Meanwhile #153
Except for Coppola’s new book, which is all pink. And my picture, which is a bit red.
— Stop what you’re doing at once and clear some shelf space for the forthcoming Archive by Sofia Coppola, collecting photographs and ephemera from across her career. You may then return and continue reading this post. GO NOW.
— It’s already a strong year, but when it comes to doing my annual movie poster review (see previous lists here), I have no idea how anything is going to top this Chinese poster for Across the Spider-Verse. Just … wow.
— I’ve long been a fan of the work and ethos of Christopher Doyle & Co., so it’s rather exciting to see the studio celebrate ten years of practice with a smashing new monograph, Nothing I Know Belongs To Me. Hard to tell from the pics, but I’m pretty certain it smells delightful.
— Gorgeous street/beach shots from Brighton-based photographer Chris Harrison.
— Another couple of gems from The Book Cover Review: Jo Walker on the front/back narrative of David Gentleman’s 1957 cover for Plats Du Jour or Foreign Food; and Graham Rawle on Dennis Wheatley’s incredible evidence-packed whodunit Murder Off Miami (imagine The Jolly Postman but with more bloodstained curtains and human hair).
— One of my favourite twitter threads: bands posing in yellow fields.
— “Ugh. The Toast catalogue. Like a dark, visceral novel by an emerging young writer that you can’t be arsed to read. Like a Guardian article about the dangers of foraging.” Lucy Sweet on the joylessness of modern catalogues.
— I usually file new theories about The Shining under Oh God It’s Another Theory About The Shining Here We Go, but this analysis of Kubrick/Nicholson’s subtle and continuous chipping away of the fourth wall with micro-glances to camera – pulling us into “an unsettling complicity”, as John Bleasdale puts it – is rather fascinating.
— A particularly fine selection of books covers of note from The Casual Optimist this month. Particularly drawn to that Kate Sinclair cover for Christine Lai’s Landscapes.