquid contains_hot_liquid
    12/15/09

    @eatsshootsleaves: Speak, Memory might be his best book.

    Also: Laughter in the Dark, the complete short stories (economical!), Invitation to a Beheading. Hard to go wrong, really, but save Ada or Ardor for when you've got a broken leg or something.
     Reply
    contains_hot_liquid was starred contains_hot_liquid was unstarred
    Image of Perhaps Not Perhaps Not
    12/15/09

    @eatsshootsleaves: Ada, or Ardor will utterly break your brain, but it's wonderful. Agreed with C_H_L, save for lengthy bedrest but by all means read.
     Reply
    Perhaps Not was starred Perhaps Not was unstarred
    Image of Rozelle’s Bagman Rozelle’s Bagman
    12/15/09

    @eatsshootsleaves: Read his Lectures on Literature.
     Reply
    Rozelle’s Bagman was starred Rozelle’s Bagman was unstarred
    Image of rumpofsteelskin rumpofsteelskin
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    Literacy rates are one marker of a society; however, this may only mean that people have Harry Potter and not Nabokov as their highest achievement. True art will always be for the elite. Even when we tell ourselves we are literate as a society, we are simply establishing a very low bar. God I sound pretentious; someone please shoot me.
     Reply
    blix promoted this comment rumpofsteelskin was starred rumpofsteelskin was unstarred
    Image of blix blix
    12/15/09

    @rumpofsteelskin: No shoot, promote.
     Reply
    blix was starred blix was unstarred
    Image of rumpofsteelskin rumpofsteelskin
    12/15/09

    @blix: Thanks for the no-shoot blix. That is grounds for friendship in my book.
     Reply
    rumpofsteelskin was starred rumpofsteelskin was unstarred
    Image of nehru nehru
    12/15/09

    @rumpofsteelskin: Maybe, but in the case of Nabokov, I stopped reading his work after he misquoted Tolstoy at the begining of 'Ada.' Perhaps you can clarify this for me.
     Reply
    nehru was starred nehru was unstarred
    Image of rumpofsteelskin rumpofsteelskin
    12/15/09

    @nehru: So your saying misquote = non-art? Ha ha, that would be funny if it were true. Sounds like you are more interested in scholarship than art, which is fine. I have only started reading the Nabokov oeuvre, in any case, I will let you know when I get to Ada.
     Reply
    rumpofsteelskin was starred rumpofsteelskin was unstarred
    Image of westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago) westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago)
    12/15/09

    @nehru: Hmm, any chance that could have been a translation issue? I mean, he's the only author I can think of that wrote (well) in three different languages. I'm inclined to give him a pass.
     Reply
    westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago) was starred westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago) was unstarred
    Image of nehru nehru
    12/15/09

    @westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago): He inverts the meaning of the happy families quote from the begining of Anna Karenina. I've read some criticism that suggests it was done deliberately, but I didn't find the argument convincing. Anyway, I was never a lit student, so I'm open to more info.
     Reply
    vanka-vstanka promoted this comment nehru was starred nehru was unstarred
    Image of vanka-vstanka vanka-vstanka
    12/16/09

    @nehru: Well, first of all, Ada doesn't take place on Earth as we know it, it takes place on Antiterra. Second of all, you wouldn't even be able to graduate from the Russian public school system unless you could quote it properly, so the fact you think Nabokov, a literary genius who taught Russian literature at leading American universities, would accidentally misquote Tolstoy is baffling. Nabokov planned all of his books meticulously, the way he played chess. Much of Ada is devoted to word games and literary allusions, and knowing what is just a little bit "off" about the references is the whole fun.

    Also, I've read that the "misquote" at Ada is a jab at crappy Russian translations, a la Constance Garnett. But Ada itself was originally written in English, like all of Nabokov's works after The Gift. So it wouldn't be a mistranslation on the translator of Nabokov's part, especially since, going either way (Russian to English or English to Russian), the bulk of Nabokov has been translated either by the man himself or his son.

    I mean, I guess my basic point is that if you can't see the deliberateness of what Nabokov does, leave the poor man alone and read Tolstoy. I hate Tolstoy.
     Reply
    vanka-vstanka was starred vanka-vstanka was unstarred
    Image of TroisFilles TroisFilles
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    I hate new covers. The original cover usually represented a snapshot in time. Who the heck wants to read a Nancy Drew book with Nancy all fat and in low rise jeans with a big fat muffintop belly? Nancy wears dresses and gloves dammit. HATE NEW COVERS!
     Reply
    DahlELama promoted this comment TroisFilles was starred TroisFilles was unstarred
    Image of DahlELama DahlELama
    12/15/09

    @TroisFilles: Mostly agree, and the really iconic ones should never be touched, but these are just so pretty...
     Reply
    DahlELama was starred DahlELama was unstarred
    Image of Botswana Meat Commission FC Botswana Meat Commission FC
    12/15/09

    @DahlELama: Blue and white "Great Gatsby" has to be in the paperback pantheon.
     Reply
    Botswana Meat Commission FC was starred Botswana Meat Commission FC was unstarred
    Image of DahlELama DahlELama
    12/15/09

    @Botswana Meat Commission FC: That was exactly the cover I was picturing when I said "the really iconic ones," actually.
     Reply
    DahlELama was starred DahlELama was unstarred
    Image of Perhaps Not Perhaps Not
    12/15/09

    @TroisFilles: The old covers to "Ada, or Ardor" and "Pale Fire" and most of the Vintage Nabokov were bad enough to make me consider replacing the books with these pretty new ones, actually.
     Reply
    Edited by Perhaps Not at 12/15/09 4:29 PM Perhaps Not was starred Perhaps Not was unstarred
    Image of Menardo Menardo
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    High-end graphics for paperbacks and republishing backlist isn't "a trend" or some desperate, last ditch effort to sell books. It's actually what publishers have been doing for the sixty-or-so years since paperbacks came into the marketplace.

    Nice that you've started to notice, though....
     Reply
    DahlELama promoted this comment Menardo was starred Menardo was unstarred
    Image of DahlELama DahlELama
    12/15/09

    @Menardo: This is true, but I think it's rather unusual to an author's (near) entire list at once, no? And I love the art itself; much better than the movie-release covers I'm so sick of seeing.
     Reply
    DahlELama was starred DahlELama was unstarred
    Image of BookishLookish BookishLookish
    12/15/09

    @Menardo: True. I like the scene in "The Seven Year Itch" when they remake the covers for classics like "Little Women" and they are really sexed up like pulp novels. Gotta make those kids read!
     Reply
    BookishLookish was starred BookishLookish was unstarred
    Image of blix blix
    12/15/09

    @BookishLatkeish: I'm holding out for "Crime & Punishment & Zombies".
     Reply
    blix was starred blix was unstarred
    Image of chickachicka chickachicka
    12/15/09

    @Menardo: @DahlELama: Vintage has one of the best backlist repackaging campaigns I've ever seen. Granted, their author list is out of this world (Camus, Garcia Marquez, Nabokov, Achebe, etc.), but they have an amazing backlist program, in which many of their authors have a distinct look that is updated every so often.

    You're right that it's commonplace to repackage, but I don't know many other publishers who do it with the same success as Vintage books.
     Reply
    contains_hot_liquid promoted this comment chickachicka was starred chickachicka was unstarred
    Image of contains_hot_liquid contains_hot_liquid
    12/15/09

    @blix: And then there's Tutis, a publisher that is the opposite of everything we're talking about here. They are fucking amazing.

    The Caustic Cover Critic, which is a great blog, has been following them for a bit now.

    [causticcovercritic.blogspot.com]

    Highly amusing.
     Reply
    Edited by contains_hot_liquid at 12/15/09 1:44 PM contains_hot_liquid was starred contains_hot_liquid was unstarred
    Image of blix blix
    12/15/09

    @contains_hot_liquid: Thanks, servicey! Who knew Franz Liszt was a blues guitarist?
     Reply
    blix was starred blix was unstarred
    Image of BookishLookish BookishLookish
    12/15/09

    @contains_hot_liquid: Cool, thanks.

    Can we keep this thread going? I am trying to lure smithhimself out of hiding, I miss him terribly.
     Reply
    BookishLookish was starred BookishLookish was unstarred
    Image of itsalwaysthequietones itsalwaysthequietones
    12/15/09

    @contains_hot_liquid: I have tears running down my face!
     Reply
    contains_hot_liquid promoted this comment itsalwaysthequietones was starred itsalwaysthequietones was unstarred
    Image of contains_hot_liquid contains_hot_liquid
    12/15/09

    @chickachicka: Vintage can be great, but also terrible. They completely failed Philip K. Dick with those gold computerish covers (though those books are gonna sell anyway).
     Reply
    contains_hot_liquid was starred contains_hot_liquid was unstarred
    Image of manchops manchops
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    Oh, the words aren't all that big, give it a shot.
    Hey gawker--how about crediting the artists/designers? They're pretty amazing looking.
     Reply
    manchops was starred manchops was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    I'm confused. They're actually asking me to judge a book by its cover now?
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of miss_msry miss_msry
    12/15/09

    @[gawker.com]

    It's working for me. "Invitation to a Beheading? here I come.

    Damn those marketing genii.
     Reply
    Edited by miss_msry at 12/15/09 3:10 PM miss_msry was starred miss_msry was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    12/15/09

    @miss_msry: . . . with cover art by Tobe Hooper and George A. Romero.
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of pony_express pony_express
    12/15/09

    In reply to Pretty New Covers for Pretty Old Books
    Decades ago People magazine reviewed Nabakov and every middle class couple felt it there duty to read Lolita so they could appear literate at cocktail parties. All we need is to somehow get Paris Hilton to run around with a copy of Ulysses or the like and a new generation of readers would be born.
     Reply
    AzureTexan promoted this comment Edited by pony_express at 12/15/09 1:06 PM pony_express was starred pony_express was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    12/15/09

    @pony_express: . . . or at least a generation of people who, unable to go on, have permanently bookmarked Ulysses at around page 282 or so.
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of pony_express pony_express
    12/15/09

    @AzureTexan: Ha! I got to the last section and somehow never finished it myself. I've been told that Penelope is the best chapter too.
     Reply
    pony_express was starred pony_express was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    12/15/09

    @pony_express: Me, I'm still waiting for 'em to make a movie out of the Cliff's Notes.
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of pony_express pony_express
    12/15/09

    @AzureTexan: Technically-- the BBC did. It's actually not half bad to watch-- screen shots of Dublin with a lot of voice over. Got me through the seminar class and a 15 page paper on the subject.
     Reply
    Edited by pony_express at 12/15/09 1:36 PM pony_express was starred pony_express was unstarred
    Image of MyNameIsChris MyNameIsChris
    12/15/09

    @AzureTexan: So old school... this generation has moved on to not finishing Infinite Jest.
     Reply
    MyNameIsChris was starred MyNameIsChris was unstarred
    Image of Seeräuber Jenny Seeräuber Jenny
    12/15/09

    What, no Mary (Mashenka)?

    The covers are interesting.
     Reply
    Seeräuber Jenny was starred Seeräuber Jenny was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    12/15/09

    @pony_express: Really? I'll have to check it out, provided I get a pint of stout with a bowl of Irish stew.

    P.S. In high school I was assigned to write a report on "Tess of the d'Urbervilles." What high-school boy is going to read "Tess of the d'Urbervilles"? Instead I rented the old Nastassja Kinski movie — and what high-school boy is going to turn down a night with Nastassja Kinski? — and eventually got a B.

    Everybody wins.
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    12/15/09

    @MyNameIsChris: True. It really is an infinite jest.
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of pony_express pony_express
    12/15/09

    @AzureTexan: No Irish stew but Bloom does fry up a lot of offal if memory serves--
    Now I'm going to rent the Kinski film. My mother is a Brit, I was raised on Hardy.

    So if Ashlee Dupree or one of the women of Tiger would review Tess or The Scarlet Letter, they would be back in the popular canon.
     Reply
    pony_express was starred pony_express was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    12/15/09

    @pony_express: Agreed.
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of ifstone ifstone
    12/11/09

    In reply to Men's Health Editor Says Running the Same Cover Lines Twice was Deliberate
    I knew a complete sell-out hack who wrote for Men's Health once in awhile. He was honest-to-god dyslexic. He sold magazine mentions of products PR guys were pushing him.
     Reply
    ifstone was starred ifstone was unstarred
    Image of markscottmusic markscottmusic
    12/11/09

    In reply to Men's Health Editor Says Running the Same Cover Lines Twice was Deliberate
    I stopped subsribing to this magazine ages ago for just this reason. The same boring content recycled each month.
     Reply
    markscottmusic was starred markscottmusic was unstarred
    Image of nirreskeya nirreskeya
    12/11/09

    @markscottmusic: Don't almost all of these self-help magazines operate this way? They must be able to operate with staffs of five.
     Reply
    nirreskeya was starred nirreskeya was unstarred
    Image of Trai_Dep Trai_Dep
    12/11/09

    In reply to Men's Health Editor Says Running the Same Cover Lines Twice was Deliberate
    Clearly the only sensible way for Men's Health to settle this is to arrange a photoshoot involving Statham, Taylor, wrestling singlets and sweaty, masculine supervised combat.
    And extended, comprehensive photoshoot.
     Reply
    Trai_Dep was starred Trai_Dep was unstarred
    Image of Trai_Dep Trai_Dep
    12/11/09

    In reply to Men's Health Editor Says Running the Same Cover Lines Twice was Deliberate
    So long as Zinczenko isn't airbrush-enhancing the model's abs or digitally enlarging their fulsome, manly genital bulges. Because if that were the case, I don't think I could take the shock and disappointment.
     Reply
    Trai_Dep was starred Trai_Dep was unstarred
    Image of MisterHippity MisterHippity
    12/11/09

    In reply to Men's Health Editor Says Running the Same Cover Lines Twice was Deliberate
    Look, Ravi, it's all about leverage and synergy, which are advanced business concepts that you probably don't understand.

    But trust me when I tell you that it all makes sense because it's leverageable and synergistic.

    Also, it all dovetails nicely with the hyperextended enterprise. Do you know what that means? No? I thought not.
     Reply
    MisterHippity was starred MisterHippity was unstarred
    Image of nirreskeya nirreskeya
    12/11/09

    @MisterHippity: I didn't need *that* on an otherwise great Friday morning.
     Reply
    nirreskeya was starred nirreskeya was unstarred
    Image of Moff Moff
    12/11/09

    In reply to Men's Health Editor Says Running the Same Cover Lines Twice was Deliberate
    "I don't care how little we have to pay them. I knew this 'infinite monkeys' plan of yours was a bust, Zinczenko."
     Reply
    Moff was starred Moff was unstarred
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