Deborah Sussman
Deborah Sussman’s Book List
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Provides insights into American womanhood in the early 1950s and the juncture between education and professionalism. It also reveals the author's internal struggles and describes the significant contribution that Mademoiselle magazine made to empower women, along with the hilarious foibles of the time. (I, too, was a guest editor at Mademoiselle.)
It’s humbling to read, and later think about, these poems. The deep insights and inspiration created by her original use of the most minimal of means will enrich the life of the reader: read everything she wrote and read it over and over. A brilliant example of “less is more” and how affecting such discipline can be.
Along with Tuesdays with Morrie, this fairly recent book describes the beauty and achievements of an individual crippled by a genetic or circumstantial tragedy. These books also reveal how passion and generosity can transcend the cruelty of life. Be moved.
A sometimes hilarious but heartbreaking novel based on the collective memory of the Holocaust as experienced by the young author and his contemporaries. I roared and then I wept. This book is a magnifying glass focused on a shudderingly ghastly reality. The literary technique uses “Magic Realism,” of great relevance to visual designers. It also provides insight into the cultural background of many significant design leaders of our time.
My husband, Paul Prejza, said, “Are you really sure that you want to recommend this book?” Judge for yourself.
Tragedy happens and it’s necessary to grapple with “why” and “how.” Justice and ignorance, corruption, arrogance, and every other factor contribute to our destiny. Roth’s profound insights into human behavior and emotions will last more than our lifetime.
Each and every book by Maira Kalman is a delightful gift to my life. It does help to know who she’s picturing and writing about—and since I do, it’s a double-digit delight. If you don’t know who is who, try to find out. Her work transcends categories and proves that hands are still viable tools for making art.
I read some of the seven books in this series in French at Bard College. Read as much of Proust as you can, starting with Swann's Way, for a profound description of individuals and a socio-political climate. Like a pebble thrown into a lake, the famous story of eating a “madeleine” begins an epic masterpiece. In Proust's invention the lake becomes an ocean. The characters and their intrigues, their social status and power (whether inherited or manufactured), are described in very dense text. This work is worth the effort, and will exercise your brain.
Since I love to travel and have done so extensively, it’s compelling to read insights and descriptions by people one respects. How wonderful it was to read this description of discovering Sicily, where change only happens in centuries. It’s funny, too, if you ever travel with a group (we didn’t). Everything Durrell commented on still resonates. Plus, there’s a magical, elusive romance to ponder.
This great contemporary American writer, of Chinese descent, has been researching and describing lives of Chinese women and families across several centuries. Although a novel, the book builds on documented reality and reveals the extraordinary constraints, emotional torment, and strength in the lives of women in the 19th century.
Along with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, this fairly recent book describes the beauty and achievements of an individual crippled by a genetic or circumstantial tragedy. These books also reveal how passion and generosity can transcend the cruelty of life. Be moved.
I have been an Indiaphile ever since the late 1960s, following 3 1/2 months spent living and working in that country in charge of graphics for an Eames exhibition on Nehru and his time. This book is written about the lives of two British-born sisters in India the early 20th century. Less known than E. M. Forster’s books , it educates us about international human relationships and the ways in which macro-societies impact the micro, personal self.
Truly wild: sexual, political, traditional, and detailed experiences of a few English and European women whose lives and passions transcended their hereditary culture and joined the Arab world. Considering today’s global confrontations, this is a fascinating and illuminating account of the meeting of two civilizations.
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Now is Better by Stefan Sagmeister
Now is Better
By Stefan Sagmeister
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: October 2023
Combining art, design, history, and quantitative analysis, transforms data sets into stunning artworks that underscore his positive view of human progress, inspiring us to think about the future with much-needed hope.
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future
By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022
Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.
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Love Letter to a Garden by Debbie Millman
Love Letter to a Garden
By Debbie Millman
Contributions by Roxane Gay
Publisher: Timber Press
Published: April 15, 2025
From the award-winning artist, designer, and the host of the podcast Design Matters, Debbie Millman, this book tells the visual story of falling in love with gardening—and the philosophies that work conjures. Spread throughout are simple recipes using the garden’s ingredients from Millman’s wife, best-selling author Roxane Gay.
Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Milton Glaser: POP
By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023
This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.
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Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022
Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition) by Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition)
By Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Publisher: Letterform Archives Books
Published: October 2023
This facsimile edition of Die Fläche, recreates every page of the formative design periodical in full color and at original size, accompanied by essays that contextualize the work, highlighting contributions by pathbreaking women, innovative lettering artists, and key practitioners of the new “surface art,” including Rudolf von Larisch, Alfred Roller, and Wiener Werkstätte founders Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.
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