Levitation: Physics and Psychology in the Service of Deception, Jim Ottaviani and Janine Johnston ; lettering by Tom Orzechowski.
As impressive as the illusions themselves are, the dedication of time, effort, and innovation adds to my awe. The pieced-together history of a classic illusion through three performers, including attempts at espionage. Ottaviani spins another good tale of the mind. Four stars and extra points for including primary sources at the end.
The Brick Bible: A New Spin on the Old Testament, as told and illustrated by Brendan Powell Smith
Rephrased by Smith (from assorted Public Domain translations), with some abridgements (didn’t find the story about bears avenging the mocking of a bald guy, a personal OT favorite), the very concrete and literal illustration of the Old Testament really brings home the repetitions, violence, and general oddness. Rape is less explicit when the players have no genitals, but their faces are still full of shock (of the limited available Lego person expressions) and dismemberment is just the pieces pulled apart (though there is ample Lego blood). The incest seems even creepier with children’s toys. According to the web version (the book has improved photos, layout, and text), the pictures have been used in sermons and Sunday school classes. I honestly can’t see how you can still believe in an omnipotent, omnipresent and entirely good OT deity after reading this. Four stars for being disturbing.
The Company Town: The Industrial Edens and Satanic Mills That Shaped the American Economy, Hardy Green.
Like the Brick Bible, I felt like I was bringing a lot of my own interests into reading this book. I’m interested in what people’s ideas of Utopias are. There are a few utopias here (actually, helpfully in their own chapter) with beauty as one of the guiding values along with efficiency. I’m also interested in robber barons, and there were a quite a few (coal, steel, chocolate, etc.) and the power of a union (often coming soon after especially grievous robber barony). If you’re interested in shocking stories of a pre-regulation business friendly environment, they’re are plenty (Six to seven day weeks! Ten to twelve hour days! Not just child labor, but child labor getting preference because you can pay them less! Running union organizers out of town in a rail car and stranding them in the desert! Required membership at the Y!) The book is dense and full of stuff, like a fruitcake, so slow to finish. Four stars.
Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion, (audio) Janet Reitman
I liked that the book was broken up into thematic sections, allowing me to really get into each aspect, from history to tax and finances to celebrity. Individual peoples experiences were woven into the overall stories very well. I felt like I got a good feel of the subject overall, and the reader was quite good. Three stars.
The murder of the century : the Gilded Age crime that scandalized a city and sparked the tabloid wars, Paul Collins
I love: Paul Collins’ writing style, historic New York, mysterious murders, detectives and clues, delightful quotidian detail, muckraking journalists, battling tabloids, larger-than-life characters, and insanely in-depth historical research with lots of citations and footnotes. So this book was made just for me. If you are like me, you will like it too! Five stars.
Where Children Sleep, James Mollison
The photographer wanted to create a project about children’s bedrooms, but quickly realized he had to change it to where children sleep. That might tell you all you need to know about the effect of the book as a whole. A portrait of each kid, drawn from communities around the world, faces a photo of where they sleep. Interesting but not amazing. Two stars.
I Am Maru, mugumogu
Finally translated and released in the US, a selection of photos of the famous Maru and some behind-the-scenes insight from his human housemate. Trying to get a handle on why this book is more interesting than cat photos, I realized how much I appreciate mugumogu’s ability to bring Maru’s personality through the photos, captions, and imagined dialogue. Four stars.
Gunshow Superbook One, KC Green
I feel a bit as though I read a work of literature that I don’t completely understand– I recognized some of his artistic references, making me suspect that there are many more that I missed. Either way, you can see an artist developing and trying a variety of styles, plus laffs. Three stars.
The Silence of our Friends, written by Mark Long & Jim Demonakos, art by Nate Powell
I was going to read it anyway, but got to read an advance copy because I’ll be hosting an author event. Wow. Quite powerful, well paced and subtle and the layout and lettering add to the effect without getting in the way. Well done and should be winning some awards if there is any justice in award committees. Four stars.