Hot Pink by Adam Levin

Hot Pink is a new collection of short stories by the author of the monumental tome The Instructions, Adam Levin.  I recently finished that book earlier in the year and ended up loving it.  That's why  I equally pleased when I saw these in the store.  I hope that it's filled with the off-beat sense of humor and darker tinting that made The Instructions famous.

Levin is one of the stars of McSweeny's publication house.  Like the rest of the catalog, Hot Pink is done up in very collectible fashion.  A little less ornate than other McSweeny titles, it's still a handsome volume done up in a two-toned cover without a dust jacket.  A bright yellow logo is embossed into the cover, as well as Levin's name, reminiscent of a DIY screen printing job.

Find it here or at your local bookseller.  Also it seems like there are multiple colors for the cover but they're all sold out.  Onward collectors, onward toward the hunt!

The Star Wars Trilogy

What perfect timing regarding recent developments that have happened.  If you have perused Barnes & Noble only casually in the last three to four years, you'll notice tables that have been ever-burgeoning with collection of classics, old and modern, that are bound handsomely in stylish leather with pages gilded in gold or silver leaf.  These are part of their Leatherbound Classics Editions.  Their website touts well over 50 titles ranging from Shakespeare and Jane Austin to Douglas Adams and Neil Gaiman.  For the book lover, these books are irresistible.  If I had room and the money, I would buy them all just to have them on my shelf.

Most recently, I went to graze the familiar table and, to my surprise, found an iconic face staring right back at me.  In the quintessential font, shining brilliantly, was "The Star Wars Trilogy."  I literally gasped as I lifted the tome to inspect it.  There they were, all three books, names I don't even need to say because you should know them already.  I held the book while a blocky, monotone voice played in my head on repeat, "MUST. OWN.  BOOK."

Not only is this the most unique addition to their collection but it is also the coolest culturally speaking. Most people don't know about the Star Wars novelizations and if it's any Star Wars books people are aware of it's the many novels that range from zipped up fan fiction to quasi-canonical additions to the lore.  Originally published a few months before A New Hope arrived in theaters, the books served to introduce people to the characters that would soon become cultural icons that still loom large today. They were credited toward George Lucas but it was later revealed to be ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, the man who would be the first to expand the Star Wars universe in print with Splinter of the Mind's Eye.

The rest is, as you say, history.  History that many of us are well aware of.  This handsome volume would look great in the collection of your favorite Star Wars nerd or someone looking to liven up their shelf that is sagging from the weight of dark and dusty classics.  Go to your local, brick and mortar B&N or find it online here.

The Book of Emotions by Joao Almino

The Book of Emotions is an interesting book about an aging photographer looking back at his life and relationships.  Cadu is compiling a book of the same name that is a compilation of some of his most famous photographs.  In his old age his has gone blind and so he requires the assistance of a young assistant to find the photographs that he wants to include, an assistant that he has a growing attraction to.

The book is divided into divided into separate sections.  There are sections from his personal journal where the present takes place.  He discusses his progress of the book and his feelings for his assistant.  There are also descriptions of each photograph.  His ability to take photographs has been robbed him but his memory of the ones that he has already taken are, literally, picture perfect.  Because we are given detailed descriptions of the photos without seeing them, you in effect experience the blindness that Cadu does.

For Cadu, his photographs represent bookmarks in his life.  Each one that he includes come with rich context.  In his younger days he worked for a politician which gave him steady work but restricted his free spirit considerably.  He also had torrid affairs with many women.  It wasn't that he couldn't be satisfied, it was that he had great love for many beautiful women.

I didn't end up finishing the book, if that's any indicator of how it is.  I would like to go back and re read sometime soon.  If you would like to read this, I would recommend keeping a short list of characters that are introduced and their relation to the other characters.  There wasn't an inordinate amount of characters so I don't know why I had keeping track of them.  I don't know if it was the unfamiliar names or what.

If this is something you'd like to read, you can pick it up at your local bookstore or online here.

Poor Richards Almanack

What!? So all this time I thought that the Poor Richard's Almanack was written by some poor soul named Richard.  Little did I know that it was one of the many accomplishments of everyone's favorite statesman Benjamin Franklin.  Franklin used a psedonym for this work which was based of a character from writings of Jonathan Swift, Issac Bickerstaff, who was an astrologer and almanac writer.  It was very popular publication among the American colonists, with print runs going into the many thousands of units.

For those of you don't know what the Poor Richard's Almanack was, it was a annual serialized pamphlet that ran from 1732 to 1758.  It had weather forecasts, mainly for the context of  planting and harvesting crops, household tips and other forms of entertainment such as word games and puzzles.  Think of it as one of those glossy household magazines that you might see your mom reading, things like Martha Stewart Living or Better Homes and Gardens.

Had it existed today, it would have been largely forgettable but due to the connection with one of our founding fathers as well as the cultural significance with the people of the time, it has gained a certain popularity among people of our time.

For those that are interested, you can find it here.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

I'm a sucker for enormous novels. Even though I shouldn't be giving permission to these authors for typing out such bloated stories, I always find myself intrigued by the fact that that they did write such enormous works. I wonder if what they have to say is worth the pages. That's why I read The Pale King by David Foster Wallace and why I'd like to conquer Infinite Jest. I'd just as soon read Animal Farm than listen to Cate Blanchett read Marcel Proust's seven volume novel In Search of Lost Time on board the Belefonte in The Life Aquatic.

Speaking of sprawling epics and George Orwell, last year when Haruki Murakami published 1Q84 my interest was instantly piqued. It was a hulking tome of more than a thousand pages and it had a strange yet iconic title that referenced one of my most favored books. I wanted to read it but wasn't training for any endurance strength tests so I downloaded it on my Nook instead. Recently when I went to go peruse my local book shop, I found that the brand new softcover edition on display.

This is a handsome presentation for such a interesting work. Separated into three novels, the books fit into a clear plastic slipcase. The artwork has been redone to include the moon motif that is in the novel. It's so colorful and the three books makes reading it even more attractive.

The story involves two intertwined narratives. One tells of Anomame, a woman desperate to get to a meeting on time, she jumps out of her cab and takes a ladder off the freeway. The other tells of Tengo and of a book by a young and mysterious writer, a book who his publisher wants him to rewrite in order for it to win a prize.

This new edition makes transporting it easier, and the writing and story seem to earn the number of pages that it is written on. If you are interested, check out Murakami's 1Q84 here. 

Hologram For The King by Dave Eggers

Alan is going through some hard times.  He's coming off a recent divorce, he's buried in debt and he's trying to find money to keep his daughter in school.  No one seems to want to help him either.  His ex-wife once told him, "College is your thing, be a man about it."  Naturally Alan, might be a little desperate.  That's why he has found himself in the deserts of Saudi Arabia trying to present some new hologram projector technology to a local king.

And thus set's the stage for Dave Eggers fourth full length novel.  Dave Eggers hardly fails to disappoint considering how much of his work is award winning or prize nominated.  He's versatile too, having compelling works that are both fiction and non.

But enough about Eggers, what about the book?  This particular edition of Hologram For The King is published by McSweeney's Books, a company renowned for their unique and striking editions.  I mean look at that cover, it begs to be read!  The shiny lettering, the etched designs, the textured cover; this book is the full package.  How could you not want to pop this open and see if the contents are as impressive as the facade?  This is why I must read this.

I'm not going to link you to Amazon for this one.  Something about this book makes me want to tell you that if you really want to read it, go to your local book shop.  So get to steppin'!

Get Jiro! By Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain is most widely known as the nomadic foody god on his Travel Channel TV show, No Reservations. What many people are probably not aware of is that he is also a writer. He is the author of many books, most notably Kitchen Confidential, a sort of tell-all of what happens in the many restaurant kitchens across America.

For his most recent authorial outing, Bourdain has decided to go down the visual route and co-author a graphic novel with Joel Rose. With Bourdain's pedigree, it's natural to assume this will also be in world of food. In an opening scene Jiro, a sushi chef, violently decapitates a man when they boisterously order a California Roll. Fast food sushi is something he does not do.  I found the scene wildly hilarious and you would too.

This book seems like tons of fun. It has over top violence, great art provided by Langdon Foss and an abundance of tongue-in-cheek, food centric humor and that is why it is a book that I should be reading.

Check it out here