“When we remove ego, we’re left with what is real. What replaces ego is humility, yes—but rock-hard humility and confidence. Whereas ego is artificial, this type of confidence can hold weight. Ego is stolen. Confidence is earned.”
– Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy
Ego is stolen. Confidence is earned.
Sad Animal Facts
I just spent way too much time on Sad Animal Facts by Brooke Barber. So man of these illustrations made me chuckle. And soon they’re available as a book.
All Right, Call Me A Businessman
“…When you make something, when you improve something, when you deliver something, when you add some new thing or service to the lives of strangers, making them happier, or healthier, or safer, or better, and when you do it all crisply and efficiently, smartly, the way everything should be done but so seldom is – you’re participating more fully in the whole grand human drama. More than simply alive, you’re helping others to live more fully, and if that’s business, all right, call me a businessman.”
Phil Knight, Founder of Nike in Shoe Dog – A Memoir
Do Not Be Intimidated by Glamorous People
I get intimidated all the time. ALL THE TIME! Looks like an interesting read: Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps. I know, I know: two kids and two businesses and still trying to feel like a grown up. Maybe I never will…
Book Rainbow
Jonathan Whitfill is the force behind this book rainbow. Really wonderful. Made me look.
360° Book: Mt. Fuji
Drawing on both art and architecture, the award-winning 360° book allows the reader to get a 3D, panoramic view of Mt. Fuji, illustrated by Yusuke Oono. Lovely!
Vivian the Dog Moves to Brooklyn
My fellow FRIEND Mitch just launched the above Kickstarter campaign for his children’s book about a big dog moving to the “big city,” made to help kids (and adults) deal with giant-sized changes.
Harvesting Ideas
“It is not simply the brightest who have the best ideas; it is those who are best at harvesting ideas from others. It is not only the most determined who drive change; it is those who most fully engage with like-minded people. And it is not wealth or prestige that best motivates people; it is respect and help from peers.”
New Seymour Chwast Book Protests 5,000 Years of War
Design icon Seymour Chwast has used his art to battle war since 1957. His new antiwar book features 70 pages of original illustrations.
Seymour Chwast is a design legend. As co-founder with Milton Glaser of Push Pin Studios, he led a revolution in graphic design in the 1960s and ’70s, producing bold, vibrant work that pushed the limits of nearly every visual medium.
Now, he turns his pen and sketchpad toward creating a new book on a subject that has been a personal obsession for nearly six decades: the fight against war, humankind’s never-ending scourge. Definitely supporting this Kickstarter!
Mysterious Stacks of Books
Shaheryar Malik has left stacks of books from his own library at popular destinations all over New York City. He doesn’t stick around to see if anyone takes one of his books, nor does he re-visit his stacks. Instead he leaves a bookmark with his email address printed on it inside each book, in the hopes that he’ll hear back from whomever decided to pick that book up.
Beautifully absurd.
(via Sally)
Generosity
“Being a giver is not good for a 100-yard dash, but it’s valuable in a marathon.”
― Adam Grant
The Art of Asking
“From what I’ve seen, it isn’t so much the act of asking that paralyzes us–it’s what lies beneath: the fear of being vulnerable, the fear of rejection, the fear of looking needy or weak. The fear of being seen as a burdensome member of the community instead of a productive one. It points, fundamentally, to our separation from one another.”
– Amanda Palmer
The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help
Anna And Argyle
Anna and Argyle is a dynamic digital tale that combines the immersive power of modern technology with the timeless simplicity of a storybook.
It is the beautiful story of a girl who wants to find her lost sock. Anna ventures from her family’s laundromat in Brooklyn to the wild world just beyond the rumbling, tumbling machines, discovering that perfect pairs don’t always match.
I love how the founder of LoyalKaspar, Beat Baudenbacher, lets us peek behind the scenes in their short process stories videos, from character building to the typography used. Anna and Argyle is LoyalKaspar’s multi-year side project. Nothing but incredibly impressive.
Download it over on iTunes.
Read By Famous
Read by Famous sells books that were owned and read by people who have achieved high levels of recognition in their particular fields. Not copies of titles they have read, but the actual books that these people owned and read. The proceeds from the sales benefit book and literacy focused non-profits.
I love this!
When Breath Becomes Air
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. In his book he takes on the question what makes life with living in the face of death.
Moving.
A Living Thing
“A business is a living thing, a confluence of energies, each of which wants to see its own self-interest served first.”
From The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Business
(via Michael)
The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home
The makers of the wonderful lost my name books are at it again: The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home. My kids will eat this up!
50 Books | 50 Covers
Established in 1923 by the American Institute of Graphic Arts as “Fifty Books,” the 50 Books | 50 Covers competition is now the longest continually running design competition in the United States. Since 2011, Design Observer has hosted it. And in 2015, for the first time, they are publishing a book and mounting an exhibition to commemorate the competition winners of 2014, narrowed down from a field of 500 entries from fourteen countries. If you love books and want to own this one, support their Kickstarter campaign.
One day I’ll read all those books…
The screenwriter, director and author Judd Apatow owns a lot of books and convinced himself that buying books is the same as reading. Glad to see I am not the only one… See the full article over on the NYTimes.
(via David Conrads Newsletter)
A spider’s heART.
A spider’s heART is a kid’s artbook for adults. And vice versa.
Ladislav Sutnar: Visual Design in Action
Graphic design book nerds unite: Out of print for decades, Visual Design in Action is one of the most beautiful books on modern graphic design. Written and designed by Ladislav Sutnar and published in 1961, it has been called a “lost milestone” and a “treasure.” This Kickstarter by Designers & Books is bringing it back.
A-holes: A type book
Did you know that there are at least two A-holes in every typeface? A-holes: A type book. File this under: It made me laugh.
How Big Is Big? How Far Is Far?
How fast is 120 kilometers per hour? How heavy are 4 tons? Units of measure are abstract—until, that is, they are contrasted with other quantities. The juxtapositions in How Big Is Big? How Far Is Far? make dimensions and measurements more comprehensible for children. It is filled with illustrations by Jan Van Der Veke, available in English and in German. I will totally get this for my kids.