This is a lyrical explosion of a book, a challenge to literature, and particularly to narrative non-fiction, as we know it.
Our books no longer reflect the way we understand our lives, Shields argues. They are not fractured enough, not various and stolen, too hemmed in. We are all of us increasingly hungry for the "real", and have created monuments of commodified irreality in a desperate attempt to find it.
This book is indeed a manifesto in the best sense, a call to action for readers and writers. Shields is demanding reader interaction, greater risk, more serendipity and - as difficult, possibly, to acheive as it is easy to say - more reality in our use of the written word. It's a stirring book full of more questions than answers, and one I'm very excited to have as the topic of a conversation here at the store..
News of Note
Staff Picks
Paper Monument #2
Written by Douglas
(Paper Monument, $10.00)
In only its second issue, PAPER MONUMENT is proving itself not the typical art-world shill mag but contrarian, insightful, and incredibly funny. An introduction comparing artists to businessmen, analysis of the conceptual nature of PR, and the emotionally tricky "slutty" photo/video art of Laura Nakadate grace this issue.
Purple Fashion
Written by Douglas
(Purple Fashion Magazine, $35.00)
The end-all be-all of fashion journals -- literate, sexy, inventive, filthy, and consistently envelope-pushing. When all the other pretenders have ceased publishing, PURPLE will still dazzle.
Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection
Written by Jessica
by Scott McCloud (Harper, $24.95)
McCloud is now best known for Understanding Comics, his classic exploration of the forms and structures of sequential art -- but before that he was the guy behind Zot, a teenage superboy from a fabulous alternate dimension who spends a lot of time hanging out in our broken, boring world. This is a masterwork that took over my life for a week: ominous villains, agonizing love triangles, innovative storytelling, and McCloud's commentary on his own work make this a great read for fans of superhero comics or big, fat Victorian novels.
In only its second issue, PAPER MONUMENT is proving itself not the typical art-world shill mag but contrarian, insightful, and incredibly funny. An introduction comparing artists to businessmen, analysis of the conceptual nature of PR, and the emotionally tricky "slutty" photo/video art of Laura Nakadate grace this issue. 
The end-all be-all of fashion journals -- literate, sexy, inventive, filthy, and consistently envelope-pushing. When all the other pretenders have ceased publishing, PURPLE will still dazzle.
McCloud is now best known for Understanding Comics, his classic exploration of the forms and structures of sequential art -- but before that he was the guy behind Zot, a teenage superboy from a fabulous alternate dimension who spends a lot of time hanging out in our broken, boring world. This is a masterwork that took over my life for a week: ominous villains, agonizing love triangles, innovative storytelling, and McCloud's commentary on his own work make this a great read for fans of superhero comics or big, fat Victorian novels.