It’s horrible to read

It’s not too early for Halloween, is it? My collection of images featuring books in art has plenty of skulls and skeletons to go around.

Illustration by Dicky Candra Irawan

This looks like something for a heavy metal band but the DA in the bottom right is for Dicky Artwork. Check out his work here.

Illustration by Carlos Vélez

It’s hard to see exactly what this skull is reading, but a likely guess is The Book of the Dead. Wondering if he’s a little boy skeleton opening a birthday present.

Illustration by Tomaás Hilo

This Catrina is reading about her creator Jose Guadalupe Posada. An interesting detail is the serpent figure reading over her shoulders which I assume is a reference to Mesoamerican history. There are a lot of layers going on here. There’s more information in this National Geographic article.

Illustration by Georgios Dimitriou

A skull, a zombie or just a bald guy with sunglasses sinking into a gruesome book?

Illustration by Aaron Jasinkski

Is this guy clacking out a book about a culture of guns and death in America?

Illustration by Paul Gorka

I’ve glanced at this illustration a number of times, mostly noticing the tiny people struggling to scale this mountain of knowledge. I never noticed before what was actually at the top.

Illustration by AJ Frena

Skeletons populate a lot of AJ Frena’s work. I wonder if this woman is being bound up by the book or by outside forces as she sits reading immersed and unaware.

Illustration by David Gough

Immersed and unaware, maybe that’s the real source of fear in reading. Lost in a book and not noticing what’s coming…

Illustration by Anna and Elena Balbusso

… until it’s too late.