Todd Oldham
Todd Oldham’s Book List
It was a pleasure to make a list of my favorite books—the only challenge was stopping. I live in rooms filled with stalagmite towers of books and this is just a start.
The list consist of top-drawer efforts that are all treasures to me. I have visited them often, and my pleasure and fascination is never diminished. I hope you enjoy them, too.
In addition, some not-exactly-books have served as impeccable design resources for me: the Sears, J. C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward catalogues of 1940–85. These middle-of-the-road retailers featured hybrid designs based on authentic examples, and the end resulting catalogues are anthropological bibles. It is perhaps ill advised to seek inspiration in homogenized efforts, but I feel like Margaret Mead every time I look inside one and I always come out a little puzzled—concerned for the world, and inspired.
Finally, I should mention visionary Joe Holtzman’s award-winning magazine Nest, which ran from 1997 to 2004—one of the most singular celebrations of design ever. Free from pretention and with photography by fine artists and writings from literary luminaries, this art piece between covers shape-shifted with each issue. Each one was golden.
I hope Designers & Books asks me for another list someday.
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I am not in the minority with praise for this best-selling book. It is so beautifully written that I read it twice. Tina Fey’s stories are optimistic and rich, with perfectly observed detail. Her complete lack of meanness and spare, excellent language make this a real pleasure.
This was my first introduction to biology when I was six. I lived in this book and memorized the drawings by the artist Charley Harper. His simplified illustrations created a lifelong love of biology for me; I can still remember what a sugar molecule looks like today, thanks to Charley.
I love this book. I even got to work on it taking the portraits of Amy. but I would still say I loved it even if I didn’t get to work on it. This book is one of the most extravagant efforts on record with thousands of pieces of custom art and photography. Amy’s vision is perfectly realized on every page, with a singular language that is so rich you can open this book on any page and land on a jewel. Amy assembled a world-class team of artists to work on the book, including Hillary Moore, Justin Theroux, Billy Erb, Paul Dinello, Laurie Faggioni, and more; even the hand-lettering is by fine artist Ellen Berkinblit. The recipes are delicious and dead serious, but the unifying thread is Amy’s pitch-perfect writing. Whether offering up the recipe for SPA-GHETTI (really delicious!) or giving tips on how to wash your vagina (complete with drawings). this book is a must-read for us all. Her new book, Simple Times, is just as good
Note: Amy spoke at the Book Expo author breakfast when the book launched, along with fellow authors Barack Obama and John Updike, where she read the “How to Wash Your Vagina” chapter at 8:00 in the morning.
I received this book as a gift from a dear friend and it remains one of the best presents ever. The Bouvier sisters took a ship to Europe one summer and kept detailed drawings and diary entries of all they encountered. Well-bred and well-mannered Jacqueline and Lee had a unique version of travel involving “letters of introduction” and bygone luxury but remained unspoiled and grateful. Their doodles and sketches that appear throughout the book show the surprising talent the sisters had at drawing. This book is hard to find but worth the effort.
The best book on plant propagation around. I have had great success with the techniques with its easy-to-follow beautiful, clean drawings.
A warning: this might be colossally boring to the uninterested and includes steps like:
Step 1, cut here
Step 2, bury in soil ½ inch
Step 3, wait 2 years
No one has the ability to string words together like Dorothy Parker. The stories remain fresh after years of reading them and I often marvel how contemporary they are. I have clearly distressed my paperback version so this was the first e-book I bought.
Announcements
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design edited by Ian Lynam
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design
Edited by Ian Lynam
Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Published: March 2019
Total Armageddon is about design. And culture. And complexity, notably how we, as a global civilization, deal with science fiction, taste, social media, the cities we live in, aesthetics, PowerPoint, burkas, Big Tech, full-contact sports, and other thorny topics. The book celebrates 15 years of independent publishing and brings together a who’s who of authors and essays from 32 issues of Slanted Magazine.
A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon
A Field Guide to Color: A Watercolor Workbook
By Lisa Solomon
Publisher: Roost Books
Published: August 2019
In this creative workbook you’ll discover fresh ways to connect with color in your art and life. Using watercolors, gouache, or any other water-based medium, explore color theory while playing with paint through a balanced blend of color experiments and loose color meditations. This inspiring workbook will change the way you relate to color
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon by Dennis Bernstein and Warren Lehrer
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon
Poems by Dennis Bernstein
Visualizations by Warren Lehrer
Introduction by Steven Heller
Publisher: Paper Crown Press
Published: September 19, 2019
“From a kidnap note for a world held hostage by an A-bomb, to a Holocaust survivor’s tattooed arms where the numbers just don’t add up, Five Oceans in a Teaspoon re-envisions a poetry memoir via a textual kaleidoscope... Bernstein and Lehrer are the Rodgers and Hart of Visual Poetry.” — Bob Holman, poet, poetry activist and chronicler, and founder of the Bowery Poetry Club
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
By Paul Goldberger
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: May 2019
An illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
Charleston Fancy by Witold Rybczynski
Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City
By Witold Rybczynski
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: May 2019
Charleston, South Carolina, which boasts America’s first historic district, is known for its palmetto-lined streets and picturesque houses. The Holy City, named for its profusion of churches, exudes an irresistible charm. Award-winning author and cultural critic Witold Rybczynski unfolds a series of stories about a group of youthful architects, builders, and developers based in Charleston: a self-taught home builder, an Air Force pilot, a fledgling architect, and a bluegrass mandolin player.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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