I can’t stand being in a bookstore talking about only my own books and not the books I love.
One of my favorite things to do on the Show Your Work! tour was very quickly cruise through the bookstore before my talk and pick up five (somewhat random) books to recommend during Q&A.
I tried to get a decent selection, pick at least one poetry book and read a poem, and post a photo of the books from each night to my Instagram.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time at every store and not every gig was in an actual bookstore, so I only have 9 batches of books. More than enough for your summer reading, though.
See all my picks below. I’ve denoted my absolute favorites with an asterisk. (*) Any links go to reviews on my Tumblr.
Mason Currey, Daily Rituals
Richard Betts and Wendy MacNaughton, The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide To Becoming A Wine Expert
Patrick DeWitt, The Sisters Brothers
* Maira Kalman, And The Pursuit of Happiness
Jane Mount, My Ideal Bookshelf
* Frank O’Hara, Lunch Poems
Adam Sternbergh, Shovel Ready
Lynda Barry, The Freddie Stories
Ad Reinhardt, How To Look: Art Comics
Yoko Ono, Grapefruit
Japanese Death Poems
Anthony Burrill, I Like It. What Is It?
Matt Z. Seitz, The Wes Anderson Collection
Philip Larkin, Collected Poems
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
* Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Tony Millionaire, The Sock Monkey Treasury
Emily Dickinson, The Gorgeous Nothings
Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From
George Saunders, Tenth of December
Yoko Ono, Acorn
Joe Hill, NOS4A2
Kay Ryan, The Best Of It
* Katherine Dunn, Geek Love
John Green, The Fault In Our Stars
Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
* Lewis Hyde, The Gift
Eadweard Muybridge, The Human Figure In Motion
Decomposition Book
Ellen Lupton, Thinking With Type
Chip Kidd, Go
Betty Edwards, Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain
Isa Chandra, Isa Does It
Oliver Jeffers, Lost and Found
Shel Silverstein, Where The Sidewalk Ends
Max Barry, Lexicon
* Vaughn & Staples, Saga
* Tim Kreider, We Learn Nothing
Studs Terkel, Working
* Mary Ruefle, Madness, Rack, and Honey
* David Byrne, How Music Works
Sarah Thornton, Seven Days In The Art World
Nathaniel Philbrick, Why Read Moby-Dick?
Maira Kalman, And The Pursuit of Happiness (forgot I’d already recommended this)
* Lynda Barry, What It Is
Jay-Z, Decoded
See a bunch of other books I recommend here.