Joel Sternfeld
American Prospects is a nifty collection of photos from the 70s and 80s by a master photographer. Sternfeld focuses on contrasts of human objects placed existing in nature – a huge rock obstructing the view of a business office, towns dotting empty prairies, a rotting refinery in the …
Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman
Abrahamson and Freedman attempt to dispel the myth that mess is time-consuming and a sign of a lazy person. Mess, they argue, is in fact conducive to creativity, time-saving and a sign of a healthy mind. Using examples of everything from the ease and ability …
Lawrence Wescheler
Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder is a strange little book on a real-life “museum” – the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Stuffed with wonders such as the Sonnabend Model of Obliscence, laying out reality in a cone format, information on various and sundry strange animals, a scale creation of …
Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston
I realized that this book is fast becoming a favorite as I have read it 3 times in the last year and a half. While the main character, Agent Pendergast, is part of an ongoing series it is not necessary to have read any of …
William Kent Krueger
The owner of Booked for Murder in Madison sold me on this title and an excellent call on her part. But then again, she owns a murder mystery store and lets her dog room free in it, so hey. Apparently part of a series, this Cork O’Connor …
Dr. Brian Wansink
From the title, you’d never guess this book is a laugh riot. After reading an interview in Salon the Dr. Wansink, I had to read the book. Wansink and his lab study why humans overeat. Packed with great anecdotes, Wansink gives a behind-the-scenes look of his research. …
Your Disgusting Head and Giraffes? Giraffes! The Haggis-on-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance
Written by Dr. Dorris Haggis-On-Whey and her husband Benny, the Haggis-On-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance book series will boggle your mind. Boggle boggle boggle. Just like that. Have you ever wanted to know where giraffes came from? Why, …
Michael Freeman
With building space at a premium in most large Japanese cities, architects who can fit building into tiny “eel nest ” spaces are always busy. This is a collection of some of the most innovative designs, often working with only 350-500 square feet. In addition, Japanese zoning laws …
Richard Sonnenfeldt
This is by far the most immensely engrossing book I have read in months. Without a pause, Sonnenfeldt leaps into a description of how he, a young army grunt, was pulled from the innards of a jeep he was repairing and whisked off to Nuremberg to become the …
Mark Newgarden
Following a short history of the creation of novelty gifts and subsequent “novelty gift wars” among various manufacturers, Newgarden displays various and sundry popular novelty gifts. Along with the old stand-bys, whoopee-cushions, joy buzzers, buck-teeth, there are also such wonder as a razor sharp device to be a …
Terry Pratchett
Pratchett’s new book in the Tiffany Aching series does not fail to amuse. Definitely built on the first two books (A Hat Full of Sky and The Wee Free Men) the story continues Tiffany’s story as she studies to be a full-fledged witch. Various Nac MacFeegles …
Saul Rubin
I can’t begin to tell you how upset I was to discover the Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue had closed a few scant years ago. Such a shrine, virtually in my own back yard! A well, there are plenty of other great places to visit – The Nut …
Eoin Colfer
This fun, silly young-adult book is by the author of the popular Artemis Fowl series, as of late being compared to the Harry Potter books in popularity. While I think that may be pushing things a bit, Colfer’s books are amusing for readers of any age. His Half …
Portraits by Kip Fulbeck Forward by Sean Lennon
I saw this little gem in the pop culture rack a few weeks ago and couldn’t resist snagging it, despite my already precariously towering heap. Fulbeck’s collection is a photo essay of hapa – people of part Asian, part “other” descent. The …
Berkeley Breathed
As a refreshingly amusing and light read, I have been plugging away through a bunch of collections of Berk Breathed’s comics. I’m amazed at what an excellent barometer of popular culture and politics Breathed’s (the creator of Opus and Bloom County) comics are. In particular, the Penguin Dreams …
James Borden and Roger Brucker
I picked up this book earlier in the fall when we were vacationing at Mammoth Cave. Tag-teaming in an occasionally confusing way, Borden and Brucker tell of their various exploits exploring and mapping Mammoth Cave and the ensuing connection to Roppel Cave, making Mammoth Cave …
