I consider myself a non-practicing artist, which is a shame. I have recommended this book to several artsy-fartsy friends. It was interesting, lovely, and made me ache for days spent in the dark room.
Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen, (List Price: $20, Random House, 9780593449240, December 2024)
Reviewed by April, Thornwell Books in Morganton, North Carolina
Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen Read More »
Loved reading Sally Mann’s Art Work: On the Creative Life, specifically because she makes the creative life so accessible. She reminds us of the real jobs alongside the artist doing the passionate work of art making and the passionate pursuit of the artist. The practicality of being an artist- the scheduling of creativity- becomes a demystifying act of the creative process through this book. Peppered with typewritten excerpts and ephemera from her adulthood- life alongside her art, Sally Mann’s book Art Work is a joy to read.
Art Work: On the Creative Life by Sally Mann, (List Price: $35, ABRAMS, 9781419780714, September 2025)
Reviewed by Kimberley Daniels, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
Art Work: On the Creative Life by Sally Mann Read More »
Strangely enough, I just watched this on Netflix, and it was definitely telling of the time we are going through now. A very talented painter is captured by the OSS and sent to an insane asylum, given meds to make him compliant, and eventually gets force-fed. Eventually, he is released and tries to marry as a way of getting out of his country. He finds his way through his traumatic enslavement and manages to regain some of his humanity. Fabulous story.
I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This by Eugene Yelchin, (List Price: $22.99, Candlewick, 9781536215533, September 2025)
Reviewed by Judith Lafitte, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana
I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This by Eugene Yelchin Read More »
“I had to learn how to visit the Louvre” goes an early line in this exceptional book, and I wish I’d had it with me when I visited the overwhelming museum-palace years ago. Simply and personally written, in short, punchy chapters, liberally sprinkled with excellent reproductions of some of the most important works, Sciolino blends access to everyone from curators, directors, guards, and fire fighters with history and (very) personal reflection. Brutally, amusingly blunt at times (“…the subsequent history of France in the nineteenth century is both incoherent and confusing….”!), Adventures in the Louvre is composed of bite-sized chapters on the history, architecture, pop culture, and even global significance, which makes it much more manageable than the museum itself, and will be in my luggage next time I travel to Paris. There’s even a chapter on ghosts, as well as a fascinating aside on things to do around the museum when it is closed on Tuesdays, a fact which would make this book worth its cover price alone!) It’s also filled with fascinating trivia: who knew the museum was once named the Museé Napoléon, or that the Mona Lisa is behind bulletproof glass, or that Beyoncé recently made it cool?) I’m already salivating at the thought of a fully illustrated version showing every piece mentioned – and there are a lot! A masterpiece worthy of its subject!
Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino, (List Price: $29.99, W. W. Norton, 9781324021407, April 2025)
Reviewed by Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana
Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino Read More »
I love a story about a young girl’s perseverance. Young Janie is singularly minded and deeply passionate about owls; all she wants is to see one and witness “magic” that is real, here, and accessible. I loved seeing how supportive her mother was trying to bring this reality; I loved her teacher, who saw all her work and effort and encouraged her not to stop.
To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell, (List Price: $18.99, Random House Studio, 9780593649893, January 2025)
Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell Read More »
I love a story about a young girl’s perseverance. Young Janie is singularly minded and deeply passionate about owls, all she wants is to see one, to witness “magic” that is real and here and accessible.
To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell, (List Price: $18.99, Random House Studio, 9780593649893, January 2025)
Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell Read More »
To hear an owl takes patience, to see one- well, that’s magical. Caldecott winning author/illustrator Cordell brings the magic of the woods to life in this stunning picture book just perfect for those nature lovers in your life.
To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell, (List Price: $18.99, Random House Studio, 9780593649893, January 2025)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell Read More »
A dinosaur book about art, narrated by the dinosaur. Warm and measured, it becomes an instruction manual of sorts, while ultimately transforming into a tribute to an artist, by a dinosaur. Actually, the whole book is by an incredibly good author/artist (not a dinosaur, yet).
The Artist by Ed Vere, (List Price: 18.99, Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 9780525580874, April 2023)
Reviewed by Jilleen Moore, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
The Artist by Ed Vere Read More »
A gorgeously done collection of all things stripping and sex work told by those who know it best. With stories told by 20-some contributors to this essay collection, the lessons and experiences recounted in this span decades. Focused first on the strip clubs that populated New York City in the late 80s and 90s, the switch to more modern accounts is refreshing and makes this a current and fantastically well-done anthology on pro-sex work.
Whorephobia by Lizzie Borden (List Price: $21.95, Seven Stories Press, 9781644212271, December 2022)
Reviewed by Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
Whorephobia by Lizzie Borden Read More »
This was a quick and fun read about two seemingly incredibly different individuals who actually had much more in common than I knew. Hornby’s writing is engaging and funny as always. I came away with some fantastic trivia knowledge and a greater appreciation for both Charles Dickens and Prince. This will be a hit with the pop culture nerds.
Dickens and Prince by Nick Hornby, (List Price: $18, Riverhead Books, 9780593541821, November 2022)
Reviewed by Melissa Taylor, E. Shaver bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
Dickens and Prince by Nick Hornby Read More »
This graphic memoir should be put into every middle and high school library in the country! As kids we are often told to do what we love, but there’s so much pressure on kids to succeed before they get a chance to figure out what success may look like for them. In this book Liz Montague documents the stress of trying to become something she wasn’t and how she eventually acknowledged and achieved her dreams of becoming an artist. I loved her illustration style — it is so simple and so effective!
Maybe An Artist, A Graphic Memoir by Liz Montague, (List Price: $17.99, Random House Studio, 9780593307823, October 2022)
Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Maybe An Artist, A Graphic Memoir by Liz Montague Read More »
Art museums are wonderful places of discovery and this collection of 20 famous pieces is a great way to bring all the world’s great art museums into one spot. This little gem is the perfect introduction to art for novices of a tender age.
The National Menagerie of Art by Thaïs Vanderheyden, (List Price: $12.95, Prestel Junior, 9783791375090, April 2022)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
The National Menagerie of Art by Thaïs Vanderheyden Read More »
Art is all around us. In the sky, the trees, the faces of our neighbors, and also sometimes in the graffiti sprayed on buildings, trains, and streets. The art world was changed forever by graffiti artists Basquiat and others and graffiti artists were masters of appreciating the beauty and joy all around us. This original book is rhyme and poetry and beauty in motion and is the perfect family read-together.
Boogie Boogie, Y’all by C. G. Esperanza, (List Price: 18.99, Katherine Tegen Books, 9780062976222, August 2021)
Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
Boogie Boogie, Y’all by C. G. Esperanza Read More »
In its best moments, Pop Song makes deeply resonant connections between works of art, the lives of artists and the author’s own experience as an extremely online person trying to find healing and community in the isolating wasteland that is late capitalism’s information economy. There were certainly times where I felt like I was too old for this book; the break-up that anchors the denouement did not feel as sharply observed to me as the relationship’s tender beginnings and what they shook loose. But overall this is a strong effort by a writer I have long admired. And if you came of age on Tumblr this book will probably feel like slipping on a glove.
Pop Song by Larissa Pham (List Price: $26, Catapult, 9781646220267, 5/4/2021)
Reviewed by Steve Haruch, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee
Pop Song by Larissa Pham Read More »
Judith Scott was a fiber artist with Down Syndrome; she lived in an institution for 35 years before learning to create mixed media sculptures. I loved this beautifully heartfelt book by Judith’s sister Joyce; I particularly appreciated the reminder that too often we keep people who are different from us at a distance.
Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott by Joyce Scott, Brie Spangler, Melissa Sweet (Illus.) (List Price: $17.99, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9780525648116, 6/8/2021)
Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
