Loving Book By Its Cover

Usually, when we see the phrase, “book by its cover,” we have the compulsion to cap it off with the token “don’t judge.” But Julia Rothman, Brooklyn, NY illustrator and pattern designer, resists the temptation for closure. She just lets it ride.

Love. Hate. Accept. Reject. Be captivated. Be repulsed. Be indifferent.

It makes no difference.

Just look.

(From Reyna Maria Valdes' "Cuba en la Grafica")

Rothman’s blog, “Book By Its Cover” is a collection of art and illustration books that she has collected over the years. From fine art and design to comics and children’s books, Rothman’s selections are quirky and whimsical. Most of the images feel spontaneous, like the artists were pouring the visions out of their minds and directly onto the paper.

(From Karen Klassen's Sketchbook Series)

I personally love the section devoted to sketchbooks. As a perpetual doodler myself, I find the most outlandish inspiration comes from the absent-minded scribbles. (Just last week I ended up with a full-blown boxing match in the margin of my advanced theory notebook.) Plus, sketches don’t have to make sense – they just are what they are, in, of, and for themselves.

(From Paolo Rivera's Sketchbook Series)

My personal favorite selection is Ben Chlapek’s “How Can I Be Expected to Work on a Day Like This?” You know when you’re running on empty and you start spouting random incoherencies? When your mind opens up to the strangest thoughts, all of which you find either endlessly profound or just hilarious? This is what this book feels like. It’s bizarrely charming (check out the “trees have sex when you aren’t looking” proclamation below).

(From Ben Chlapek's "How Can I Be Expected to Work on a Day Like This?")

So check it out for yourself. If you’re interested in purchasing anything you peruse, Rothman usually provides a link to the merchandise in her post.