Harry Skrdla
Harry Skrdla is a prat. His writing is pompous, overblown and redundant. I can almost guarantee he has a closet full of notebooks where he wrote wretched Goth poetry in while in high school.
The pictures, on the other hand, are beautiful. Encompassing a wide array of ruins …
Peter Seidel and Manfred Sack
Seidel’s photos are a creepy, otherworldly collection of underground sits in Germany. The most benign include art vaults and wine cellars. More common, however, are shelters, prisons and command centers built to withstand war after war – including Hitler’s own bunker. Fantastically beautiful pictures, regardless …
Tony Hillerman
I recently discovered Hillerman’s wonderful writing. This is no great feat. Somehow I managed to be completely unaware of him, despite his 114 titles in the library. Hillerman writes tight, intense murder mysteries set in New Mexico and Arizona. His characters are tribal police and local law enforcement …
This month was excellent for books. I found three new novels by some of my favorite authors, plus another couple really excellent titles. I also happened to run across a web page called Stump the Bookseller at Loganberry Books. For $2, you can send them a short synopsis of …
Dan Savage
The Commitment is a continuation of Savage’s life post The Kid. Interwoven with Savage’s story of he and his boyfriend Terry’s indecision over getting married is the story of Savage’s family, gay marriage history and plenty of hilarious anecdotes. However, change the sex of one of the …
Morna Gregory and Sian James
A thoroughly enjoyable photo essay collection of toilets of the world. From a hole in the sand in the middle of a vast desert, a tree marked “p” on a hiking trail, to an ultra-modernist egg shaped pods at a London club, the world takes …
The McSweeney’s Book of Lists
Brought to you by McSweeney’s, this collection of lists submitted by readers is silly, with undertones of randomness. Especially the unicorn bits.
Adjectives Rarely Used by Wine Tasters
Chunky
Supercharged
Pondy
Wine-a-licious
Alcoholy
Things Going Through Robert Plant’s Mind When Jimmy Page Takes a Solo…
Douglas Coupland and Lincoln Child
Coupland and Child are two of my favorite authors but I was rather disappointed by both of their newest books. Jpod seems slightly stale, though the base story is pretty interesting. For some inexplicable reason, Coupland felt the need to inject himself as a character …
Chuck Murphy with a forward by Priscilla Presley
OH. DEAR. GOD. I never had any strong desire to see Graceland until I snagged this doozy from the pop-culture shelves. You know those glittery white jumpsuits Levis used to wear? Those look tasteful and subdued compared to Elvis’s dear old home. …
Matthew Diffee
Ever wonder what the thousands of cartoons that get rejected from the New Yorker look like? Well, let me tell you – tasteless, obscene, vulgar and wickedly accurate in a totally non-pc way. Featuring some of the best and brightest to grace the pages of the New Yorker, …
Personal Ads from the London Review of Books
Oh dear lord, I’m amazed the Brits manage to mate at all if this is what is out there. These real, honest and often completely horrifying ads have appeared in the LRoB.
…It takes a real man to wear a dress. It
Björn Töroque
We saw the transcendent movie Air Guitar Nation at this year’s Madison film festival. Despite the International Air Guitar Championships existing for over a decade, an American had never competed. The makers of Air Guitar Nation follow the first two American contenders – C-diddy (the Asian fury) and …
Nature Girl (Carl Hiaasen) and The Big Bamboo (Tim Dorsey)
I hit two of the unholy Floridian trinity (Dave Barry being the third… yes, that Dave Barry) within a week, so I can’t be held accountable for my actions. Both books live up to their own bizarre standards and fit …
Gary Gladstone
By the same photographer who shot and wrote Passing Gas is another fantastic collection of photography. Choosing towns with silly and often obscene sounding names, Gladstone and his spent months driving the country, hoping these towns still existed and then photographing them and their residents. Some residents are …
Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
I know, let’s have a comic book. And lets have lots of villains, lifted directly from Victorian literature. Right, and since we lifted lots of villains, lets also lift a bunch of other characters and make them heroes – kind of. And let’s set it …
Paul Budnitz
I was kind of vaguely aware of designer toys, having been dragged through numerous comic shops by friends. However, the “figurines” from popular comics cannot compare to these pricey gems. Divided by designer, I Am Plastic showcases some of the fantastic and bizarre creations from companies across the …
