#international book covers

[shy-and-reserved]

The Many Different Covers Of:

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

[arcadebroke]

[lepurcinus]

I finally found a digitized version of this illustrated Russian edition of Watership Down and thought it would be good to share several of the illustrations.

As something to clarify in Russia there are several different editions of Watership Down, where several things change outside of the cover or a detail. Some even have different titles.

This one in specific corresponds to those editions that were quite trimmed and simplified to "infantilize" the book better and make it more suitable for children. It only have 23 chapters for example.

[sakurabunart]

Now that Gravity Falls is back in spirit so is my several year old interest in it. Bought the Book of Bill, been having a time thinking about the lore implications.

Book of Bill spoilers below cut.

So this is how his childhood was right.

Like think about it how would straws exist, much less a straw that overlaps itself with loops. Unless im overthinking it.

[cover-art-showdown]

As the poll regarding further edition-specific showdowns returned an overwhelming Yes, without further ado, here is the first: Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London! Covers are under the cut.

sorry, can't edit the poll, but the final contestant is the Japanese edition

Edit: the Korean title is 런던의 강들. Thank you so much @samwisegamwise!

tag will be #international faceoff for those of you who don't want to see these polls

Rivers of London original cover, UK. The classic. I've skipped a few other covers with slightly different art but a similar style.

Thriller-style American edition, renamed Midnight Riot presumably to appeal to the action fans.

The Romanian contender, Râuríle dín Londra, has brought the big guns to the fight in the form of a devastatingly cute bedsheet ghost.

Les Rivières de Londres, France's offering, realises that the most important thing about London is its rain.

Our Korean contestant, 런던의 강들, has gone with architectural icons and a minimalist approach.

The Russian edition, Реки Лондона, features intriguingly skewed perspective and, um, belly tattoos?

The Czech Reky Londyna takes the daring focal point of a giant pair of Far Side glasses, which has no right to work as well as it does.

Rzeki Londynu, the Polish contestant, bears admittedly little resemblance to events in the book, but damn if it doesn't look good.

The Japanese edition, 女王陛下の魔術師, has gone for a rather animesque approach and, interestingly, left the main character out of it.

(apologies for the somewhat grainy images. some of these are tricky to find, especially on an elderly Nokia)

[garadinervi]

Alabaster DePlume, Cremisan: Prologue To A Blade, (EP/Digital album), International Anthem, 2024

Honeycomb written, arranged, and mixed by Angus Fairbairn Performed by Alabaster DePlume and Sami El Enani Engineered by Angus Fairbairn

Cremisan written and arranged by Angus Fairbairn and Laith Ziad Albandak Performed by Alabaster DePlume and Laith Albandak Engineered by Radio Alhara

Gifts of Olive written, arranged, and mixed by Angus Fairbairn Performed by Alabaster DePlume Engineered by Angus Fairbairn

Honeycomb recorded in the Wonder Cabinet, Bethlehem, Palestine Cremisan recorded live in the Cremisan Valley, Bethlehem, Palestine Gifts of Olive recorded at Total Refreshment Centre, Dalston, London

If I must die from Gifts of Olive references the poet Refaat Alareer (1979-2023)

Cover image by Mikaela Burstow

Plus: Alabaster DePlume, Looking for my value: Prologue to a blade, (book), Design by Jamie Coull, Cover art by Ian Wright, Limited Edition, 2024

(Extra) Links: Radio Alhara, Edward Said National Conservatory of Music

[hellishhotel]

Spindlehorse Comics Presents:

46th Cover! A return to greatness for the ALL-NEW...

HAZBIN HOTEL!

Original Cover:

[frc-ambaradan]

Topolino #3572 Turin International Book Fair variant cover by Paolo Mottura dedicated the newest Disney parody "Pippo Holmes" (Goofy Holmes 😄).

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Deep Sky

scifi mystery thriller

on a deep space mission traveling from an environmentally devastated earth with hope to restart humanity elsewhere

when they’re halfway, an explosion kills 3 crew and pushes them off course

the only witness is the Alternate who has no specific role, and she has to figure out who caused it & if they might continue to sabotage, while they're figuring out a way to get back on course with limited resources

flips between present and the past: of her childhood and training for the mission, her identity struggles, and relationship with her mother

questions the ethics of ‘restarting’ humanity elsewhere vs putting resources into fixing earth

[floorpancakes]

[shy-and-reserved]

The Many Different Covers Of:

Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt

[karathespellbinder]

minorly sad thoughts

There are 14 covers for 5 books. The editions I own do not match each other T_T

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: WOODWORM by Layla Martinez.

Up next! Still in my Haunted House Era™: Translated Lit Fic Edition!

The great thing about being on several indie bookstore mailing lists is that you then have Several Indie Booksellers recommending you new releases published by independent presses, which almost assuredly I would not have stumbled across on my own. This one's just a little guy (149 pages), but I've been looking forward to it all year. Will report back on how it goes!

[liscrispim]

I'm currently reading the best dreamling fanfic I've ever seen and by god I want to draw these two so much, I just adore hob and dream and the way this author paints scenes with words??? it's so fucking good I'm going INSANE

(this is the fanfic btw)

[total-drama-brainrot]

*fucked up and evil voice* Gerry analysis

This almost feels like a jab at my age, but I know for a fact you just want more content on Gerry to feed your own agendas. /hj

So I have seen the episodes of RR that Pete and Gerry were in, and I also watched this scene pack as a refresher on their characters. I'd watch a solo Gerry scene pack, but the two of them spend 99% of their screentime together so I'm hesitant to seperate them. I also had a gander at the wiki to fill in some of the many, many blanks we have in terms of character information.

From the get go, I'm confident in the assumption that both Gerry and Pete are playing into the same character archetype as Statler and Waldorf (the hecklers from the muppets) - two old guys who's main purpose in the show is bantering with each other, mostly by making jabs at the other or their competition. They've both accepted that they're past their prime and their hay days, but see their "greater worldly experience and wisdom" as justification for criticising the people around them. That lends itself to the "respect your elders" stereotype, which ties in nicely to their previous professions as athletes.

Obviously they're no longer professional tennis players, nor are they effectively riding the coat tails of their former fame via brand deals - hence why they repeatedly claim they're only doing the Ridonculous Race for exposure (to reignite public interest in two washed up celebrities).

Of course, that's not the be all and end all of Gerry's character. He shows a lot of other personality traits throughout his limited screentime, the most apparent of which is the competitiveness he straight-up claims to have in the first episode. Which isn't anything exclusive to Gerry, but it is something he shows more of a tendancy towards. Mostly through his self-sabotage in the zipline challenge, but I'd also argue his confrontation with Don counts towards his innate competitiveness shining through.

The confrontation is also indicitive of Gerry having a wilder temper than Pete, or at least a shorter fuse when it comes to percieved injustice. He's more than willing to stand up for himself and his values when they're challenged - it's very similar to a tennis player arguing against their penalty from their umpire, which was intentional. Don even says "That's match, you're out."

In the context of the zipline challenge, his actions during it highlight an almost vindictive streak within Gerry and a tendancy towards holding grudges. Two things you'd expect from a cankerous old man, but things that stand out in stark contrast to Gerry's usually light-hearted jibes and joking exterior.

And it also showcases Gerry's short-sightedness. He can hold a grudge for decades, but his "revenge" is a spontanious, oppertunistic action that ends up barefiring immensely when Gerry himself ends up falling from the zipline too. This same short-sightedness comes into play in Paris, where the both of them A. forget to tell their taxi driver where to go for their challenge and B. decide to follow the Vegans in a misguided hope that their veganism will help them track down cheese. Gerry is definately the more impulsive of the two tennis pros and oftentimes doesn't consider the consequences of his actions.

To add onto this short-sightedness, the fact that neither he nor Pete thought to roll their wheel of cheese instead of carrying it astounds me, and implies that the both of them are very single-minded in their endeavours (oftentimes to their own detriment).

Now into the meat of both Gerry and Pete's characters; the joking.

With age, it seems, the two of them have become detatched from the worries of the world just far enough to find amusement in all aspects of it. More often than not, you'll see Pete make jabs and pointed comments towards Gerry, which Gerry himself will simply shrug off or further play into - these interactions aren't hostile, in fact they're mostly portrayed a something the two mutually enjoy. Plus, Gerry gives as good as he gets, when it comes to joking at his teammate's expense.

Does this imply that Gerry has a thicker skin from his years of experience in the limelight, or does it indicate that he simply has no more shits to give? That's down to interpretation. (It's both.)

For the most part, Gerry carries this "water off a duck's back" mindset that allows him to view the world through satire-tinted lenses. That's why he isn't exactly torn up over his early elimination, and immediately throws himself back into bantering with Pete. He can and does get mad/upset, but only in short bouts before his unserious nature comes back into play.

That's all I've got. He has maybe four minutes of screentime and the majority of that is him laughing and joking. You could project pretty much any stereotypical grandpa characteristic onto him and it'd make sense.

In theory, you could project anything onto him. That's the beauty of characters with very little development and sunstance.

[judgeitbyitscover]

The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan

Cover illustrations by Todd Lockwood

A Natural History of Dragons (2013)

You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon's presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one's life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . . All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world's preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day. Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

A Tropic of Serpents (2014)

Attentive readers of Lady Trent’s earlier memoir, A Natural History of Dragons, are already familiar with how a bookish and determined young woman named Isabella first set out on the historic course that would one day lead her to becoming the world’s premier dragon naturalist. Now, in this remarkably candid second volume, Lady Trent looks back at the next stage of her illustrious (and occasionally scandalous) career. Three years after her fateful journeys through the forbidding mountains of Vystrana, Mrs. Camherst defies family and convention to embark on an expedition to the war-torn continent of Eriga, home of such exotic draconian species as the grass-dwelling snakes of the savannah, arboreal tree snakes, and, most elusive of all, the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics. The expedition is not an easy one. Accompanied by both an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella must brave oppressive heat, merciless fevers, palace intrigues, gossip, and other hazards in order to satisfy her boundless fascination with all things draconian, even if it means venturing deep into the forbidden jungle known as the Green Hell . . . where her courage, resourcefulness, and scientific curiosity will be tested as never before.

The Voyage of the Basilisk (2015)

Devoted readers of Lady Trent’s earlier memoirs, A Natural History of Dragons and The Tropic of Serpents, may believe themselves already acquainted with the particulars of her historic voyage aboard the Royal Survey Ship Basilisk, but the true story of that illuminating, harrowing, and scandalous journey has never been revealed—until now. Six years after her perilous exploits in Eriga, Isabella embarks on her most ambitious expedition yet: a two-year trip around the world to study all manner of dragons in every place they might be found. From feathered serpents sunning themselves in the ruins of a fallen civilization to the mighty sea serpents of the tropics, these creatures are a source of both endless fascination and frequent peril. Accompanying her is not only her young son, Jake, but a chivalrous foreign archaeologist whose interests converge with Isabella’s in ways both professional and personal. Science is, of course, the primary objective of the voyage, but Isabella’s life is rarely so simple. She must cope with storms, shipwrecks, intrigue, and warfare, even as she makes a discovery that offers a revolutionary new insight into the ancient history of dragons.

In the Labyrinth of Drakes (2016)

Even those who take no interest in the field of dragon naturalism have heard of Lady Trent's expedition to the inhospitable deserts of Akhia. Her discoveries there are the stuff of romantic legend, catapulting her from scholarly obscurity to worldwide fame. The details of her personal life during that time are hardly less private, having provided fodder for gossips in several countries. As is so often the case in the career of this illustrious woman, the public story is far from complete. In this, the fourth volume of her memoirs, Lady Trent relates how she acquired her position with the Royal Scirling Army; how foreign saboteurs imperiled both her work and her well-being; and how her determined pursuit of knowledge took her into the deepest reaches of the Labyrinth of Drakes, where the chance action of a dragon set the stage for her greatest achievement yet.

Within the Sanctuary of Wings (2017)

After her adventure in the mountains of Vystrana, and her exploits in the depths of Eriga, to the high seas aboard The Basilisk, and then to the deserts of Akhia, the Lady Trent has captivated hearts along with fierce minds. This concluding volume will finally reveal the truths behind her most notorious adventure - scaling the tallest peak in the world, behind the territory of Scirland's enemies - and what she discovered there, within the Sanctuary of Wings.