Monday, October 18, 2010

Top Ten (September 2010)

Perhaps you'll notice, I'm half a month late in getting my monthly list out. Did anyone care?

Working on final art for a pic book plus sketches for a poetry book, plus back-of-brain stuff on two forthcoming pic books. Waters are a little choppy at the moment.

Ten of my faves from last month:




1. GIANTS SUNFLOWER SEEDS. I've been a seed fanatic since I was, maybe, 12 or something. I've always been a David man, but I ran across these last month in a Wisconsin grocery store. The name does not lie. The seeds are, in fact, giant. Steroids? The "salt and pepper" ones are quite nice.




2. BIRTHDAY GIFT. Last month, I celebrated another birthday. I'm... thirty-something. I got a spectacular gift for this one. Julie and a few other kind relatives put together some moneys to afford me this laptop. It has been sweet. I take it to the library when I'm working there on stories, and I used it for a school visit already (and more to come, I hope!).




3. DOMINIC. Read this super cool William Steig chapter book last month. Another excellent little known Steig discovery (for me).




4. THE HEART AND THE BOTTLE. I saw this one by Oliver Jeffers sitting face out at the library last month. I liked art and story enough to use a b+n gift card to buy a copy.




5. TOY STORY 3, A LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK. We found this book at our local grocer's. Little Golden rolls like that. The art is superb. Do not discount the LGB.




6. JULIET, NAKED. Looking for something to read, I read another Hornby. Again, I was impressed. I like that guy's style. And I like that this is sorta/kinda playing off Dylan/Dylanology/Dylanmania. It's funny. Cool cover too.




7. BORED TO DEATH. We are now in Season 2. And I love this show. Danson (awesome), Galifianakis, Schwartzman, et al. The writing is sharp and funny as heck. I love how they joke-check things like the Amazon sales rank and the New Yorker cartoon caption contest. Where else will you find that?




8. POMEGRANATE PIZZAZZ. To serious tea drinkers, these Bigelow bags are probably trash. But I came across this one last month and I shall endorse it. It's got built-in juice, man!




9. OUR JONATHANS. We have a Jonathan apple tree in our backyard. It yields a massive crop every fall, and last month the apples were popping and dropping, kids. It was fun to go back there with a ladder and fill bag after bag. Although, I did get tapped square in the eye by a renegade Jonny. Risk you run.




10. THE SUBURBS. The newest offering from indie darlings, Arcade Fire. Though I still like the debut best, this is good and has had copious listens in the studio.

5 comments:

Sergio Ruzzier said...

Dominic is one of Steig's best books!

Matthew Cordell said...

It is a good one! I also really love Abel's Island. Wasn't sure, at first, I'd like Steig in long form. But now I so love his chapter books.

Tiffany Strelitz Haber said...

um...is it wrong that i usualy eat the whole seed- shells and all? i also eat the tails on fried shrimp. TMI?

Matthew Cordell said...

Ha! Maybe you get more fiber with the shells. I seem to like the work of de-shelling in the cheeks. As for those tails... hoo-boy!

Tiffany Strelitz Haber said...

oooh, deshelling in the cheeks = beyond impressive! maybe i'm just a "lazy seed eater". :-(