Author Archive
Relationships have their key moments. There’s the first kiss, the first night, meeting the parents, and if things go sour, the getting rid of each others stuff. But what if the love letters and toothbrush holders didn’t have to go to the cardboard box or bonfire? Instead, say, Sotheby’s? Leanne Shapton’s new book imagines this, presenting a fictional auction catalog of a failed couple’s possessions, complete with photographs, descriptions, and estimated value. When Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry first came across the counter, it took me a few minutes to realize that it was, in fact, a work of fiction and not a real catalog. What a brilliant concept, and it turned out to be endlessly fun to read.
The clues to Lenore and Harold’s love seep through the photographs and descriptions presented here. Lenore writes a column for the New York Times entirely about cake, while Harold travels the world as an in-demand photographer. They’re a sophisticated, eclectic, and witty couple who go to chic New York parties, scribble song lyrics in paperback books, and pose for photos with a stuffed squirrel. They also exchange quite a few handwritten notes, which provide the greatest clues to the dissolution of their love.
After finishing this, I was charmed by how much one can learn about someone from his or her possessions. This book may inspire me to start Nancy Drew-ing my friends and neighbors. Next up for me is Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You. Beware of where you toss your grocery lists around me.
July 23rd, 2009
Rebecca - Monroe Street
Do you develop crushes on your favorite authors? I suppose it’s hard not to, especially if they write the kind of intimate memoirs of graphic novelist Jeffrey Brown. I’ve been a fan of Brown’s stories since I picked up his first novel, Clumsy, a few years ago. In a series of seemingly simple, yet expressive vignettes, Brown illustrates the highs, lows, and funny moments of his first love. What’s so impressive about this, his first book, and subsequent relationship-themed novels like Unlikely, AEIOU, and Every Girl is the End of the World for Me, is his ability to convey these private relationship moments with such candor, self-deprecation, and charming humor. His raw, almost shaky, drawing style lends to the feeling of reading someone’s quickly scribbled diary. It’s hard not to fall in love.
I was so delighted to see a new Jeffrey Brown book in our “Don’t Miss Lists” recently. Funny Misshapen Body largely departs from the girlfriend chronicles to focus on Brown’s career development as an artist and his struggle with Crohn’s disease. As a kid, Brown loved to draw but didn’t know comics would be the outlet for his art. The journey to write Clumsy involved painting thousands of wooden shoes in college, enduring critiques as an MFA student at the Art Institute of Chicago, befriending legendary graphic novelist Chris Ware, and stumbling upon Quimby’s bookstore in Chicago. For the best context to the story, it’s worth reading Clumsy or any of his other books first before picking up this one.
Perhaps most impressive in Funny Misshapen Body is Brown’s detailing of his life with Crohn’s disease. The hospital scenes are quite personal, but he portrays these experiences with honesty, sensitivity, and an endearing wide-eyed curiosity. This was refreshing after I recently struggled through Charlotte Roche’s Wetlands–see Dennis’ smart review here– which tackles similar medical descriptions with far less heart and poignancy. Jeffrey was certainly an unlucky kid to have to endure these procedures, but such experiences clearly made him a more empathetic writer.
Despite this being his 8th graphic novel, Jeffrey Brown seems to be overlooked by many graphic novel readers. If you’re a fan of Craig Thompson, Adrian Tomine, Dan Clowes, or Harvey Pekar, and haven’t read any Jeffrey Brown, do yourself a favor and pick up his books. But I’ll warn you ahead of time: his most recent author bio says he’s already taken.
June 18th, 2009
Rebecca - Monroe Street
Outliers is the latest book from pop social scientist Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, think Mental Floss or Psychology Today fodder; it’s the fun science-y stuff that’ll make you go “huh,” even if you’ve long forgotten how to use a pipette. This time Gladwell examines the key to great success; how do masters like Mozart, Bill Gates, or The Beatles achieve success far above anyone else? Traditional American wisdom attributes success to innate ability and drive. Just pull up your bootstraps and get to work! But Gladwell wants to look beyond this old notion; remarkable achievement, he says, has as much, or more, to do with serendipity, social skill, and being born in the right time and place to a particular kind of people. These insights may be no revelation, but the case studies he uses to illustrate his argument are really wild and illuminating. Here’s just a taste:
- Why are more professional hockey players born in January than any other month?
- Why does it take exactly 10,000 hours to become a world expert in just about anything?
- Why do we use IQ tests to predict success, when a better indicator might be asking someone to list uses for a brick or a blanket?
- Why did so many Korean Air planes crash in the 1990’s when crewmen on-board often knew what errors had been made and how to correct them?
The larger implication of Gladwell’s anecdotes is that community shapes us in innumerable ways which cannot be ignored. His scope of argument, which crosses time, cultures, and academic fields, is bound to hook you in one way or another. While reading this book, I subjected those around me to countless paraphrasing of Gladwell’s stories; they linger on your brain and won’t leave you alone! Better for you: pick this for book club and avoid talking off your friends’ ears.
Gladwell’s books, this one included, aren’t perfect of course. It’s really more pop than science, and you’ll probably wonder about the just-as-bizarre counter examples Gladwell isn’t mentioning. In an odd way to Gladwell’s credit, he is such a candidly persuasive writer that his books feel a bit too crafted and over-polished. He takes all the 5th grade writing rules about topic sentences and concluding paragraphs to heart. Exhaustively. By the end of his books, I’m annoyed by the tireless “I-am-going-to-tell-you”s and “now-I-have-shown-you”s, when in fact he hasn’t really proven anything, just presented some thought-provoking stories. So, while I had to tolerate Gladwell’s rhetorical abuses, I do think this book is well worth your time for a bit of insightful fun.
February 27th, 2009
Rebecca - Monroe Street
Sarah Vowell would be a perfect pick for a hypothetical celebrity dinner party guest list. She’d regale you with quirky facts about presidents and revolutions in her trademark nasal voice, but would probably have a lot to say about Britney’s recent “comeback” too. Vowell’s mix of history, pop culture, and a bit of snark is what she does best. Her latest, The Wordy Shipmates, tackles a notoriously yawn-worthy topic: Puritans. But here you’ll find more than you remember from high school history.
At its best, The Wordy Shipmates draws connections between historical ideology and modern realities. Remember John Winthrop’s call for his Massachusetts colony to be a “city upon a hill” for all the world to idealize? Vowell reminds the reader of the potency of this single idea in our country’s history. In light of 9/11 and our nation’s military actions abroad, the “city upon a hill” ideology has created a country worthy of veneration, but also capable of dangerous narcissism. It’s chilling to remember the foundations of this idea.
However, while I enjoyed The Wordy Shipmates, it may not be the best first pick for someone new to Vowell. She digresses into a lot of personal anecdotes (many of which involve sitcoms, which is okay by me) and her style can wander quite a bit. It’s a fun read if you’re interested in the ideas and motivations of our country’s founders, but not so great if you’re substituting the book for a history textbook. A better first taste might be her more pop-culture infused Take the Canolli, which features the “This American Life” classic “Shooting Dad,” in which she tenderly and humorously describes shooting a cannon with her father.
January 7th, 2009
Rebecca - Monroe Street
Grab your glue guns and seam rippers because craft is back! In Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design artists Faythe Levine and Courtney Heimerl chronicle the boom of the modern independent craft movement. The book is the first taste of Levine’s documentary film of the same name, set for release in early 2009.
So what exactly is the DIY- or “do it yourself” ethos? Levine traces influences to traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism, and art. Handmade Nation showcases artists ranging from screen printers to clothing designers—even an R-rated latch hook rug maker. The uniting factor here is that all of these artists make their products by hand, and their influence on the mainstream marketplace is growing. Take, for instance, Rob Walker’s inclusion of Levine and “the punk of craft” in his recent book, Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are. Consumers are driving the craft boom through local fairs—Chicago’s Renegade Craft Fair, Milwaukee’s Art vs. Craft, and Madison’s Craftacular, to name a few, and building an online presence at marketplaces like Etsy.com.
But movement building aside, the real fun here is the collection of interviews and photographs from crafters across the country. If you’re a crafter, it’s part inspirational and part enviable—I need a giant sewing room with color-coordinated fabric shelves! Madison’s own Emily Kircher, a “recycling artist” who makes rugs, picture frames, and jewelry, takes center stage. And I had to laugh when Sublime Stitching’s Jenny Hart credited embroidery—yes, embroidery—to being better for the nerves than “drugs, alcohol, therapy—anything I had ever tried.” So the next time you reach for a six-pack, consider an embroidery hoop instead?
October 6th, 2008
Rebecca - Monroe Street
