Recent books of note

Antkind by Charlie Kaufman
A failed filmmaker who writes a pretentious blog no one reads and posts two-star reviews of his own daughter’s films? I literally, literary, cannot wait to read this. I just won’t be able to decide which cover I like best.

Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking by Annie Atkins
They may just be on screen for seconds, and barely noticed, but graphic props in films, from tickets and maps to letters and stamps, are painstakingly designed. Wes Anderson regular Annie Atkins is a graphic designer of props for films and this book takes you through her creative process.

London Street Signs by Alistair Hall
A visual history of London’s street name signs and the stories behind them.

Postmodern Architecture: Less is a Bore by Owen Hopkins
Taking its title from Robert Venturi’s famous response to Mies van der Rohe’s dictum ‘Less is more’, the book showcases jaw-dropping postmodern architecture from around the globe.

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
Even though there’s mixed – read: bad – reviews to Mitchell’s new novel, about a fictional 1960s British rock band, it sounds right up my street.

Own Label: Sainsbury’s Design Studio: 1962-1977 by Jonny Trunk
A welcome paperback reprint means I can finally afford this. Jonny Trunk of Trunk Records and FUEL Design have collaborated on several books previously. This one looks at designer Peter Dixon’s simple yet revolutionary own label designs for the supermarket.

Wrappers Delight by Jonny Trunk
Another Trunk/FUEL colab, Wrappers Delight pretty much sums up my childhood with a remarkable collection of confectionery wrappers and packaging from the 1970s.