meet my IRL bookish friends: the designer edition

Guess who’s getting a little interview love on the blog today? Not only are they 1) dudes 2) who love to read, but they are also 3) graphic designers. And I love the fact that I’m able to call them my IRL friends!

We see you Jake Sully!

Patch and I actually met through our mutual friend Joey (who’s interviewed below), but it wasn’t until last year when he came to our Mockingjay release party that I realized how much of a die-hard reader he was. And while I’m pretty familiar with his diverse reading likes and dislikes, it’s so easy to book-talk with Patch because he’s bound to be interested in a book as long as you can make a proper case for it. Some of the best book conversations I’ve had have been with this guy, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise that I demanded that he join book club with me and Shanna.

1) All-time favorite book (if you have one, or two…or three):

The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C.S. Lewis, I Am The Messenger – Marcus Zusak.

2) Type of books you like to read:

Love dystopian fiction and any non-fiction books about baseball (Moneyball by Michael Lewis for example.)

3) Type of characters/stories you like to read about:

I love reading about stories from the not-too distant future and anything with a 20th Century setting. I like stories that deal with social commentary told in unique ways (to use television as an example: The Twilight Zone and Star Trek). I love snarky characters, male or female, and the occasional stereotyped, over-the-top folks
(the stereotype can be whatever).

4) The book you’re constantly peer pressuring your friends to read:

The Hunger Games trilogy, I Am The Messenger, Moneyball.

5) Covers you love (or hate):

Cover Love: If I Grow Up – Todd Strasser; Bases Loaded – Kirk Radomski. The Musician’s Handbook – Bobby Borg.

Cover Hate: Hush, Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick

Yeah, he really does hate the Hush, Hush cover, folks:

See! Total hater!

Joey

Here’s another Joey picture because he plays the drums. Which is cool.

Seriously, what is it with people involved in the arts? Can’t you people just stick your talent in one category? Not only is my friend Joey a designer, but he’s also a musician. And he writes. Oh, and he’s also an illustrator. Plus, he’s a saucier and pastry chef on the weekends. (Okay maybe that last sentence was a total lie.) Joey is one of my favorite go-to movie and book guys because when he loves something, he really and truly means it. He’ll tell you exactly why in a very intentional way that makes you think “Oh my goodness I need to see that movie or TV show/read that book/buy that album yesterday because apparently it was produced/written/composed just for me.” Joey just has that kind of effect on people.

1) All-time favorite book (if you have one, or two…or three):

Frankenstein. Hands down. Scared me to death the first time I read it. So beautiful and creepy and gothic and awesome. Coming in a close second and third are The Crow graphic novel and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Oh, and The Three Musketeers is fantastic.

2) Type of books you like to read:

I LOVE post-apocalyptic stuff. Sci-fi & fantasy stuff are definitely high on the list. The occasional biography creeps in, as well. Shatner’s was GREAT.

3) Type of characters/stories you like to read about:

Honestly, I just want a well-told story. Preferably, where the hero wins and gets the girl and good triumphs over evil. There’s a swing and sway with all types of writing, and I wanna feel like the story is vital, that it’s headed somewhere, and that my questions will be answered in the end (I’m looking at you, Lost). I also love knowing beforehand that it was a true labor of love for the author. That makes it a more important story to me.

4) The book you’re constantly peer pressuring your friends to read:

Must-reads are The Giver, The Crow, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Kingdom Come (DC graphic novel), Blue Like Jazz, Beowulf.

I borrowed Hugo from Joey and loved it. He’s a book pimp, that one.

5) Covers you love (or hate):

As a graphic designer, illustrator, and writer, I want to contact the authors of so many books and ask them if they’ll pay me to redo the covers of their books. So many feel like they got a friend who had Photoshop to whip something up for them. But some really stand out. I do like the covers of The City & The City (hardcover), The City of Ember (original cover), and The Invention of Hugo Cabret… and maybe Hush, Hush (like the Icarus imagery, heard the story wasn’t awesome). And don’t forget how cool the interior design of a book can be. It doesn’t have to be relegated to the cover. See Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell and Fatherless Generation by John Sowers.

That’s two on the Team Hush, Hush cover art. Sorry, Patch! What a shame to have such an opinion about a book featuring your namesake, no?