The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
--Benjamin Button: [Voice over; letter to his daughter] From The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Comment: Between playing with K, nursing the baby and trying to feed myself, I watched this long but highly affecting film. Now it could be my heightened emotional state, but I cried throughout the whole damn thing. I was particularly struck by Benjamin Button's advice to his daughter. It really struck a chord with me and I thought it was sound advice for a parent to give a child.

Food for thought

It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.
--From Asphodel, that Greeny Flower by William Carlos Williams

Catcher in the Rye cover

This is one of my favorite covers, though I have to admit that I am one of the very few people that you will know who have not read the book. It's on my shelf, though, waiting.

The Evening Sun

This is a tough one to make out (maybe I'll scan it later instead of swiping it off of S&S's website). It's the cover of The Evening Sun by David Lehman. A wonderful collection of poetry, but the cover is also so striking. The painting is by John Sloan. He was sort of predecessor of Edward Hopper in the New York school of painting--part of that crowd that made the radical shift from painting pastoral, scenic landscapes to more urban settings. Because of this book cover, I discovered John Sloan and have a framed copy of "The City from Greenwich Village" above my desk. The cover designer, Alese Pickering, did a wonderful job marrying a beautiful image with the spirit of the book.

The Trademarks of Paul Rand: A Selection

Plastic Art and Pure Plastic Art--Paul Rand

Great Issues in American History--Paul Rand

You CAN judge a book cover by its cover

I had the greatest little discovery last night. I was just glancing at my book shelves, thinking to myself, "Okay, some of these books have to go." There were old books from college, books I'll never read, books that are just there because I haven't found a way to unload them. In the past year or so I've gotten far less sentimental and territorial about my books. I used to like having lots of books around just so I looked like I had lot of books around, but now books I don't read or love just seem like excess weight and fluff. Clutter really.

Anyway, I was glancing at a shelf I haven't looked at in a while and saw an old book from high school that a friend gave me called The Condemned of Altona by Jean Paul Sartre. I noticed that I had only made it through half the play (I saw an old Septa ticket I must have been using as a book mark). Existentialism was probably a little too heavy for train reading (it probably still is) but what struck me the most was the fantastic cover art. I thought, "This is an amazing book cover."

Thanks to the power of the internet, I googled the cover and discovered the work of designer Paul Rand ( Born Peretz Rosenbaum). Known mostly for his industry logos like the one he designed for IBM, Rand was also known for his book covers and posters. Here are a few samples of his work. There is also a website dedicated to him that's worth checking out. I love his sense of color and shape. He was obviously influenced and and even pushing the envelope of the aesthetic and modernist movement of his time, but his work is also commercial and appealing. I wish book covers still looked like this!

If you have a favorite book cover, please share! As I was researching, I saw there were blogs out there about book covers (well, I only actually found one, but I am sure there are more). The internet is truly breathtaking in its reach and nerdiness.

Sorry if this post seems rushed. K is watching Sesame Street and I need to get dressed and have him dressed and then get out the door. It's all about not missing "the window"!