*book group selection | bolded means favorite
Picture Books
*Just What to Do by Kyle Lukoff and Hala Tahboub
Young Adult
6 Times We Almost Kissed [and One Time We Did] by Tess Sharpe
*The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin
*Aisle Nine by Ian X. Cho
The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
After Life by Gayle Forman
For whatever reason, Forman is at her best when death is involved. A slim book with bits that mesh perfectly.
Grownup Fiction
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Goldenseal by Maria Hummel
A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White
It remains to be seen if the cardboard nature of the characters will outweigh the fun ghost stories and if I will finish this series.
The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
I marvel at how many points of view Hilderbrand managed while never making the story seem jumbled.
Youth Nonfiction
*The Painter and the President: Gilbert Stuart’s Brush with George Washington by Sarah Albee and Stacy Innerst
Grownup Nonfiction
Stress Resets: How to Soothe Your Body and Mind in Minutes by Jennifer Taitz
Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents by Alexandra Petri
Black Friend: Essays by Ziwe
The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream by Stefan Al
Good thesis, and Sefan Al really won the lottery with the cover. So stylish.
Draw Your Day: An Inspiring Guide to Keeping a Sketch Journal by Samantha Dion Baker
Given that the author is a graphic designer, artist, and has studied typography at Cooper Union, I’d call this “pretty” rather than “inspiring.” There’s no way any sketch journal I kept would come close to looking like hers. There also not much how-to other than “draw every day” (which is good advice).
Brothers by Alex Van Halen
This memoir is clear about one topic: Alex Van Halen really misses his brother. Written in a conversational style (or perhaps dictated and very lightly edited), this book provides insights into the Van Halen brothers (Ed, and Al, apparently) upbringing and their time in one of the greatest bands on the planet. It is not a cradle to grave account, things mostly drift off around the time David Lee Roth leaves the band. But to hear about the scrappy up-and-coming Van Halen, this is your book.
Perspective in Action: Creative Exercises for Depicting Spatial Representation from the Renaissance to the Digital Age by David Chelsea
Chelsea lives in Portland, and on page 97 you can see the Keller Auditorium and the Keller Fountain in a equrectangular panorama. Plus, there are some Benson Bubblers. There are some good instructions too, but first I must master one, two, and three-point perspective.