Archiving - 2011 Books

A good year of reading.

In terms of overall standouts, Small Furry Prayer and Within the Frame are the tops, followed closely by American Gods.

Clearly it was a year of photography, and true as well with the reading. Within the Frame, and David duChemin's philosophy in general speak to the kind of photographer I yearn to be, and in terms of sitting down with a beautiful book full of amazing pictures, beautiful thoughts, and great advice to think about (I have never so savored instructions on exactly how to get lost in a new city), it brought everything together, including the language and the photographs to
help me refine what I want to find in my own photography. Along those lines, I developed an appreciation for art history that my mother would be shocked about, and then...you might not call The Best Camera "reading", but there were words, and it made me think, and rethink, and get creative, and yes, pick up my phone camera with more than a bit more respect.

From the non-photography/non-fiction side, Small Furry Prayer again touched the deepest reasons one can connect with dogs and why, and even made me reconsider my judgment on Chihuahuas, while laughing at the humanity of dogs, the pack, and ultimately being touched by how much they mean to us and what loving them really adds to our lives.

Fiction - clearly the winner is American Gods. Neil Gaiman's imagination, storytelling and spin on mythology creates compelling characters, unexpected twists, and altogether a book that you can't put down AND makes you imagine.

The Oscar Wilde and other classics I haven't yet finished were good reads as well, however a bit drier. Virginia Woolf has been incredible and her style is amazingly sensual, just very slow reading. Bring on 2012!

FINISHED READING - Complete List
Within the Frame: Journey of Photographic Vision, David duChemin
The Best Camera Is the One You Have With You, Chase Jarvis
Photography, Tom Ang
American Gods, Neil Gaiman
Anthem, Ayn Rand
Bitter is the New Black, Jennifer Lancaster
The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde
An Ideal Husband, Oscar Wilde
The Canterville Ghost, Oscar Wilde
The Ballad of Reading Gaol, Oscar Wilde
A Small Furry Prayer, Steven Kotler


Somewhat Abandoned
Digital Photography, Tom Ang
Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
The Voyage Out, Virginia Woolf
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, Oscar Wilde
God's Debris, Scott Adams
High Endeavors, Miles Clark