My reading

Year 2023, I’ve read so far:

My reading year 2022. I’ve read:

 

The Science of PlantsThe Science of Plants. Inside Their Secret World

with large format spectacular illustrations.

The Fine Art of Paper Flowers by Tiffanie Turner – a series of tutorials that include templates for specific flower types, information about required tools, and step-by-step instructions. Beautiful book.

Profusely Illustrated, a Memoir by Edward Sorel – glimpses into author’s life as a “lefty” illustrator, political cartoonist, and caricaturist. 

How to Live. What to Do by Josh Cohen – how reading fiction can lay a pathway for emotional and intellectual enrichment.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune – a contemporary fantasy.

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich – what we owe to the living, the dead, to the reader and to the book.

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave – Inspired by the real events of the Vardø storm and the 1620 witch trials is a feminist story of love, evil, and obsession.

MY READING YEAR 2021 

I’VE READ:

OCTOBER OR AUTUMNAL TINTS by Hanry David Thoreau

An ode to autumn, to the season of ripeness, fullness, and maturity.

Arbitrary Stupid Goal by Tamara Shopsin

The writer is a good story teller and had plenty of characters from her street to write about.

This Is Not my Memoir by Andre Gregory and Todd London

The Lost Words A Spell Book by Robert Macfarlane with hand-painted illustration by Jackie Morris.

The illustrations bring each word to life with such a beauty.

Eating the Sun Small Musings on A Vast Universe by Ella Frances Sanders

MY READING YEAR 2020

I’VE READ:

A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander

The principles are supported by research and anecdote, and well illustrated with real-world examples.

The Book of Human EmotioN by Tiffany Watt Smith

Gleeful encyclopedia of emotions.

The Tasha Tudor Family Cookbook by Winslow Tudor

the heart of a woman by Maya Angelou

how to be idle by Tom Hodgkinson

Heidegger and A Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates by Thomas Cathcart

Gags about dying.

Space Invaders by Nona Fernández 

A Wild Child’s Guide to Endangered Animals by Millie Marotta

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

The Anna Karenina Fix by Viv Groskop

Funny Weather by Olivia Laing

MY READING YEAR 2019 

I’VE READ:

GMORNING, GNIGHT! by Lin Manuel Miranda with fun illustrations by Sun

An amazing collection of some of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning and Gnight tweets. They were all really sweet and uplifting.

Ascending Peculiarity Edward Gorey On Edward Gorey : Interviews

WHAT WE SEE IN THE STARS An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky by Kelsey Oseid

THE TESTAMENT by Margaret Atwood

Very disappointed in this sequel. Predicable ending with most of the characters “living happily ever after”.

ON LOOKING. Eleven Walks With Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz

Sara Berman’s Closet by Maira Kalman

Spying on the South by Tony Horwitz

Spying on the South

The book traces Frederick Olmsted’s journeys through the deep South and Texas from 1852 to 1857. Along the way we’re given a history lesson on segregation and its deep roots in American culture and policy, then and now.

KEEP GOING 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon

The book contains ten rules that encourages, and teaches how to stay creative, and do it your own way. 

THE OVERSTORY by Richard Powers

Timely message about our planet, our lives and our values. The stories that weave into a central theme are well chosen and developed. 

INSOMNIAC CITY New York, Oliver, and Me by Bill Hayes

The part of the book is touching and wonderful. The photographs and stories about NYC are great, too.

ART MATTERS by Gaiman, Neil

Beautifully illustrated book, full of good advice and insightful thoughts about the importance of libraries and art.  The art by Chris Riddell is top notch

THE LABYRINTH

A collection of Steinberg’s works. Drawn between 1954 and 1960, some are previously unpublished. 

HOW TO THINK. A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR A WORLD AT ODDS BY ALAN JACOBS

Engaging, hopeful, and witty.

THE ARGONAUTS BY MAGGIE NELSON

Poignant, illuminating, and timely

THE BOOKSHOP BY PENELOPE FITZGERALD

THERE THERE BY TOMMY ORANGE

Overwhelming description through the planning of a powwow in Oakland the lives of Native Americans as they make their way to this event. 

BOWLAWAY BY ELIZABETH MCCRACKEN

Based in a small New England town covering decades and multiple generations.

MY READING YEAR 2018

MY 10 FAVORITE BOOKS I’VE READ.

I THINK, THEREFORE I DRAW UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY THROUGH CARTOONS BY THOMAS CATHART AND DANIEL KLEIN

A FIELD GUIDE TO GETTING LOST BY REBECCA SOLNIT

PÄNTSDRUNK (KALSARIKÄNNI) THE FINNISH PATH TO RELAXATION (DRINKING AT HOME ALONE IN YOUR UNDERWEAR) BY MISKA RANTANEN

20TH CENTURY BOY BY DUNCAN HANNAH

New York’s bohemian world of the 1970s

BEHIND EVERY GREAT MAN FORGOTTEN WOMEN BEHIND THE WORLD’S FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS BY MARLENE WAGMAN-GELLER

It is very interesting to learn what the women had to put up with famous husbands.

HOW DO WE LOOK? THE BODY, THE DIVINE, AND THE QUESTION OF CIVILIZATION BY MARY BEARD

The book’s first part examines the human body in art, the second, art and faith.

BELONGING A GERMAN RECKONS WITH HOME AND HISTORY by NORA KRUG

The author, born in Germany in the 1970s, relates her search to understand her homeland and family in the shadow of WWII. This scrapbook collage contains photographs, illustrations, and folk-art-style depictions of historical events.

A PHILOSOPHY OF WALKING BY FRÉDÉRIC GROS

Inspiring from start to finish.

SUPERMAN IS JEWISH? HOW COMIC BOOK SUPERHEROES CAME TO SERVE TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND THE JEWISH-AMERICAN WAY BY HARRY BROD

The influence of Jewish thought and culture on American comics.

HOW TO STOP TIME BY MATT HAIG

Focus on our relationship with time, history and being in the present.

TO AFRAID TO CRY MEMOIR OF A STOLEN CHILDHOOD BY ALI COBBY ECKERMANN

a memoir in prose and poetry.

HOW TO BE HAPPY BY ELEANOR DAVIS

so eclectic in both the way the cartoons are drawn and the way they are written and structured. Some are stories spanning several pages, while others are single-page monologues.

DRESS LIKE A WOMAN WORKING WOMEN AND WHAT THEY WORE

MY READING YEAR 2017

MY 10 FAVORITE BOOKS I’VE READ.

JUST MY TYPE A BOOK ABOUT FONTS BY SIMON GARFIELD

A lovingly crafted history of fonts, for aficionados and trivia buffs alike.

BEING WAGNER THE STORY OF THE MOST PROVOCATIVE COMPOSER WHO EVER LIVED BY SIMON CALLOW

Believable montage of learned opinion of the flawed genius.

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS BY URSULA K. LE GUIN

The themes – gender, power, patriotism remain relevant and raise interesting questions.

ENERGIES AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE BIOSPHERE AND CIVILIZATION BY VACLAV SMIL

The book is packed with wonderful essays that are well written

THE BUGHOUSE THE POETRY, POLITICS, AND MADNESS OF EZRA POUND BY DANIEL SWIFT

Excellent, insightful book. 

THE BEST WE COULD DO AN ILLUSTRATED MEMOIR BY THI BUI

Heartfelt illustrated memoir about a young Vietnamese family immigrating from a war torn country to the United States.

SHOW YOUR WORK! 10 WAYS TO SHARE YOUR CREATIVITY AND GET DISCOVERED BY AUSTIN KLEON

Oustanding book packed with great tips for artists but good for anyone who needs motivation- especially if you are trying to get your work noticed or are trying to put your work out there.

PATTERNALIA AN UNCONVENTIONAL HISTORY OF POLKA DOTS, STRIPES, PLAID, CAMOUFLAGE, & OTHER GRAPHIC PATTERNS BY JUDE STEWART

THE SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE TECHNIQUES, PROMPTS, AND INSPIRATION FOR ACHIEVING YOUR CREATIVE GOALS BY SUE BLEIWEISS

Lots of mixed media, great for the creative block.

KITCHEN LITHOGRAPHY HAND PRINTING AT HOME : FROM BUTTONS AND BAGS TO POSTCARDS AND PILLOWCASES BY LAURA SOFIE HANTKE

 Learn how to create a printing workshop using non-toxic supplies found at home