tattooed covers

this is going to be about literary ink. first, have you seen or heard of this book? i have to say, i love the idea of having lines from your favorite book written on your skin in indelible ink. books are books. they don't change. i feel as though if you identify with a line from a novel at one point in your life, a part of you (perhaps a miniscule part) will continue to hold it dear for the rest of your days. and reading it over again later on will remind you of how you used to think and be. oh, dear. philosophizing over!

well, paul buckley at penguin had the idea to have tattoo artists design covers for some of the penguin deluxe classics. (are you tired of hearing about penguin yet? someday i'll move on.) and there are some excellent covers to be perused. let's see:

pepa heller

christopher conn askew

bert krak

tara mcpherson

there should definitely be more collaboration between tattoo artists and book designers. these are so cool. there's really no other suitable word to describe them. i mean, look at bridget jones—she's edgy in a way she NEVER was before. and the coetzee cover is just lovely. sigh.

now, for fun, let us peer at some examples of literary tattoos.*

"if i had a world of my own" —quote from alice in wonderland. ink by antony flemming.

a beeeautifully done ferdinand...

ralph steadman's bats from fear + loathing.

you want a tattoo now. am i right? this opened up a whole new world for me. i don't aspire to be an illustrated woman—miles from it! and yet... every time i look at these, i go through my mental library and wind up with a stack of ideas for "my next tattoo," which may or may not ever materialize.

anyway. live long and prosper, and have a wonderful tuesday.

*go here for more tattoos/artist information.