Haruki Murakami is not for everyone, but he’s one of my favorite authors. His indescribable blend of post modernism, magic realism, and surrealism set in his native Japan never fail to provoke rumination on topics ranging from existential to mundane. This novel is translated by the prize-winning J. Philip Gabriel.
Say what you will about David Lynch’s 2001 masterpiece Mulholland Dr., the film is a puzzle of strange, overlapping characters and storylines that at once confound and intrigue. Is it a portrayal of Hollywood as a Machiavellian embodiment of sinister control and corruption masquerading as entertainment? A knotty and deliberately confusing mishmash of pointless narratives and characters lost in some Californian noir fever dream? One of the best films of the last twenty or thirty years?
If you've read Jenny Lawson's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, or if you follow her online, you know that her head is a very, very strange place--in all the best ways, assuming your head is also a very strange place. I don't generally think my head is a strange place, but I do love the way Jenny Lawson's mind works and the way she writes about it, so maybe I'm stranger than I think I am.
My Dog Skip is a rollicking jaunt through Willie Morris’ memories of his adventures with Skip, his boyhood dog and constant companion. Skip is no ordinary dog, nor is the bond that Skip and Willie share. In this playful and beautifully written memoir Willie writes about the years he spent with Skip, each page bursting with hilarious shenanigans, canine loyalty and ferocious exuberance.
When the Empire threatens Luke, the galaxies last remaining Jedi knight, he, Han, and Leia become the only hope for survival.
Hans’s mission is to track down the rebel spy from the Empire and Leia knows she can trust Han to get the job done. She knows he’ll do whatever it takes because this is the only thing they actually agree on. Han thinks this job sounds simple enough; he’s done this kind of stuff before. What he doesn’t know is that he’s got a bounty on his head.
Reading Brianna Karp’s memoir of losing her job, home, and family reminded me in many ways of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. Except instead of embarking on a months-long solo hike, as Strayed did, Karp faces the challenges of living in a trailer in a Walmart parking lot. With no water or electricity. Frustration at Brianna’s “unwise” choices (surrounding her involvement with a fellow homeless gent) is always followed by a heart-wrenching family story that would have left me a gelatinous blob.
I am not naturally drawn to graphic novels, but am quite willing to dabble in them. And in doing so I’ve discovered gems like Will Eisner’s A Contract with God, David Small’sStiches, and Guy Delisle’s Shenzhen. Each is non-fiction, intriguing, and surprising in its delivery.
I am in love with this book. I never intended to even read it . . . just use the index and pick and choose certain elements, and browse the pretty pictures. It is so lovely I read it cover to cover. And I want to do it again.
Open this book anywhere and the two facing pages display a perfect marriage of text and image that illustrate watercolor concepts. From watercolor pencils, to pigments, to individual colors, and brushes, Scheinberger compliments his knowledge with talent.
The Sundown Speech is the twenty-fifth Amos Walker novel by Loren D. Estleman, and he still has it. He has set the story in Ann Arbor, a useful change of scenery for our private detective, who is usually based in Detroit.
