41. Jailbird

By: Kurt Vonnegut


You have to wonder about someone as briliant as Vonnegut. If he never wrote Slaughterhouse Five or Cat's Cradle or Breakfast of Champions - would his lesser known works stand out as masterpieces with no greater work by their author to overshadow them? I wonder, because in comparison to those (as well as one of my favorites, The Sirens of Titan), Jailbird is not particularly remarkable. However, although it is absent the Science Fiction that makes Vonnegut's books so bizzare, it is still chock full of its own vonnegoodness.

I'm spacing out the last few Vonnegut books I haven't read yet (since there will be no more), and I started this one because I wanted to see what wisdom his book about a corrupt government official would reveal. Would this book, written in 1980 still be relevent today?

"You know what is finally going to kill this planet?" I said.

"Cholesterol!" said Frank Ubriaco.

"A total lack of seriousness," I said. "nobody gives a damn anymore about what's really going on, what's going to happen next, or how we ever got into such a mess in the first place".

Bingo.

40. A Whole New Mind

By: Daniel Pink

As more people develop a a design sensibility, we'll increasingly be able to deploy design for its ultimate purpose: changing the world.

That was the statement that most resonated with me from this book. Its a powerful thought and a challenge to art educators, as we consider how to prepare students for the "real world".

Here is how he supports that statement: he discusses design as the meaning that is added to the function. His example - the toaster. The toaster spends about 1% of its existence in its functional role - making toast. It spends the other 99% of its existence in its design role- looking nice in your kitchen. Design, therefore drives economy. Design changes history- had the "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach County, Florida been designed better, residents would not have mistakenly voted en-masse for Pat Buchanan over Al Gore, affecting the entire future of the country. Design is how we shape the world, and how we give meaning to our lives, as Pink describes it "To be a designer is to be an agent of change".

What an amazing challenge for art education.

Pink's book serves as a road map for educating students in the 21st century. At the end of the information age, the need for rote memorization and fact recall becomes less important. The internet brings facts instantly to our fingertips. Now, in what Pink refers to as the dawn of the Conceptual age the ability to synthesize information is the key to success as we prepare students for both business and in life.

Pink describes six aptitudes that are necessary for this synthesis, and for surviving in the conceptual age. Here's the 'cliff notes' version:

Design: The ability to create something that is beautiful and meaningful.
Story: The ability to communicate and become self-aware.
Symphony: The ability to see the big picture.
Empathy: The ability to understand others.
Play: The ability to engage humor and balance seriousness.
Meaning: The ability to pursue purpose.

Of course, that quick description doesn't do his thesis any justice. I may be preaching to the converted, but Pink's book is a must read for all educators, especially art educators.

39. American Born Chinese

By: Gene Luen Yang

ABC is a fantastic combination of three separate stories, the myth of the monkey king, a teenager who is troubled by his cousin "Chin-Kee" the embodiment of chinese stereotype, and a young boy uncomfortable with his identity. Wonderfully conceived, the stories are simple and humorous, and yet reflect and play off each other in a surprising manner.

Although this isn't an autobiography, its great reading to follow Persepolis and Blankets as a graphic novel about identity. Add in Art Spiegelman's Maus and you've got enough a nice little series of personal tales in graphic novels- A girl growing up in Iran during the revolution, a man struggling through the holocaust (and later a son in America who is trying to relate to him), A young man struggling with hypocrisies and abuses in middle America, and a Chinese American struggling to decide who he is.

38. Blankets

By: Craig Thompson
Blankets is an interesting book to follow Persepolis, as it is also an autobiographical graphic novel - although the similarities between the books are few. In Persepolis 1 & 2 I felt the child-like drawings and lack of a real integration of words and images disengaged me from the story. The drawings did nothing but illustrate what the narrator described. in Blankets, however, Thompson's expressive style and use of images to communicate ideas that words cannot (and vice versa) make this work much more engaging. This was important, becase Blankets is not the kind of story that I could see myself easily getting in to. The story bounces back and fourth between the author's life as a fifth grader and a high school student. We find that as a child he is abused and feels like a failure for being unable to prevent his brother from the same abuse. As a high school student, he is caught between his first true love and his love of God.

Yeah, not my cup of tea. And the whole thing about falling out of love with god because you realize that the people who are preaching to you (a) don't walk the talk, (b) walk the talk and are therefore small minded, or (c) downright hypocrites - is obvious and familiar. And so if we're going to read another story / watch another movie / listen to another song about this sort of thing, it has to be unique in other ways.

And here, it is. Thompson's inner struggle is realized in the comic form in a way that it couldn't be represented in any other medium -and it is a perfect example of why comics should be taken seriously - because it is simply another form of expression. A painting exists in one medium, movies exist in one medium - and "good comics" have often been seen only as a prelude to a movie or TV version.

Basically, its an overly sentimental, somewhat familiar, story of a first love, which adds up to something that I'd probably have avoided it had I read a synopsis first. That being said, it was actually quite good.

37. Ancient Shores

By: Jack McDevitt

McDevitt is a master of writing engaging, suspenseful, science fiction that never falls outside of a reasonable suspension of disbelief. He also likes archeaology and works it into his novels quite well. Now all he needs is a publisher who will provide him with some decent cover art. Look at this book! What junky typeface! Whats with the 1980's Grace Jones haircut? Who put a red and yellow title on a gray book with a splash of green and purple in between?

Honestly, I wouldn't even have picked this up if I hadn't noticed "Author of Engines of God" in the little print under his name.

I had picked up Engines of God, McDevitt's debut novel, a few years back when it first came out. I knew nothing about it (and the cover was slightly less appalling), but whatever bookstore I was at was highlighting it because he had just done a big signing.

Anyway, I picked it up, and tore through it- Engines of God was a brilliant story about archeology in the future, as an ancient mysterious alien civilization is uncovered. Absolute page turner from beginning to end, highly recommended. I had lent the book out at some point, and forgotten the author's name, and he'd fallen off my radar- it seems that he's written a few books in the intervening years!

Ancient Shores is almost as good. Great story, engaging from the beginning, and while the ending isn't bad, its a little bit clunky- and it veers in a slightly less interesting direction than the book would previous indicate.

The story opens as a farmer and his son dig up a small triangular object on their farm that reveals a larger yacht... only there hasn't been a lake for sailing in the vicinity for 10,000 years- and the boat is in perfect condition.

35 & 36: Persepolis 1 & 2

By: Marjane Satrapi

These two books comprise the autobiography of author Marjane Satrapi's life growing up in Iran. Persepolis 1 is the story of her life as a child, growing up during the cultural revolution. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return is about Satrapi's return to Iran as a teenager after being sent to Austria to escape the lunacy of the regime.

Both books provide an excellent and in depth view of life in Iran in a time when it is caught between fundamentalism and westernization. It portrays the country in a way rarely seen in the west- from the point of view of a child who wants to listen to rock music and dress in modern fashions. Whose immediate family opposes the mullahs in secret, and whose relatives do in the open, and pay the consequences. The illustration however, doesn't seem to add much to the story. Satrapi's images are very plain, with most drawn from a similar point of view and distance from the subject. The illustrations simply support the story. Unlike Moonshadow, the images and the text do not seem to be inexorably linked.

Overall a good read, specifically for the insight into life in Iran, over the period of about 20 years; but as a graphic novel, it doesn't have a life of its own.

34. Moonshadow

By: John Marc DeMatteis
Illustrated by: Jon J. Muth

I was thinking about this book when I went home for the summer and dug it out of my piles of packed-away books because I had an intense desire to read it again. After reading it the first time, it quickly became one of my favorite graphic novels (along with the Sandman series and Maus). And yet, I liked it even more this time.

One thing that I hadn't liked about Moonshadow was the inconsistency - Muth's beautiful watercolors are often broken up by ridiculously proportioned cartoons- however, this time however, I enjoyed that aspect of it more. Where on first reading I found the variations in style distracting, this time I appreciated more how his changing images better supported the changing tones of the story.

Moonshadow was born in a Zoo, but not just any zoo. A human zoo, kept by a strange race of sentient orbs called G'L-Doses - their only trait besides their odd appearance is their penchant for chaos. They act without reason, without moral code, or even an adherence to the laws of physics (or reality, for that matter). In one such act of random chaos, one of the G'L-Doses marries a human and fathers the son that will one day be Moonshadow.

From the Zoo, Moonshadow embarks on an epic journey that takes him across the universe with a few different companions. The most notable of these is Ira, a Cousin-It looking thing with a bowler hat and a penchant for anything inappropriate. Moon's journey takes him through encounters with death, war, love, religion gone wrong, capitalism gone wrong, and capitalistic religion gone very wrong.

The real gem of the story though, is the epilouge, the content of which I won't spoil here. It is unexpected, unlike the rest of the book, and beautifully done by both artist and writer.

Moonshadow tells a story that is unique through its combination of the surreal, the tragic, and the humorous in an epic story. However, it is also the beautiful artwork by Jon Muth that really sets this one apart - almost every page is a masterpiece.

33. The Crystal Cave

By: Mary Stewart

What I find most remarkable about this book, which has easily slipped into the list of my favorite fantasy books of all time- is that there is actually very little in the way of fantasy at all. For a book about one of the most famous wizards of all time, there is almost no magic. Not one spell cast, no mention of faeries, no goblins or elves. There is only the mysterious visions of the crystal cave, the uncontrolled premonitions, and a single glance in a crystal ball.

Just as ironic is the fact that I happened to love a book is predicated on something I have absolutly no belief in - a divine will, a master plan, an unquestioning surrender to the will of god. What makes Mary Stewart's writing so brilliant that she can write a nearly magic-less story about a magician, and enthrall a staunch believer in free will to a story of fate? It must be magic.

Thanks, Castaway, for reminding me about this one. I'm glad I got into this series after failing to breech it years ago back in middle school. The only problem now is finding a copy of The Hollow Hills in China!

32. 99 Ways to Tell a Story

By: Matt Madden

Matt Madden's book takes a cue from Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics by using comics to teach about comics. Of course, the book is really about style, and can be applied to any art form.

The image at the side here is not the cover, it is the "Template" comic, which Madden recreates 99 times in 99 different styles. His approaches vary from truly interesting reinterpretations to hackneyed tributes to other artists. Overall, however, this is quite a useful book for students or artists who need a reminder that any given creative problem has an unlimited number of approaches and solutions.

31. Stardust

By: Neil Gaiman

Here's another book I rushed to read before the movie version... and I probably should have just left it on the shelf. Sure, the movie looks terrible, but hey, its Neil Gaiman - author of Sandman, one of the few comics to breakthrough and rise above the sea of crap that was out there in the 80s. Gaiman has a brilliant imagination, but this one just falls flat.

Tristran is this guy who happens to be half-fairy, which amounts to being totally inconsequential to plot or character. His goal in life is to retrieve a fallen star in order to win the heart of his one true love. Of course, as soon as the star turns out to be a female star (who would one day be played by Claire Danes), we know from that point on that he will at one point loose interest in his one true love and fall for the star (no pun intended), because as we know, if Clare Danes is in a movie with another no-named actress, the lead has to fall for her instead.

There is very little in the way of action, plot, or character- and Gaiman, who is a master of crafting and returning to his unique worlds adds nothing to them in this book. Moreover, having watched the trailer for the movie again after having finished the book, its hard to recognize almost any plot elements or characters. The character that Robert DeNiro is playing is in the book for almost two pages, and I can't even figure out who Ricky Gervais' character is supposed to be.

Perhaps the movie will only be as bad as the book, in which case you can save yourself sometime in not only avoiding the book, but the movie as well.

30. Brave New World

By: Aldus Huxley

"The optimum population," said Mustapha Mond, "is modelled on the iceberg- eight-ninths below the water line, one-ninth above".

"And they're happier below the water line?"

"Happier than above it."

Imagine my surprise to find my good friend Mustapha Mond here in a Brave New World! The selected quote is the one I decided best represents our current state of affairs.

29. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Translation by: Edward Fitzgerald

Well, the cover doesn't make the best blog graphic, but I'm surprised I even found a copy of it on the 'net. The book, I found this at a flea market down by the beach (beautiful edition from the 40s for 1 dollar), and my father seems to think that this was a book I had ought to have heard of- a book, he said, that my grandfather used to quote quite often.

The set of 100 quatrains that can be boiled down to "Carpe Diem" has been so thoroughly altered and augmented by Fitzgerald, that as this edition warns, it is no longer possible to determine where Khayyam ends and Fitzgerald begins- indeed, it is better to think of them as co-authors. It is odd, because this attitude of appropriation seems like it wouldn't be as happily accepted today.

The Rubaiyat would have been quite the heretical volume in its days- written by a man in an Islamic society in the 12th century and translated by one in a 19th century Christian society, the subject matter is that of enjoying your life since there is nothing when you're finished- eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die - that sort of thing. And the drinking theme is revisited a couple of times in fact. And despite the fact that it was appropriated and altered by someone else 700 years after it was first written, and despite the fact that the message is simple, it is quite an enjoyable and inspiring read. Highly recommended.

28. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

By: Tom Wolfe

This is the second book that I found in the beach house to add to my summer reading list. Anything written before 1980 in paperback or before 1950 in hardback is acceptable to be left to occupy beach house bookcases.

Have to admit- I've always meant to read this book, and it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Not that its not great to have such a close first hand account of the Merry Pranksters and now I feel as if I knew Ken Kesey personally, but there was something about the writing that just seemed false to me. Perhaps if I wasn't familiar with Tom Wolfe and some of his modern somewhat conservative opinions, and ultra conservative dress, I wouldn't have noticed. But it was weird to read a book that is so lyrical and free from the same guy who wears a collar that is taller than the remainder of his shirt- and the most recent article I've read by him was a diatribe against multiculturalism.

So I'm biased. Anyway, I think that's what made the book ring false for me in some kind of 30 years later retrospect. He talks the talk, but because he never mentions his role in the exploits of the pranksters (and maybe there were none, but I find that hard to believe because this group didn't seem like the kind that would let anyone 'sit one out')- it seems more like imitation than engagement. That being said however, its a rich piece of history that gives a lot more insight and depth to a different generation.

27. Meet Mr. Mulliner

By: P.G. Wodehouse
As a rule, summer beach homes are required to be well stocked with musty smelling hardback novels and thrillers from the 70s and 80s. These serve only to give purpose to what would be otherwise empty bookshelves. So, when we went to stay with my aunt at the beach this year, I decided to add a few to my summer reading agenda.

The first one, Meet Mr. Mulliner is a series of short stories strung together through their narrator, who is of course, the title character. Mulliner comes into the local bar and regales anyone who will listen with stories about various members of the Mulliner family. The stories each contain some variation of a man overcoming some obstacle in the wooing of a woman- either she is uninterested, he is uninterested, someone else is uninterested for them, or the circumstance is conspiring against them. Theres also a story of a bishop and a headmaster who get high on a miracle tonic and decide to paint a statue.

Although the plots manage to be both simple and contrived, they are actually quite enjoyable. The humor is of the dry British quirky sort. For example, when the bishop and the headmaster decide in their altered state to paint the campus statue, the bishop feels that it might be impolite to suggest that they paint the statue pink instead of blue seeing as its the headmaster's school and he doesn't want to be rude- even though pink would be funnier.