Overall: if you like Jim Gaffigan’s stand up, then you will like this book. If you don’t like his stand-up, then go back to watching reality TV and ironically riding your fixie.

With a little over lap, Gaffigan’s self deprecating humor about life, food and the humor of being a pale white man translates well to the written word apart from his well known, memorized and often paraphrased stand-up comedy.

I picked up this book because I like Gaffigan’s stand up, it had pictures and the chapters are super short (in this reading man’s opinion that’s the trifecta!). Playing into his strengths and comedic stylings, Gaffigan delivers a honest look into his life as a son in a big family, husband of a great wife and father of five kids. Carving out a life in NYC with five children to most people, according to his own interactions with people, is…

When I moved out of my previous home, I donated more than three-fourths of my book collection because I was moving into a tiny space. I had no logical process for deciding which books I kept. Some were sentimental, with handwritten notes written inside; others were souvenirs I bought during my travels. These books seemed obvious to keep. Yet I was also inclined to keep hardcovers I’d never read or even opened, simply because the covers were attractive. All of these books, together, would represent my best self — the one I wanted to display on my shelves.

As I read more online, and since my physical shelf space has dramatically shrunk, I wonder: what makes an eye-catching, effective book cover? Which books will make the final cut?

Here are pieces I’ve enjoyed, new and old, about the art and business of book cover design.

1. “Judge This: The Power of First Impressions.” (Chip Kidd, Medium, June 2015)