In a collection of short essays, Cesar Aira discusses his love, bordering on obsession, for the American fine art magazine Artforum. Called, simply, Artforum, as a work of nonfiction it is something of an anomaly in the writer’s oeuvre. Written in the first person, the book carries all the markers associated with the writer — slim volume, short paragraphs covering a large breadth of territory, … Continue reading Artforum by Cesar Aira
I have a confession to make. I’ve never been to India. It’s incredibly annoying to try to spend an entire month focusing on a place that you’ve had no first hand experience with. Which is why I’ve decided to call in a ringer. Erica Derrickson not only spent a significant amount of time wandering around India…she came back with a book full of photographs. Which, … Continue reading Visiting India – A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
The Michael Pollan book I’m reading reminds me of another favorite author of mine – Witold Rybczynski. Both writers devote themselves to what could easily become unwieldy topics (gardening & cities in these examples), yet they succeed in keeping the information manageable by dividing it into short, entertaining and self-contained essays. I found their writing style to be similar, though Pollan is easily the more … Continue reading How & Where: Michael Pollan vs. Witold Rybczynski
It’s December 28th and here’s a list of what Santa dropped off at our house this year. Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer by Tim Stark – So far I’m really enjoying this book. Basically, Stark began farming heirloom tomatoes in Pennsylvania and selling them to chefs at NYC’s Union Square Greenmarket. Interesting reading particularly for vegetable gardeners. Fortuitously, my Seed Savers Exchange catalog … Continue reading The Monday After Christmas…
I’ve been a fan of The Sartorialist blog for a long time. So when a companion book was published collecting some of the great photography from the site, I rushed out to buy it – literally was at the bookshop looking for it the day it was released. Why am I a fan? Because you won’t find a lot of super models in Scott Schuman’s … Continue reading The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman
READER AT LARGE 