Gift Ideas Winter 2015
Jane Austen Cover to Cover
200 Years of Classic Covers
Margaret C. Sullivan
Quirk Books
Hardcover $24.95 (224pp)
978-1-59474-725-0
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
This book is such a great idea, and so masterfully put together, no one should ever doubt its success. Covers galore—two hundred years of publishing fashion on display, featuring six of Austen’s novels, all assisted by hip commentary. From the Victorian era to 1950s pulp to a Japanese treatment of Pride and Prejudice, every page offers Austen fans another reason to smile.
MATT SUTHERLAND (November 27, 2014)
Ever Yours
The Essential Letters
Vincent Van Gogh
Leo Jansen, editor
Hans Luijten, editor
Nienke Bakker, editor
Yale University Press
Hardcover $50.00 (784pp)
978-0-300-20947-1
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Sickly, chronically depressed, boorishly disagreeable, often out of his mind, Vincent van Gogh was also revolutionary with a paint brush and could write one hell of a letter. This collection of 265 letters (820 are known to exist) shows a man of limitless complexity—warm, funny, knowledgeable about art and fellow artists, completely devoted to his brother Theo, and yet, hauntingly fragile. Ever Yours includes a splendid introduction detailing the artist’s life, and family photographs and reproductions of more than eighty actual pages of letters containing sketches by Van Gogh.
MATT SUTHERLAND (November 27, 2014)
Only the Longest Threads
Tasneem Zehra Husain
Paul Dry Books
Unknown $16.95 (221pp)
978-1-58988-088-7
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Please, Ms. Physicist, tell me a story, one that uses my language and down-to-earth images to bring your cosmic universe a few light years closer to me. Lo and behold, Tasneem Zehra Husain conjures the fly-on-the-wall experience of a witness to momentous breakthroughs in physics from Newton’s classical mechanics to the latest in string theory to the Higgs boson. She frames the big questions in casual conversation; we mortals see how the great physicists use their brains.
MATT SUTHERLAND (November 27, 2014)
How to Breathe Underwater
Field Reports from an Age of Radical Change
Chris Turner
Biblioasis
Softcover $18.95 (288pp)
978-1-927428-75-7
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
The long-form style of literary nonfiction found in magazines reaches its zenith when a talented writer makes connections and pieces together irregular themes to create an aha realization about mass culture. From online gambling to the Great Barrier Reef’s fate to Cuba’s irreverent economy and much more, this collection of essays documents a world undergoing radical change. Canadian Chris Turner has won nine National Magazine Awards and a President’s Medal for work in Fast Company, Time, Utne Reader, Shift, and The Walrus, among other publications.
MATT SUTHERLAND (November 27, 2014)
The Final Pagan Generation
Edward J. Watts
University of California Press
Hardcover $34.95 (304pp)
978-0-520-28370-1
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
The disruptive events leading up to the Gothic sack of Rome in 410 included many years of attacks on the temples and shrines of the Roman Empire’s traditional religion. After Emperor Constantine’s conversion, Christianity was the ascendant religion, and young Christian men, especially, were inspired to destroy the pagan sites, often causing great brawls and open warfare on Roman streets. The last pagan generation was unwilling to match the Christian religious fervor, and the story of their lives is a fantastic slice of classical history.
MATT SUTHERLAND (November 27, 2014)
Goodnight Brew
A Parody for Beer Enthusiasts
Ann E. Briated (Karia Oceanak)
Allie Ogg, illustrator
Bailiwick Press
Hardcover $16.95 (32pp)
978-1-934649-50-3
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Inspired by the much-loved kids’ book Goodnight Moon, this very clever “pitcher book” features wort hogs, hops wildebeests, otters in charge of the water, and other brewery beasts to colorfully demonstrate the brewing process and introduce brewing equipment, ingredients, and beer styles. A barrel of lore and laughs for the whole IPA-loving family.
MATT SUTHERLAND (November 27, 2014)
At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen
Celebrating the Art of Eating Well
Amy Chaplin
Johnny Miller, photographer
Roost Books
Hardcover $35.00 (400pp)
978-1-61180-085-2
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
A rare, gem-quality collection of recipes, guidance, and good sense for discerning vegans and vegetarians. Think Roasted Fall Vegetable Cannellini Bean Stew with Spelt Berries and Kale. Think Quinoa Beet Salad with Feta, Chile, Garlic, and Sauteed Beet Greens. Think Sweet Corn Tofu Frittata with Roasted Cherry Tomato Compote. Think Citrus Coconut Cupcakes. Now stop thinking and start cooking!
MATT SUTHERLAND (November 27, 2014)
{review=426963}
Matt Sutherland
