Almost everyone judges a book by its cover. A compelling cover design helps cut through the media clutter; even book covers for today’s best selling authors have become more creative and elaborate. When designing the cover art for Jeannette Walls’ latest novel Half Broke Horses (Scribner, 270pgs), designers at Scribner explored several different cover concepts before finding the right fit. Walls’ family memoir The Glass Castle topped the best sellers list in 2005, and Half Broke Horses is a follow up of sorts. The “true-life novel” recounts the experiences of her larger-than-life grandmother, Lily Casey Smith.
Grammy winner David Byrne is best known as the lead singer and founder of the iconic group Talking Heads. Recently, the singer/songwriter has changed creative gears, and written a new book about his bike riding travels around the world: Bicycle Diaries (Viking, 304pgs). An avid cyclist for more than 20 years, Byrne rides his bike almost everyday at home in New York City, and often takes a portable bike with him on tour. Byrne feels that hitting the streets on two wheels is a unique way to experience the pulse of a city. “On a bike, being just slightly above pedestrian and car eye level, one gets a perfect view of the goings-on in one’s own town.”
By James Patterson and Martin Dugard
Little, Brown and Company | Hardback 352pgs
Release Date: September 28, 2009
A new true crime story centered on the world’s most famous mummy arrives just in time for Halloween. Best-selling authors Patterson and Dugard pore over piles of forensic evidence, archaeologist files and ancient myths to discover a new theory about the murder of King Tut. The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King – A Nonfiction Thriller is told through three interweaving storylines: the authors’ forensic research, archaeologist Howard Carter’s discovery of Tut’s tomb, and The Boy King’s brief reign in Ancient Egypt.
Stephen King fans can’t wait to see what’s Under the Dome. Over the past couple weeks, the cover artwork for his new book Under the Dome has been revealed in stages at: stephenkingunderthedome.com. The final reveal will be on Monday, October 5. King conceived the idea for the cover, and Scribner art director Rex Bonomelli worked with artists in the U.S. and abroad to realize the vision. The artists used a combination of illustrations, 3D renderings and photographs to bring the cover to life.
Miami’s friendly neighborhood serial killer is back in Lindsay’s latest installment of the Dexter series. Fresh from his Parisian honeymoon, Dexter Morgan is enjoying a life of peaceful domesticity when a new killer shows up on his turf. Will the new husband and father be able to fend off the homicidal urges of his Dark Passenger and maintain a tranquil home life? Dexter fans around the world certainly hope not.
