1) I notice that
Daedalus books (see their WWW page) is offering the hardback of Brain Boyd's
"Vladimir Nabokov: the American Years" at $14.98.
2) I have, at long last, been able to read
Paul Maliszevski's article "Paperback Nabokov" in the elegant and elusive
journal _McSweeney's Quarterly_ #4 (Late Winter 2000). Primarily devoted to the
cover art of paperback editions of Nabokov's novels (in several languages), the
essay discusses Nabokov's life-long (and often-losing) battle for accurate
and tasteful cover illustrations. It gathers together most of VN's
comments on his covers and beautifully reproduces many of them in color.
Maliszewski links VN's attitude toward his cover art to his general aesthetic
approach. Beyond this, he has sought out and interviewed several of the artists
who did the work (including Dmitri Nabokov). It is a fascinating glimpse
of the working conditions and attitudes of the artists during the 50's and
into the 70's.