PJH Studios

Category: Books

All things books, fiction, nonfiction, sci-fi, thriller, horror, comics, literary

  • Review: Tina Fey – Bossypants

    Tina Fey brings clever wit and charm to her memoir, Bossypants that tells of her growth as a creative individual. This creative individual is also a confident woman, business woman, mother, daughter, wife, keen and self aware of the life she lives. All these roles culminate as she recounts the perfect storm of getting Oprah to shoot a scene for 30 Rock, play Sarah Palin for the first time on SNL and pull of her daughter’s third birthday, complete with pirate cake. The lessons she learned from her father, Lorne Michaels, traveling with Second City and running a neighborhood theater kept her together for those crucial few days.

    Bossypants brings a female perspective to the creative industry that reads well, and insightful. One interesting passage is her photoshoot for Bust magazine, and she expounds on her feelings towards Photoshop. Fey understands its purpose when used appropriately–enhance images for publication, and recognizes when it crosses the line to distort reality.

    It’s knowing those lines, where Fey excels at sharing in a self-deprecating style that makes they key part of an issue relevant.

  • Review: Looking for Calvin and Hobbes – Nevin Martell

    Nevin Martell writes reverently of Bill Watterson in

    Looking for Calvin and Hobbes. The far reaches that Martell goes to find out who Bill Watterson really was, took him into the world of cartooning and going into the depths of Bill Watterson’s past. Numerous cartoonists were interviewed: Jim Davis, Bill Amend, Lynn Johnston, Stephen Pastis and many others. Martell even tracks down childhood friends, teachers, professors and business associates.

    He tells of Watterson’s growth as an illustrator doing political cartoons to transitioning full time to a start up strip to Calvin and Hobbes becoming the social behemoth it was on the comic pages. Over the course of this history, Watterson was serious about his craft, cartooning and his characters. So serious that he disputed with his syndicated, threatening to walk about when his contract was renewed. Watterson despised the commercialism and licensing that pervaded comics, and how syndicates controlled the market, with papers keeping old, stale comics alive with artists filling in after a creator had passed on.

    But there’s a richness to this story, seeing where characters originated, whether from family or friends to ideals Watterson held dear, which came out in his comics. Martell traces Calvin and Hobbes’ influence to later artists, and while near universal praise is given to Watterson, many still don’t get why he walked away.

    Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is an in depth portrait of a man many grew up with, that shunned the spotlight. Well sourced, nuanced and detailed it reads easily, and sometimes it comes across too attached.

    While reading, Martell captured what I missed about the strip and what made it unique, and what Watterson brought to the funny pages.

  • Swamplandia – Karen Russell

    Karen Russell’s
    Swamplandia! feels like a collection of short writing exercises that were combined to form some sense of a novel. The prose is colorful, descriptive and imaginative, so much it reaches eccentric, teetering on contrived to tell a story of innocence lost.

    The Bigtree clan lives on an island within the Ten Thousand Islands, running a theme park, Swamplandia!, showcasing live alligator performances. Twelve year old Ava Bigtree narrates portions of the book with a voice reminiscent of Scout, from To Kill A Mockingbird. Ava tells of the death of her mother, Hilola, to cancer that causes the eventual breakdown of the family. Ava’s sixteen year old sister, Osceola, deals with the death inward, finding a book of spells and begins to date a ghost and takes off to marry the ghost in the Underworld. Her father, whom she calls Chief, operates in grand fashion and hyperbole as if everything is fine, disappearing to the mainland to seek investors. Ava’s older brother, Kiwi, aware of the family’s financial circumstances, leaves to get a job on the mainland at a rival theme park.

    About a third of the way through the book, Russell switches perspective from Ava’s innocent first person voice, to a third person observer of Kiwi’s work at the World of Darkness. The novel then jumps back and forth between Ava and Kiwi, where Ava’s story descends into uncomfortable horror with a figure named Bird Man and Kiwi’s ascends unbelievably to becoming a pilot for a theme park attraction. Both lose their innocence of the world both emotionally, intellectually and physically.

    Russell employs symbolism to some effect. Ava hatches a lone alligator, born scarlet red, that plays a crucial role with Bird Man and her own innocence. Osceola’s descent into depression is the Underworld, and The World of Darkness is Kiwi’s lack of knowledge.

    All this builds to an unbelievable convergence of plot lines that ties up too well. Throughout, as a reader, you can’t help but know things that the characters don’t. At times this is clever, at times it feels cruel. Swamplandia! is an enjoyable read if you’re comfortable with a high wire act of colorful prose and gothic eccentricity.

  • Vanishing America – Michael Eastman

    Michael Eastman’s book, 51wxP7WbngL._SL160_.jpg
    Vanishing America, is a warm, visual elegy to small town America and vintage pop culture. Theaters, signs, stores and other everyday interactions are shown in rich detail with saturated colors. The collection is curated across 10 sections: theaters, churches, hangouts, doors, signs, stores, services, automobiles, hotels and restaurants.

    Each section is reverent to its subject matter. Where some photographers would show decay and the end of life, Eastman focuses on bringing the subjects to life, preserving them as a visual time capsule. Even those subjects that appear derelict, such as the doors and signs, they don’t feel cynical. Theaters, hangouts, signs and automobiles receive the most in depth portraits. From section to section, the subject matter transitions well. From the secular to the things that lead us there and back to the places where we converge, Eastman sees where socialization and relating to others occurred.

    Brinkely’s introduction is poetic, describing how Eastman found beauty in decay.

    Of note, as reverent as Eastman is towards his subject matter, his book was printed in China. Perhaps this bit of irony escaped the process or the publisher had no choice, or market forces determined the outcome much like the small towns have fallen to.

  • Designing a Photograph – Bill Smith

    Designing a Photograph: Visual Techniques for Making Your Photographs Work by Bill Smith takes a designer’s view of to a photograph. Visually, what makes something interesting or engaging, and apply it to a photograph. Smith makes the argument of knowing how to pay attention to groups of visuals. These visuals include:

    • Figure ground
    • selective focus
    • similar color
    • closure
    • continuation
    • similar size and shape
    • similar texture
    • object proximity

    The book includes exercises for the reader to perform (shoot in bursts, look at a subject a variety of different ways). Later in the book, Smith details when black and white works better or if color is optimal. Consider contrast and tones and how light affects both.

    Images do have f stop and lens information for those curious of technical details.

    Designing feels dated, even for 2001, retaining sample images taken with Kodachrome. Kodachrome is dead, and even in 2001 was gasping its final breaths. Ignoring that, applying a designer’s eye to photography can help tremendously with composition and achieving the desired impact.

  • The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

    The Cypress House by Michael Koryta blends the supernatural with noir in a southern gothic, depression era binding. Arlen Wagner and Paul Brickhill were headed to the Florida Keys by train to work on Depression era public works projects when Wagner, a weary WWI vet, sees death in the eyes of those on the train. Convincing Paul to step off the train, they meet up with a local, Walt Sorenson, who gives them a ride to Rebecca Cady’s Cypress House. There, a series of events entangles Arlen, Paul, Rebecca with local, corrupt towns people. During these events, Arlen struggles with his supernatural abilities.

    The three main characters, Paul, Rebecca and Arlen, all have developed back stories, each related to the era, where people sometimes had to do less than more things to survive. Those actions had more to do with survival, believing in yourself so you could live to be a better person. Arlen’s struggle with his ability, and his past, signify this.

    The Cypress House reads well, especially the first half, and the last 60 pages told in pouring rain as Arlen makes his way through the backwoods and bayous is gripping.

  • The Zen of Social Media Marketing – Shama Kabani

    The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani

    primes people for how to use online social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and more. It’s mainly introductory, best suited for someone who’s new to social media. She takes old marketing strategies and shows how social media uses them online — attract, transform and convert.

    Kabani breaks down:

    • Websites, Blogs, and SEO (search engine optimization) – fresh, relevant content is where it’s at.
    • Facebook – more of a breakdown of the different parts of Facebook
    • Twitter – what it is, and how to have conversations
    • LinkedIn – professional networking online
    • Video – various video mediums online, more than just You Tube
    • Social media policies – you should spell out the rules of use

    She pulls out key learning points as Zen Moments. Each chapter contains relevant anecdotes from people who have applied the concepts, and the last part of the book tells of numerous case studies of how people used social media as a whole for success.

    Kabani knew this book would become dated, so she encourages people to go to her website for updated content… and enter a password to do so.

    If you’re digitally savvy, you can pass on this book. If you’re not, and need to get online, this will be a good start.

  • The Tao of Photography –

    Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing by Philippe L. Gross, S.I. Shapiro applies Zen concepts to photography, interspersed with quotes and anecdotes from photographers that were well known for their visionary approach to what they took pictures of. Each section contains principles, applications of the principles and suggested assignments one can do to apply the principles.

    The biggest takeaways from the book are the principles of Great Understanding and Little Understanding. The former refers to the unconscious and receptive nature of self. In photography this applies to composition and feeling of the subject. Little Understanding focuses on the small and immediate, this being tools and equipment available to a photographer. You need both in photography. Often, photographers focus solely on gear and techniques that they forget to seek out something larger in their work.

    One way to seek something larger, to filter out unnecessary details, is to constantly discriminate to see the most basic, essential aspects of a photographic vision. Discriminating is not the same as being critical. You actively choose what is needed, not why it’s not needed.

    I’d definitely recommend this book to understand a different creative approach. The quotes from famous photographers and personal stories are insightful.

  • Ex-Heroes – Peter Cline

    “Ex-Heroes” (Peter Clines) tells of a world overrun by zombies, and individuals with super abilities take on a seemingly powerful zombie horde through the streets of Los Angeles.

    Led by Stealth, an intelligent and quick female hero, the heroes took shelter within a movie studio compound and provide protection to those they can take in. After a botched mission, the heroes suspect a rival gang is growing more powerful, and yet, the zombies begin acting with intelligence. They begin to believe certain events are related as 60,000 zombies gather and moan outside their compound.

    Ex-Heroes is a pulp amalgam of zombie, super hero and pop culture references. The writing is okay, and the plot moves well. Clines stops the story to intersperse first person origin accounts of how each hero came to be. Interesting, but the voice of the characters don’t seem to change.

    This is a fun book, good for a mindless read.

  • The Art of Non-Conformity

    The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World by Chris Guillebeau tells of how you can live the creative, purposeful life you want. His advice is pretty simple: get over your fear of failure, your fear of others’ expectations, and if you want it enough, you can find a way to make it work. Perhaps Nike said it best: Just do it.

    Guillebeau has some cool stories to provide insight, both personal and of those he’s met. The most important thing he believes is doing things and learning by experiences. Education and reading can provide ideas and insight, but they’re informational tools. You won’t know what works unless you do it.