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Swords: An Artist’s Devotionby Ben Boos When I was a kid, my friends and I made swords out of dowel rods, towels, and duct tape.* When Ben Boos was a kid, on the other hand. had an actual sword that he used to chop oranges in half and trim the ivy along the gravel path in his yard. Ben Boos loves swords. That kind of enthusiasm is exactly why he quit his job in the video game industry to put this book together. The swords from this book come from a lot of different cultures. You’ll find plenty of swords from Europe and, of course, Japan, but there are also sections on other parts of Asia that usually get ignored, as well as Africa and the Middle East. Each section has a page or so of text and then some full-color pictures. The author admits that he is not a historian, so I can’t promise you that the history is all accurate. However, he is clearly a huge fan, and you can see the love he has put into this book. *: I always used two swords, and I beat everyone except my father. I’m guessing Ben Boos would have beaten me, too. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the public library.
This list was last updated August 28, 2010 at 10:58 pm UTC. Click here to see newer information. The Night Birdsby Thomas Maltman The year is 1876, and Asa Senger lives on his family’s farm in Minnesota. Asa’s parents generally avoid talking about family history, but Asa learns far more than he expected when Aunt Hazel comes home from an asylum where she was held for many years. The Sengers are unwilling to talk about the past because their family has been right in the middle of some really ugly events. They had to flee Missouri because of an argument about the abolition of slavery. Life in Minnesota was very challenging: nature was not nice to settlers, but then, settlers weren’t really nice to nature, either. The Senger family, especially Hazel, made connections with the local Dakota Sioux tribe, and they were involved with the Dakota uprising of 1862. All of this is news to poor Asa, who has never thought about his family like this before. The story bounces back and forth between Hazel’s past and Asa and Hazel’s present. Part of it is family history, part is Asa’s life in 1876, and part is Asa’s coming to terms with his family’s turbulent past. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the school library.
You can get it from the public library.
This list was last updated August 26, 2010 at 8:42 am UTC. Click here to see newer information. July 3rd, 2009
 Tags: events, family, native american, racism, war |  Category: Art Book, Contemporary Fantasy, Historical Fiction
|  Write a comment | The Oxford Projectby Stephen G. Bloom and Peter Feldstein The town of Oxford, Iowa had a population of just under 700 people in 1984, and Peter Feldstein photographed almost all of them. Twenty-one years later, in 2005, he and Stephen G. Bloom returned and tracked down everyone he had photographed before. Feldstein took new pictures, while Bloom wrote down their stories. Twenty-one years is a long time. Babies become college graduates. High school students are suddenly middle-aged. People in their fifties may be retired or even dead. A lot can happen in that time. The photos and short biographies give you little window into the lives of hundreds of interesting people. If you want a little sample, check this out. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the school library.
You can get it from the public library.
You might want to read the rules for borrowing books before you request anything. If you want to check
on the book or cancel your order, go here. June 21st, 2009
Tags: alex award winner, portraits, real people | Category: Art Book, Biography, Nonfiction
| Write a comment | The Tokyo Look Book: Stylish To Spectacular, Goth To Gyaru, Sidewalk To CatwalkUnlike Style Deficit Disorder, this book wanders around Tokyo exploring various fashion “tribes” of the city, including flashy “gals,” Victorian doll-like gothic lolitas, cosplayers, and chic Ginza-neighborhood fashionistas. If you read manga or watch anime, you’ve probably seen all of these types. If you’re interested in high fashion or street fashion, you’ve probably seen these looks copied by American or European designers. This book includes five themed chapters with lots of candid photos of normal people in their outfits, photos of their accessories (even their manicures!), as well as explanations and interviews with both designers and fans, information about shops and costs, etc. Several reviewers noted that this book was interesting because it includes more guys and more people who are over 18 compared to other books on Japanese fashion. It also includes not just the typical “freaky” or subcultural fashions that foreigners usually focus on, but also mainstream examples of work clothing, upscale thirtysomethings’ fashions, and the expensive kimono that young women wear for their coming-of-age-ceremony when they’re 20 years old. Where to Find ItThe Tokyo Look Book is not available in Contra Costa public libraries. You can request it through Link+. You get the book through your local library, so you will need to have a library card.
You might want to read the rules for borrowing books before you request anything. If you want to check
on the book or cancel your order, go here. June 12th, 2009
Tags: fashion, japanese culture, pop culture | Category: Art Book, Nonfiction
| Write a comment | Style Deficit Disorder: Harajuku Street FashionRemember when Gwen Stefani was trying to borrow the Japanese street fashion image? You can read about the real thing in this book, although Japanese fashion changes pretty quickly–so once you’ve read about the terms and brands in this book and The Tokyo Look Book, you’ll have to go online to catch up with what’s popular now. This book explores the different aspects of Harajuku, which spawns tomorrow’s trends and often results in US fashion designers running several steps behind the random creativity of Harajuku’s strange mix of DIY teens and haute couture. There are about 200 photos, and essays by Japanese and American fashion editors, fashion designers, makeup master Shu Uemura, etc., covering everything from history to music to magazines. This isn’t just a picture book: many of the essays are pretty serious (so yes, you could probably use this as a reference in certain classes!) and some Amazon reviewers called this book a “must-have” for anyone serious about fashion design or Japanese pop culture. You can read some of it online through Google Books. Where to Find ItStyle Deficit Disorder is not available in Contra Costa public libraries. You can request it through Link+. You get the book through your local library, so you will need to have a library card.
You might want to read the rules for borrowing books before you request anything. If you want to check
on the book or cancel your order, go here. June 12th, 2009
Tags: fashion, japanese culture, pop culture | Category: Art Book, Nonfiction
| Write a comment | Jumperby Steven Gould Jumper tells the story of a young man who discovers that he can teleport. He steals a million dollars and then travels the world, eating at nice restaurants, attending plays, and foiling terrorists. There is a movie based on this book, but it tells a very different story. Warning: Domestic abuse is a major theme in Jumper. The story has a good ending, but if you would rather not read a graphic description of the main character’s father attacking him on page 2, you might not want to read this. You can look it up on Wikipedia. You can read some of the book online through Google Books. Also, the author is telling the story through Twitter, if you like Twitter. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the school library.
You can get it from the public library.
This list was last updated August 15, 2010 at 9:16 am UTC. Click here to see newer information. June 12th, 2009
Tags: abuse, books with movies, Romance | Category: Art Book, Science Fiction
| Write a comment | Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles and Artby Steve Grody and James Prigoff Graffiti L.A. covers the history of graffiti from the 1930′s until the 21st century. It includes hundreds of photographs, as well as interviews with graffiti artists. It is supposed to come with a CD-ROM, too. If you want even more, check out Steve Grody’s website, linked above. It has some stuff that was cut from the book because it was too long, plus other material. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the public library.
This list was last updated August 30, 2010 at 6:54 pm UTC. Click here to see newer information. June 12th, 2009
Tags: artists, graffiti, pop culture, real people | Category: Art Book
| Write a comment | Class Picturesby Dawoud Bey Dawoud Bey is a photographer who specializes in portraits. Class Pictures contains photographs of high school students with short autobiographies each student wrote. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the public library.
This list was last updated August 23, 2010 at 1:32 pm UTC. Click here to see newer information. June 11th, 2009
Tags: portraits, real people, school | Category: Art Book, Biography
| Write a comment | Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Fleshby Ina Saltz Body Type explores and celebrates tattoos of one specific thing: words. The author includes a lot of pictures, as well as comments on the designs of the letters and some of the stories behind these tattoos. You can see thirteen of the pictures at the author’s website. Where to Find ItYou can get it from the public library.
You might want to read the rules for borrowing books before you request anything. If you want to check
on the book or cancel your order, go here. |
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