We’re rapidly approaching the one year anniversary of A Pretty Book.  So to celebrate over the next two weeks, I’m going to countdown the top ten most popular posts for the last year.   This was originally published on April 14, 2011.

I guess I’ve been living under a rock. I read a few Penguin books in school. Most were classics and the covers had wide stripes and a penguin at the bottom. What I didn’t know is that Penguin is widely known for their artistic cover designs and has a loyal following of collectors including the Penguin Collectors Society.

So what better way to become familiar with Penguin designs than “Postcards from Penguin“. This is a collection of 100 book covers printed on postcards and packaged with a box that looks like a book. It’s much easier than rounding up 100 Penguin books and there is something fun about shuffling through a bunch of cards that look like books.

I can’t figure out what two pens, a pocketknife, and a watch have to do with a careless kitten, but I love the phrase – careless kitten.

A first-aid manual for detecting illogicalities. We all need that!

Because I haven’t read “Thinking to Some Purpose”, I decided to sort the cards by cover design, using loosely defined and not necessarily logical criteria.

• Standard Penguin Book design with large stripes and a penguin – 34 cards
• Orange – 11 cards
• Victorian feel – 7 cards
• Patterned – 2 cards
• Green – 10 cards
• Primarily plain background – 7 cards
• Pelican covers – 6 cards
• Bold graphics with sixties vibe – 16 cards
• Horses & spines – 2 cards
• I don’t know where they go – 5 cards

These cards have piqued my interest in Penguin Books. I’ll be on the lookout for Penguins at book sales and who knows, it’s possible that there are Penguins in the book barn.

Enjoy the postcards,

JT