Books like Hyperart — picked by fans

When I saw this book, translated into English in 2009, I was very skeptical. I’d never enjoyed a graphic novel, and even though I’d enjoyed math in school, I couldn’t imagine reading an entire book devoted to the history of the philosophy of mathematics.

But somehow the sheer audacity of what they had attempted made it catnip to me, and before I knew it, I’d inhaled the whole thing and felt high on the feeling that anything was possible. If this could be a graphic novel, I thought feverishly, couldn’t my old obsession, Maria Lani? If only I could find an illustrator who felt the same way….

I aggressively avoid reading books about animals, let alone ones devoted to a single animal (and one that had been written about before), but Hillenbrand’s brilliantly deployed, meticulous research into all of the human personalities that surrounded Seabiscuit seduced me, and many other readers.

Now that her book has become a bestseller and a feature film, it’s easy to forget how unlikely an accomplishment it was, particularly given her struggles with chronic fatigue, which she later chronicled in a poignant New Yorker essay.

When this book appeared in 1995, devoted to what was probably one of the least visited museums in Los Angeles, the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles, California, I knew it was worth a try, given that Weschler was someone I'd already sent a rare fan letter to.

I wasn’t disappointed. He’s the perfect guide for this exquisite project (which I had to make a pilgrimage to straight away) that at first blush seems to be a recherché natural-history museum but turns out to be a fascinating provocation that upended my notions of how we decide what is actually true.

A few years ago, an old friend proposed that we make the dictionary our next book club selection. An idea too ridiculous to resist. But which dictionary to choose?

Unless you're retired, good luck finishing the 22,000-page Oxford English Dictionary. We opted instead for the excellent American Heritage Dictionary, which at ~100 pages per month only took us two years. 

For a guy who thought he knew a lot of words already, I was pulled up short fairly often by discoveries such as "callipygian," "relating to or having buttocks that are considered beautifully proportioned." And even when the word was familiar, the etymology could delight, for example, when I learned that "clue" derived from "Theseus's use of a ball of thread as a guide through the Cretan labyrinth."

And that was just in the letter C.

This remarkable biography has been hugely important to me in the understanding of the great German writer and critic Walter Benjamin. His essays, particularly on the 19th century Arcades, were the basis of my study, "A Human Comedy, Physiognomy and Caricature in 19th century Paris". Eiland and Jennings biography, based on enormous research, introduce us to this complex and enigmatic character and his brilliant criticism.

They provide a revealing portrait of his brief life in the shadow of European catastrophe. Their consummate understanding of Benjamin’s complex layered work gives new insight into this highly influential thinker. A scholarly work of the first order, written with wisdom and compassion.

A legal scholar and a political scientist, both Americans who grew up in Japan, explain Meiji and Taisho political history from the standpoint of rational calculation by the leading politicians. This is a convincing narrative of the birth of parliamentary government and the emergence of political parties under the Meiji constitution, 1889 to 1947. The authors explain how the leaders of the various political parties were pursuing their own selfish ends—perpetuation of their own power and status. Without intending to do so, those politicians created a political structure that extremist cliques in Japan’s armed forces were able to subvert.

I especially like this book because it avoids the trap that so many others fall into of imputing benign motives to a nebulous but omnipotent entity spinning out government policies—a “development state,” or whatever you might call it, a cadre of unnamed “policy-makers” who are guided by the abstract arguments of… show more.

A Japanese light novel, manga, and anime, Kyo Kara Maoh! is perhaps the foundation upon which my obsession with trope-defying fantasy humor was built. I will admit to watching the anime first (as an impressionable young teenager) and being hooked. It wasn’t like any show I had seen before. It was funny because it made fun of itself and the genres and tropes that normally constrained such a series. And as soon as I found that such a thing existed I wanted it. Tropes are great, but I love them so much more when they’re turned upside down or inside out or stretched out of shape completely, because then you get to see what they’re really made of.

Most books on Buddhism emphasise the monastic tradition, meditation and a life of strict morality, removed from the everyday world of ordinary people. Much of Japanese Buddhism, however, is conducted by married priests living modern lives in direct interaction with secular society. This book provides an important antidote to contemporary stereotypes.

For me book covers are part of the joy of owning books. My choices are all partly connected to the message conveyed by their covers. On this cover there are the objects associated with the ritual of tea drinking. In my view, we (in the West) have lost too many everyday rituals that make life meaningful. Surak shows the historical connections between the rituals that surround Japanese tea making and the making of society itself.

Both the Italians and the Japanese are obsessed with food, and I’m an Italian living in Japan. You do the math. My first shocking encounter with sushi notwithstanding (I mistook wasabi for some kind of green mayonnaise) I love Japanese cuisine, and anime stories are full of people eating all kinds of food. 

If you have found yourself watching an anime and wishing that you could taste a particular dish, with this book you can go one step further: you can make it yourself. Here you will find simple but detailed instructions on how to make lots of Japanese dishes, and their connections with a particular anime title. I wish I owned this book when I first entered Otakudom.