Books About Making Books: A Booklist

Another one of the many interesting courses being taught during this Jan-term 2012 is The Art of the Book. Having taken this course myself while a student at LaGrange College, I now wish I had known about the multitude of amazing books in the library's collection which. The library has a variety of books about book-making, which contain tons of ideas for all types of creative bookbinding, and excellent examples of book art from around the world.

Even if you aren't taking the book art class this Jan-term, the following books might still interesting to browse through; they include examples of japanese bookbinding, altered books and book sculpture, and even more complicated approaches such as exposed spine books:

 1. Books, Boxes and Portfolios
Author: Franz Zeier
Call Number: Z 271 .Z4413 1990

2. Japanese Bookbinding
Author: Kojiro Ikegami
Call Number: Z 270 .J3 I3713 1986

3. Creative Bookbinding
Author: Pauline Johnson
Call Number: Z 266 .J600 1990

4. Non-Adhesive Binding Volume III: Exposed Spine Sewings
Author: Keith Smith
Call Number: Z 271 .S66 1993 V.3










*This blog post was authored by Rachel Evans.
**Top photograph of book, courtesy of BookWeb. 

Graphic Novels & Comics: 3 Book Lists

Select Graphic Novels:
One of the courses being taught this Jan-term, by Professor Michael Bishop, is Art & Story: The Graphic Novel in Contemporary International Culture. If you're in the course, chances are that you are already aware of the graphic novels on Reserve (Maus, Watchmen, Persepolis, Daytripper) in the library for your class. However, you may not be aware of the other graphic novels in the library's collection. If you are not in the graphic novels jan-term course, chances are that you are even less familiar with the selection of graphic novels and related literature available at the library. Check out the following book lists of graphic novels, comics, and books and journals about graphic novels and comics, that can be found at Lewis Library:

1. Black Hole
Author:  Charles Burns
Call Number: PN 6727 .B87 B53 2005

2. The Life and Opinions of Tristan Shandy, Gentleman

Author: Martin Rowsen

Call Number: PN 6727 .R69 L54 1997

3. Epileptic
Author: David B.

Call Number: PN 6747 .B2213 E65 2005

4. Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories

Author: Jamie Hernandez
Call Number: PN 6728 .L62 H47 2004

5. The Contract with God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue
Author: Will Eisner
Call Number: PN 6727 .E4 A6 2006

6. V for Vendetta

Author: Alan Moore & David Lloyd

Call Number: PN 6737 .M66 V2 2005

Select Graphic Novels from the Juvenile Collection:

Although the graphic novels in this list are "intended" for children and youth, they contain a wider variety of illustration and story, with narratives ranging from historical fiction, to fantasy, to robots, and even satire. Many of the titles in this list have also won book awards or honors, including two National Book Award finalists, one winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

1. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author:  Brian Selznick

Call Number: JUV Selznick 

2. The Storm in the Barn

Author: Matt Phelan

Call Number: JUV 741.59 Phelan

3. Robot Dreams

Author: Sara Varon

Call Number: JUV Varon

4. Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love

Author: Jim Ottaviani & Dylan Meconis

Call Number: JUV 920 Ottaviani

5. Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring

Author: Steffan Petrucha and Rick Parker

Call Number: JUV Petrucha

6. Hourdini: The Handcuff King

Author: Jason Lutes & Nick Bertozzi

Call Number: JUV 927.93 Houdini

7. To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel

Author: Siegel

Call Number: JUV 927.92 Siegel

8. American Born Chinese

Author: Gene Luen Yang

Call Number: JUV 741.59 Yang

9. Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty

Author: G. Neri & Randy Duburke

Call Number: JUV 920.93 Sandifer

10. Castaways: A Graphic Novel

Author: Rob Vollmar and Pablo G. Callejo

Call Number: JUV 741.59 Vollmar

Print Journals, Comic Collections, Books about Comics, & Books about Graphic Novels:
In addition to adult and juvenile graphic novels, the library also has several books on the history and making of graphic novels and comics, and even scholarly journals which sometimes discuss comics. Furthermore, the library has a handful of classic comics bound into compilation collections.


1.  "Where No X-Man Has Gone Before!" Mutant Superheroes and the Cultural Politics of Popular Fantasy in Postwar America (scholarly article)
Author: Rami Fawaz
American Literature, Volume 83, Number 2, June 2011

2. The Complete Peanuts (2 volumes)
Author: Charles M. Schulz
Call Number: PN 6727 .S3 P43 2004 Vol. 3 & Vol. 13

3. Blondie & Dagwood's America
Author: Dean Young & Rick Marschall
Call Number: PN 6728 .B55 Y6 1981











4. Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books
Author: Jean-Paul Gabilliet
Call Number: PN 6725 .G3313 2010








5. Graphic Subject: Critical Essays on Autobiography and Graphic Novels
Author: Michael A. Chaney
Call Number: PN 6710 .G7375 2011

6. The Gospel According to Peanuts 

Author: Robert L. Short

Call Number: PN 6728 .P4 S54 2000

7. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Author: Scott McCloud 

Call Number: PN 6710 .M335 1994

NOTE about locating books: 

• Most graphic novels and books about graphic novels are located on the bottom floor of the library. 
• Juvenile graphic novels are located on the top floor, with a special label reading "JUV-GRAPHIC." 
• Books on Reserve are located behind the front desk on the main floor, and may not leave the library. 
• Print Journals are located on the bottom floor of the library, but may not be checked out. 

*Post and book lists authored by Rachel Evans.

Staff Picks #8: "Kafka on the Shore"

For the 8th edition of Staff Picks, our recommendation comes from Rachel Evans. Here's what Rachel had to say about Murakami's Kafka on the Shore:

"Japanese author Haruki Murakami is a mastermind of the written word. His writing style quickly takes the reader back and forth between seemingly different story lines, until the multiple stories begin to interweave with one another, finally coming to a clash in unsuspecting ways. A surreal fantasy, this book is like a neverending dream that makes you question the power of your own dreams and the people you meet there. This novel has a little bit of everything for every type of reader, including a coming-of-age story, various love interests, violence, murder, talking cats, fish and leaches falling from the sky, ghosts, philosophy, an entrance stone, a pimp named Colonel Sanders, and best of all, a library! In the end, you'll find yourself questioning reality and looking towards the woods ominously. Is there a secret world in the deep woods where time stands still and people escape death?  I highly recommend this title. You can find it in the library on the bottom floor with the call number PL 856 .U673 U4813 2005."

Staff Picks #7: The Brain That Changes Itself

A science book that has implications for all of us . . . The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D. Educators, parents of young children, anyone with a curiosity about the possibilities that any degree of neuroplasticity may offer for improvement from brain injuries and strokes or will find information in various case stories that is pertinent to everyday lives. I was particularly fascinated by the sections dealing with multiple language learning and musical ability – does the brain pare certain areas of itself if not used? These are interesting ideas for the non-scientists among us. The book reminds me some of Oliver Sacks’ many works (which are also in the library’s collection) but this is more an overview of what various scientists have been researching in relation to brain plasticity, rather than an individual neurologist’s cases. Doidge, a psychiatrist, a psychoanalyst and a poet, is a master of explaining science for the “rest of us”.

Check out Doidge’s official website (http://www.normandoidge.com) for more details about the book. This book is available for checkout at Lewis Library, and is located on the bottom floor with call number QP363.3 .D65 2007.


*This edition of staff picks was authored by librarian Charlene Baxter.

Jan Term 2012

 

Now that 2012 is here and the official holidays are over, many on campus will be looking forward to Jan Term,  "... that class term held during the month of January for approximately four weeks. Courses offered in the Interim are designed to encourage students to explore course content outside of their majors."

Jan Term provides a wonderful opportunity for students, faculty and staff to explore other disciplines and cultures.  Some will travel abroad to Greece or England with their instructors while others have been inticed by  courses such as  Frank O'Connor's What Shall I Eat? or Tolkien and the Middle Ages taught by Dr. Kevin Shirley.  Mammals of Georgia and the Southeast  focuses on Georgia wildlife and students will conduct research involving live trapping and estimating populations.   

J. R.R. Tolkien



Mouse



Accordion Books



Marcia Brown will  explore the creative aspects of books, a print medium most of us take for granted,  in  The Art of the Book while Ashleigh Poteat will show students another art, that of Special Effects Stage Makeup.

            

There are so many classes from which to choose, that it's difficult to pick just one.  Never taken a sociology, music, or religion class?  How about Game Shows, Pop Culture, and Numb3rs:  Oh my!   These  are just a small sample of the variety of classes available this Jan Term and we invite you to come into the library to supplement your class with other resources.  Our travel book collection on the third floor can assist you to prepare for and enable you to appreciate your trip even more. Our Reference section contains a wide variety of guides filled with color photographs to enhance your understanding of not only European art and architecture but assist you in identifying wildlife in the Southeast.  Try our online catalogue and Research Guides to help you find exactly what you're looking for.   

For a complete listing of all the courses offered at LaGrange College this Jan Term, follow this link.  http://www.lagrange.edu/academics/janterm.htm