Penguins cross the pond

I was browsing through a local Chapters bookshop yesterday and came across a selection of Penguin classics  with patterned hardcovers so handsome, I was inspired to put Dostoyovesky's Crime and Punishment on my spring reading list.

The series was released in 2008 but exclusively available at Waterstones in the UK. Lucky for us Canucks, these penguins have finally made it across the pond.

Designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith in collaboration with a team of literary theorists, the covers elegantly represent key elements of the books' enduring themes and historical contexts. Candelabras, sheeves of wheat, wandering swans, creeping ivy -- the design icons and motifs convey hints about the stories and their unique settings. The intense geometric pattern on the Dostoyevsky cover matches the narrative's notorious psychological and moral complexity.

To read more of Bickford-Smith's insights on book cover design, visit the The Penguin Blog. For a full list of titles in this series and to find a location near you that carries them, visit Penguin.