PJH Studios

Category: Books

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

  • Seth Godin’s Purple Cow

    Seth Godin’s Purple Cow is a call for businesses and start ups to be remarkable. Being remarkable means being memorable, unique and doing business in such a way that it can be distinguishably different from the competition.

    Godin explains his purple cow: drive about the country side and watch cows–brown cows, black cows, black and white cows. After a while, they’re boring and part of the landscape. But what if all the sudden you saw a purple cow? That would be remarkable wouldn’t it?

    And his caveat: for a while, and then it too fades in to the scenery.

    Where most businesses stumble, is that they create something new and exciting and make money, but then they become stuck in a cycle of protecting the product and doing things that are safe and for the masses. What businesses should do, he says, as the purple cow is making money, invest that money on the next thing, the next idea. He supports this stating that you make more money on early adopters who then tell the masses (their friends) about the product or service. This doesn’t mean you seek out they next cool thing immediately, but be attentive and creative to when the market will provide an opportunity for you to create your next purple cow.

    Godin writes in stories, anecdotes and case studies. Purple Cow contains plenty of examples. My Pearl Jam nerd self received a little bit of glee when the band sold all 72 live shows from their 2000 tour–and made a profit–as an example. Sections are at most two to three pages in length, and some contain explicit take away points. Teachers, administrators, entrepreneurs, mid-level executives should be able to gleam morsels of inspiration within the books 200 pages.

  • Fine Art Photography: Water, Ice and Fog

    Fine Art Photography: Water, Ice and Fog by Tony Sweet showcases photographs of of water in its three states. Yes, there are great shots, but this book is a how-to book. Sweet discusses the composition of the shot and the elements of photography that went into it. What lens was used, at what aperture, at what time of day with what filter. His writing style is direct and to the point and instructional. Novices and advanced photographers should be able to get something out of this book.

  • Parker: The Hunter

    Parker: The Hunter (Richard Stark’s Parker) by Darwyn Cooke puts crime noir pulp author Richard Stark to page in graphic novel format. It tells the tale of a thief who’s been betrayed by his girlfriend and double crossed by a partner in crime and his hunt for revenge.

    The story is told in four arcs. The first, begins with a man (we soon to find to be Parker) crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and remains wordless for 8 pages as he cons a bank for money, insults a waitress at a diner and eventually meets up with his former girlfriend. The second arc focuses on the man, Mal, who betrayed Parker, and the third tells of how Parker found Mal. Finally, Parker continues, scorched earth style, up the chain of the organization that took his money.

    The dialogue reads like that of a pulp crime novel and the action is violent with some scenes graphically depicted and others implied. The art is a throwback to the 50s and 60s–sharp angular inks and expressive styled lines. The blue coloring is used for visuals to accentuate drama. It’s a well done effort into the graphic novel genre.

  • Chet and Bernie

    Spencer Quinn put a nifty twist on the detective whodunnit by making his narrator a dog, Chet. Chet’s voice is colorful, simple and direct, keenly detailing the sights, smells and sounds. There’s also an innocence, too, in his character when observing human nature, unsure of human emotion and motive.

    In Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery, Bernie takes a case for a wealthy divorcee whose daughter has been kidnapped. The setup may be simple, but Quinn constructs a plot with enough characters and motivations that the story is more than just about kidnapping. Comments on the housing crisis come through as Bernie finds more about the father, a real estate developer. While Bernie consists of the usual detective tropes–loner, ex-military, poor financial decision maker, brash attitude, Chet is what makes the pair unique in how they pair up. Bernie states that he and Chet are a team.

    The team continue working cases in Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery when a wealthy dog owner and her dog are snatched before a premiere dog show. The dog show plotline seems a send up of celebrity culture, a farce with animals and their over eager owners, whom seem like caricatures. The supporting cast of bad guys and red herrings aren’t really as developed this time, and Chet’s narration seems more ADHD. Sure, dogs may become distracted, but when telling the story a colorful tangent may entertain, but this isn’t done in moderation. I found myself skipping large sections and didn’t fight the twist particularly revealing.

  • Andrew Shaylor’s Hells Angels Motorcycle Club

    Andrew Shaylor a United Kingdom based photographer released a book entitled, Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. It attempts to document the life of the club beyond its image as rough, gritty bikers. Given access to meeting rooms, Hells Angels events and pictures of members’ bikes, it humanizes the group as a bunch of guys, hanging out and riding motorcycles.

    Most members are over 30 and appearances are world weary. Shaylor comments that the group prefers new members have life experience before joining, and for a lot, it shows. Leathered faces, deep creases and graying hair. Toothy grins and countless tattoos.

    The tattoos. The death head varies from chapter to chapter and can only be worn by a member in good standing. Many get the death head, in some form, tattooed on their body–signifying their commitment for life.

    Interspersed between the portraits, Shaylor showcases life as a member. These shots mostly come across as snapshots or vacation photos. Hells Angels life is just as candid as a drunken frat party, too. At the end, and it seems random and I’m not sure if they add context, but Shaylor included portraits of members’ families–wives, sons, daughters, girlfriends. I suppose, they’re normal too.

    The subjects all reside in the UK. If you expected the more famous California Sonny Barger Hells Angels, you’d be disappointed. But would those portraits be any different?

  • Three Cups of Tea

    If you’re going to come away with anything from Three Cups of Tea, the story of Greg Mortenson’s mission to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, let it be the value of perseverance. To consistently focus on accomplishing something, despite the obstacles of lack of money, knowledge or cultural understanding, great things can happen if one learns from mistakes and continues to go forward. This theme even is displayed by those he is trying to help, as the conservative mullahs of the region see that Mortenson isn’t in their land to convert them or over take them, but to sincerely help children, specifically girls.

    The story starts slow, after Mortenson’s failed attempt to climb K2 and stumbles into a poor region without schools. We learn he is the son of a Lutheran missionary who grew up in Africa and is out of place when he returns to California. After coming back to the states, making a promise to return to Pakistan, Mortenson begins to raise money. He gains some traction from within the mountaineering world and receive a donation from Jan Hoerni, a wealthy scientist and climber, for his first school. The attempt to build the first school is fraught with errors, mostly with Mortenson expecting to return, buy supplies and build a school. The culture of Pakistan slows him down. And first a bridge must be built. Nearly two years later, the school does get built, but only after navigating his own ignorance and that of the Muslims in the region.

    As Three Cups of Tea progresses, it bounces back and forth between Mortenson’s inability to generate funds as quick as he’d like and his three to four month sabbaticals in the mountains of Central Asia. A cast of supportive and not so supportive characters carry the story along. From the kidnappers in the remote province of Waziristan to village elders such as Hajj Ali in Asia or his eventual wife and board members stateside, each is portrayed in a respectful depth. Eventually, Mortenson’s cause explodes after September 11th. (He happened to be in Afghanistan during the attacks.) He’s vilified for wanting people to understand what it will take to make the region a safer place. The Pentagon calls him in for a presentation, to which he sees why progress won’t be made in a Rumsfeld led Pentagon. Finally, after a Parade magazine feature, he receive an outpouring of support.

    The book is an inspiring piece to the adage that one person can make a difference. At times it’s slow and over written in sentimental prose, but it gives a picture that perseverance to foster understanding and education is fundamentally important to peace.

  • Locke & Key – Welcome to Lovecraft

    The story of Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft starts with a seemingly random act of violence–two deranged kids show up at a family’s home and kill the father. This initial act is told haltingly between the incident, the funeral and the arrival to the family’s new home in Lovecraft, Massachusetts.

    It seems heavy handed, but of course creepy things are going to ensue in Lovecraft, MA, where the family unsettles and encounters the mysteries of the house. The youngest, Bodie, discovers by accident that he can walk out a door and die, float free as a spirit, return to his body and un-die. He also befriends a ghost at the bottom of the outhouse well. Meanwhile, the middle sibling, Kinsey takes to school and finds a spot on the girls track team. Ty, the oldest, broods quietly. The latter two siblings refuse to believe Bodie and unknowingly cross paths with harbingers of future plot points.

    The story unfolds, following the surviving deranged killer across country as he seeks a powerful key for a spirit that seems to be guiding him. This book sets up the premise of the house with keys that open doors to places or states of being. The art is well done by Gabriel Rodriguez, and the story is solid, penned by Joe Hill (aka son of Steven King). It’s violent, bloody and people say ‘fuck’ a lot.

    After one collection, it’s hard to say how well developed the characters are, for example, we see more of the killer and what makes him crack than we do of the mother. Bodie seems to be the kid no one listens to, Kinsey’s the self aware girl that feels out of place and Ty is the misunderstood jock who ultimately does right. Again, it’s a solid story with enough of a premise that could go a long way, so it will be interesting to see if the characters develop being their archetypes.

  • Scott Pilgrim – The Movie

    Scott Pilgrim – The Movie is a fun, hilarious adventure, action, nerd fest. Colorful visuals and engaging action sequences support a well directed cast as Scott Pilgrim must defeat seven evil exes. Indeed, Michael Cera plays the same character he always plays, but Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona steals the movie with a great performance. Purists will decry that the plot differs from the books and lacks the emotional core Brian O’Malley conveyed in the original plot, but the core of the story–an apathetic, mooch of a loser, learning to love others and respecting himself–is still there.

  • Batwoman – Elegy

    Batwoman: Elegy tells two stories. The first is of Batwoman taking on a villainess named Alice who has plans to gas Gotham City with chemical weapons. The second story tells of how Kate Kane took up the mantle of Batwoman. In the first, the action occurs quickly and ends half way through the book after Alice’s failed attempt to unleash the weapons, but strands of the Alice plot line interweave into the second story as we find out who Alice might be. Told in a series of flash backs, Kate Kane grew up a military brat with a twin sister, Beth. Her father received a promotion to be stationed over seas. There, she, her mother and sister are kidnapped, and the bloody rescue only saves Kate. Later, upon nearing graduation from West Point, we find that she’s a lesbian after refusing to lie under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Determined to serve, she becomes a vigilante, supported by her father’s military connections and her own variation of the Batman symbol to show “whose side” she’s on.

    The story by Greg Rucka tells an origin in an interesting way, but as interesting as Kate’s origin is, it feels like one long denouement. Perhaps it could have been woven better with the Alice story. J.H. Williams III’s art actively moves around the page, but at times it seems too frenetic with overzealous layouts. However, Batwoman/Kate Kane are drawn realistically, unlike some comically drawn, female super heroines.

  • Extreme Photography

    Extreme Photography: The Hottest, Coldest, Fastest, Slowest, Nearest, Farthest, Brightest, Darkest, Largest, Smallest, Weirdest Images in the Universe… shows the physical and technological limits of photography. From volcanoes, Antarctic exhibitions, outer space, thermal, infrared, x-ray, MRI, examples are given as to the potential of the application, its practicality and a little bit of how-to thrown into the mix.