Dean, author of the popular A-List young adult series, graduates to big-girl chick lit with this hipremix of Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling and The Simple Life. Megan Smith, unable to cut it in New York's cutthroat world of magazine publishing, snatches a lucrative offer to transform two pampered and scholastically challenged 17-year-old twins into scholars. Sage and Rose Baker, known mostly for majoring in ennui and partying, are heiresses to an $84 million fortune, but the money isn't theirs until they pass the SATs. Their grandmother, the fortune's overseer, pays Megan $1,500 a week to get the Fabulous Baker Twins up to snuff, and an additional $75,000 if they are accepted at Duke, their late parents' alma mater. But the transformation works both ways, as Megan learns she'll have to earn the twins' respect before they accept her tutelage. Megan, meanwhile, secretly intends to segue her time with the high-profile twins into a writing career. Things work out for everyone, but not in an expected fashion. Dean's writing is swift and the book is consistently funny, though her twin terrors aren't as nasty as they could be. Regardless, this is a great one to take to the beach. (July)

This hard working reference book is an invaluable tool for art directors, designers, and students working in the fashion, product, and graphic design fields, as well as anyone in the business of visual communication.

The Best of Newspaper Design: 25th Edition, part of Rockport’s highly respected series, presents the winning entries from the Society for News Design’s 2003 competition. Featuring work selected by a panel of judges from more than 14,000 international publication entries, this inspirational volume sets the bar for excellence in journalistic design. Bold, full-color layouts feature the best-of-the-best in news, features, portfolios, visuals, and more, and each entry is accompanied by insightful commentary on the elements that made the piece a standout winner. Every industry professional aspires to one day see his or her work in this book.

Diane Dorrans Saeks (Author), Angelika Taschen (Editor), "California Interiors: Interieurs Californiens"
Taschen | September 1999 | ISBN 3822866105 | PDF | 32 MB | 303 pages

There's something eternal about California home interiors, a bit of the wild, natural style leashed by responsible domesticity. Writer Saeks has captured the essence of both northern and southern portions of the state, wisely allowing pictures, not text, to take center stage. More than 40 homes are displayed visually, gracefully divided into two urban lifestyles (Los Angeles and San Francisco), by coastal and country circumstances, and by design classics. Featured are nests of both the famous and the nearly so; Diane Keaton's Lloyd Wright home (Frank's son) is contrasted with two comfortable Sausalito houseboats. Ideas galore, along with the references–design catalogs, flea markets, and a bibliography–make imagination live.

Barbara Jacobs

Pattern and Palette Sourcebook 2:
A Complete Guide to Choosing the Perfect Color and Pattern in Design
Rockport Publishers | Pages:208 | 2007-02-01 | ISBN:1592533175
A plethora of patterns and palettes! This hardworking reference book is the second volume in Rockport's Pattern and Palette series. Like the first, it is an invaluable tool for art directors, designers, and students working in the fashion, product, and graphic design fields, as well as anyone in the business of visual communication. With close to 1,000 new patterns, Pattern and Palette Sourcebook 2 is a desktop library of colors and patterns that address the professional's needs in working with harmonies and contrasts. Divided into six unique style sections, the book provides readers with fifteen appropriate colors for each section, which are then incorporated into twenty-five different patterns shown in six or eight color variations each. This enables readers to see the dramatic effect colors have in design and helps them understand how to use color effectively. The book also demonstrates ways of creating designs that are distinctly unique from one another yet hold together in a group. Also included is an interactive CD ROM that contains the patterns featured. Users can choose patterns, experiment with colors, and print out a sample of the patterns for reference.