Diane Bursten
I’m not sure what photos surprised me more in London Then and Now – the photos of landmarks virtually unchanged in over 100 years or those that were completely obliviated with not a hint that they ever existed. In both cases, images of massive stone and brick edifices …
Snowdon
This clever collection of photos showcases strange and outré buildings in London. Originally built as gate houses, gazebos or follies (mock-historical buildings built just for the heck of it) most have now been converted into expensive yuppie dwellings or garden sheds. With everything from mock-churches, tiny Victorian wrought-iron stands, …
Oliver Sacks
Neurologist Oliver Sacks is probably best known for his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. With a focus on rare neurological diseases and maladies, Sacks was deeply interested to hear about the Island of Pingelap. Nearly 10% of the population is achromatopic – …
Caroline Graham
For some inexplicable reason, the Barnaby series covers could double for vapid romance novels from the 50s. However, the books are very recent and have very modern plots. While their is some continuity in the series, they can be read out of order. Two particular favorites are Written …
Jennifer Niesslein
In high school I had a friend who decided to try some experiments out on himself that he had read about. He simultaneously ate only brown bread and apple juice and slept 2 hours at night and another hour in the afternoon. According to his science journal, this …
Christopher Fowler
Bryant and May, Fowler’s irascible, crabby and ancient detectives totter through this wonderful series. Set in London, the detectives and their “Peculiar Crimes Unit” investigate offbeat murders. The books are wonderfully filled with details about historic London, esoteric religions, hidden underground spaces, cults and creepy post-mortem anomalies. Do …
Teun Hocks – Aperture Books
Dutch photographer/painter Hocks creates amusing and bizarre painted photo images. Portraying a generic “everyman” Hocks highlights the absurdities of life. Standing on an ice-flow, his everyman looks concernedly at his briefcase and hat as they float away. Standing on top of a ladder, he shoves …
Jake Halpern
Halpern’s wonderfully interesting (and far too short) book Fame Junkies explores the world of people drawn to fame. Divided into three sections, Halpern interviews and follows a legion of wanna-be child stars and their families, a group of celebrity assistants and a clutch of die-hard fans. Each group …
Alex Marshall
Marshall gives a short overview on a number of famous cities and their secret underground. From waterworks, subway tunnels, aqueducts, crypts and even whole secret cities and train systems under Moscow, most major metropolitan areas have thousands of feet of under-structures that very few people are aware of. …
Bill Belleville
Travel writer Belleville has visited some of the most remote and inaccessible sites in the world. Drawn to the water, he has explored reefs, tunnels, underwater caves, murky tropical rivers and cenote (sinkholes sacred to the Maya) visited by less people than have visited the moon. Sunken Cities …
Wendy McClure
While helping her folks clean out the basement, McClure found an old box of Weight Watchers recipe cards from the 60s and 70s. From frozen cheese salad, liver pate en masque, and frankfurter spectacular, its all here. Low fat, low cal. and vilely gleaming on mustard yellow platters …
Rebecca Mead
The short article last fall in Salon on Mead’s book was enough to get me interested in this book. Like being unable to stop staring at a car accident, Mead’s book is grotesquely fascinating. Laying out the modern mania to have the biggest, most extravagant and wedding possible, …
Shari Caudron
If you are a hobby-bobber like me, this book will hit a major nerve with you. Author Caudron tells of her burning desire to have… a burning desire. Bouncing from one interest to another, she never found that one thing that really tripped her trigger – the hobby …
Melissa – “Melicious” Joulwan
Melicious’ book is a a must read for any derby fans or aspiring derby girls. Covering the early days of the Texas Roller Girls (the modern mothers of derby) Joulwan talks about her discovery of derby, addiction, the politics of the early team, dissolution of the …
Laurie Notaro
In her first non-fiction novel, Laurie Notaro writes with her same funny, off-kilter and slightly neurotic voice she has recorded her life with in her fabulous autobiographical short stories. Although a bit slow to get off the ground, once she hits her stride the story takes off on …
Ninjalicious
Ninjalicious, founder of Infiltration.org and master urban explorer, came out with the wicked useful guide to visiting hidden and off-limit places. Sadly, he died weeks after the book was published. However, his immensely useful collection of tips on getting in and out of spaces is available to one and …
