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Title Author Publisher Price
Starting Point: 1979 - 1996 Hayao Miyazaki Viz $27.77
($29.95 list)
Miyazakibook
Read more and comment... 		This 460 page hardcover is a dream come true for anyone wanting to learn more about the life and mind of Miyazaki, the man behind what are probably the greatest animated films of our time.  This volume collects essays, interviews, and memoirs written and conducted during the first two decades of his career.  Readers will discover his theories of animation as well as how he came to formulate them, stories of his childhood, the founding of Studio Ghibli, as well as how all these came together.  Food for thought, indeed.
Rock Candy Femke Hiemstra Fantagraphics $24.99
($29.99 list)
Rockcandy
Read more and comment... 		Here she is, the Dutch Pop Surrealist Queen in all her glory.  This perky die-cut hardcover volume designed and edited by Jacob Covey contains a vibrant mix of painting, sketches, and mixed-media objets d'art.  Get a taste with this generous 15-page preview courtesy of the fine folks at Fantagraphics.
The Way of Chuang Tzu Thomas Merton, Chuang Tzu Shambhala $11.75
($16.95 list)
Chuangtzumerton
Read more and comment... 		The writings of Chuang Tzu are the most rigorous classic articulations of Taoist thought, which had its beginnings with the Tao Te Ching, attributed to Lao Tzu.  Taoism is, perhaps, the system of thought second only to Confucianism in defining the history and culture of Chinese civilization.  In Merton's "readings" (which are his interpretations based on an assemblage of the then [1965] best available Western translations by China scholars), these brief but powerful texts become quite accessible to Western thought.  Thomas Merton -- whose name at least should be familiar to Pittsburgh area residents through the work of the much lauded Thomas Merton Center -- was a Trappist monk and an important author in his own right, as his eloquent introduction to this volume makes abundantly clear.  Merton's translation manages to successfully pull Chaung Tzu's thought through the difficult east/west mind-barrier and present contemporary American readers with 2500 year old writing that often seems uncannily appropriate to the tenor of our times.  His introduction draws our attention to surprising parallels between these writings and those of the New Testament that, if more widely appreciated, could go a long way towards deepening the dialogue between east and west that, because of the spectacular growth of the  Chinese economy and its integration into the global economy, becomes of more importance with each passing day.  The Way of Chuang Tzu is a tastfully designed compact sturdy clothbound hardcover edition from the Shambala Library that is printed and bound in Germany, and comes with its own sewn in bookmark.  A book that's suitable for a lifetime's worth of consultation that's built to last.  We recently discovered a cache of these that we can offer at a great low price.  Give the gift of eternal wisdom.  We give his volume our highest recommendation.
The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art of Chindogu Kenji Kawakami $11.65
($12.95 list)
Bigbentobook
Read more and comment... 		OK, we're not going to mince words here.  This is it.  You need this book.  It is a must for every home.  It is the entertainer's best friend.  You will wonder how you ever lived without it.  This book presents a tradition that is... not a parody, not a satire, but something else:  an oblique refraction of the essential essence of one of the most important relationships of the twentieth century:  that between the definitively American impulse to come up with an idea that will improve the quality of life through an incremental advance and the post-WWII Japanese tendency to adopt American cultural trends and make them their own, exploiting their own superb technical abilities and ingenious design sensibililties in the process:  In a word, chindogu.  But chindogu is more, it's a reflection on mankind's relationship with the material world, it's meta-materialism; it's a true child of the twentieth century that stands a chance of evolving to become one of the distinctive arts of the twenty-first; and -- it's fun.  Author Kawakami in the founder of the 10,000-member International Chindogu Society, so he should know.  Want another opinion?  Here's the NY Times review.  To learn more visit www.chindogu.com (make sure to learn the ten tenents of chindogu).  But be forewarned:  once you've crossed over, there's no going back.