Book Art

The Big Book of British Smiles

Screw it. I'm just gonna put this picture here instead of a video, since Hulu's embed code sucks so bad.

1st book of the year

You Are Here

Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination

by

Katharine Harmon

 I've had this one sitting around for a while. I had it on the light reading list for a while, started to read it, left it in my car for a long time, forgot about it. Spent an hour searching my house for it tonight, then finally found it. It's finally time to get serious about reading it.



Coffee Table Books 2

Coffee Table Books

Self-Help Books

Listograph

I bought this book last year, thinking it would make a good calendar. Nope. I really needed one that lies open and flat on my bill paying desk, where I can easily see how much I owe who and when. This is more like a large paperback you'd carry around with you. I did try filling out some of the lists it gives you but I couldn't really get into it. Don't know why. I like making lists. Maybe writing in anything other than a blank notebook feels wrong.  $15.99 is a pretty expensive notebook.
This year one of my resolutions is to write a bit more and return to filling out these lists. But wait, there's an easier way. Listography is on the internet. Yesterday I signed up and have since  made 20 or so lists. Here's me.

Go Team Venture!

From Super Punch: Sean Dove's contribution to the upcoming Adult Swim show at Gallery 1988 is a Choose Your Own Adventure starring the Venture Brothers. He has various great, cheap prints on sale at Etsy.


best books

This years winner of upside your mind's book of the year is:

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Runners up was a tie between

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers and

Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter

Honorable mention goes to

Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem

2011

Books I read this year.

1. Steampunk'd - edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg
2. Comfort me With Apples by Ruth Reichl
3. Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem
4. Notions Unlimited by Robert Sheckley
5. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
6. Others See Us by William Sleator
7. Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk
8. The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton
9. Born to Rock by Gordon Korman
10. Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
11. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
12. Sooner Dead by Mel Odom
13. 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick
14. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
15. Towards a New Architecture by Le Corbusier
16. To the Land of the Electric Angel by William Rotsler
17. The Boy Who Reversed Himself by William Sleator
18. Idle Pleasures by George Alec Effinger
19. Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater
20. Interstellar Pig by William Sleator
21. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
22. Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille by Steven Brust
23. Time Travelers Strictly Cash by Spider Robinson
24. Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter
25. Starship Titanic by Terry Jones
26. The Unlimited Dream Company by J.G. Ballard
27. The Postmortal by Drew Magary (currently reading )

currently reading

The Postmortal

by
Drew Magary

Shanghai Jim

Bookmark follows JG Ballard from Shepperton to Shanghai and back, looking at the scenes of his life which inspired his autobiographical novels.

books on wheels

Thanks to Boing Boing for pointing me towards this article.

The Unlimited Dream Company

The Unlimited Dream Company

by

J.G. Ballard

gimme

Here's a list of books I'd like to receive as holiday gifts, in case Santa is reading this blog.

• The BLDGBLOG Book by Geoff Manaugh
• Rowlf/Underground 3 by Richard Corben. I used to own this one. It was stolen, cherry picked, I feel from my Corben collection.
• Homunculus by James P. Blaylock
• The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature by Jeff VanderMeer and S.J. Chambers
• Ocean of Lard (Choose Your Own Mindfuck Fest #17) by Carlton Mellick III
• High-Rise: A Novel by J.G. Ballard. I recently saw an old episode of Doctor Who that was inspired by this book.
• Stage Rigging Handbook, Third Edition by Jay O. Glerum. I don't want this one, so much as I need it. It's the text book I'm supposed to study as an apprentice stagehand in the union. As we've only had one class in the last year It's the only way I might be able to pass my journeyman's exam.
• The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 2) by Patrick Rothfuss
• Jim and the Flims by Rudy Rucker
• The Steampunk Trilogy by Paul Di Filippo
• Suzy, Led Zeppelin, and Me by Martin Millar