Some Books I Recommend
At BJC, we do more than just provide inspiring services in digital experience design and strategic planning. We also write books! I spend at least one hour a day in my writing nook. (In fact, I am currently working on my fourth book.) So as you look for gifts for the upcoming holidays, I wanted to both remind you of my recent offerings as well as promote some awesome options from authors I admire. (I’ll then end with some holiday cards created for you through MidJourney, the image-generating machine learning tool, starting with the one below).
From the prompt: an experience designer showers multiracial friends with books in an enthusiastic display of affection for the holidays, as directed by Steven Spielberg
1. Seltzertopia: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Drink
This is my first book, which took over 14 years to produce. Since it came out in 2018, I have presented it at dozens of locations around North America to (as of September) 2000 people. It’s a light, fun, surprising cultural history of seltzer water and the amazing people – historic and present – who keep the fizz flowing. And yes, there is an entire chapter on The Egg Cream (and why it has neither eggs nor cream…). There are parts of it that still make me cry at readings. Learn more about it here or buy a copy.
2. The Rules We Break, by Eric Zimmerman
The Rules We Break is a design book that asks you to play. It is not a book of information to learn or facts to absorb. It is a handbook for doing. And it written by a colleague who sits in the upper echelon of those I admire in the fields of both game design and ludology (the study of games). Eric’s book just came out and is a brilliant, readable, practical, thoughtful book about game design, inspired by both Bernie De Koven and the classic New Games books he helped write. I can’t recommend it enough, nor put it down. Learn more about it, and get your own copy today, from here.
3. Friday is Tomorrow, or The Dayenu Year: Chronicles from the NYC Covid-19 Oral History, Narrative and Memory Archive
This is my second book, a true story of learning to grieve and thrive during the first year of the COVID-19 Pandemic. As the blurb reads, “Through the support of his family, friends, and community, Friday is Tomorrow tells the uplifting story of how one man learns to maintain traditions in a time of uncertainty while reaching for his dreams.” I self-published this book to connect with people during that intense period of social isolation and, for once it felt safe enough, to help readers reflect on their own experience while reading about my own. You can read more about it here or Buy a Copy.
4. Ornithographies, by Xavi Bou
This fall I visited the temporary gallery space at NYC’s Musuem of Math and instantly fell in love with the mesmerizing photography of Xavi Bou. Bou films birds in motion then uses a computer to create one still image, capturing not a bird in flight but a bird ACROSS it’s flight. It’s a process of visualizing a system and the hidden natural patterns around us. As soon as I left the gallery I went right to the museum store – but alas, he had produced no books. Then, last week, he announced, after seven years, he finally produced one. Hurrah! Check it out – it will blow your mind. Make sure to watch some of the videos here or Buy a Copy.
5. Making Dinosaurs Dance: A Toolkit for Digital Design in Museums
What is it like working at the American Museum of Natural History? What techniques were used to create cutting-edge digital experiences for visitors? How can one learn to apply those lessons to their own design projects? Find out in my third book, coming out in February (but available now for pre-order), based on my half-dozen years as Associate Director for Digital Learning at AMNH. I am so proud of this book and can’t wait for it to get into your hands. You can read more about it here. (Oh, and if you write be back, and give me your own book recommendation, I’ll be happy to share a code for a 30% discount). (Pre-order Your Copy).
6. Termination Shock, by Neal Stephenson
I love all of Stephenson’s novels, and this latest immediately became one of my favorites. It features an ensemble that rises above most all he has created, and explores the terrifying near-future wrought by extreme climate change and the drastic moves we might need to make to set things right. It is also a great adventure, funny, romantic, and really fun. I’ll never look at a wild pig the same again. Buy a Copy.
7. Matching Minds with Sondheim
My fourth book, still early in development, is Matching Mind With Sondheim, a journey into the rich but largely unknown playful passions of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most influential contributors to American musical theater. I have never been more excited to research a book; the experience has been truly remarkable.
From his teenage years sending puzzles to the New York Times and board games to Milton Bradley until his final years designing treasure hunts and visiting escape rooms, Sondheim spent a long life pursuing his fascination with puzzle invention and game design.
For the first time, Matching Minds will introduce readers to what Sondheim described as his “puzzler’s mind” – through his cryptic crosswords, murder mysteries, treasure hunts, parlor games, and more – to better understand the man, his work, and (if they accept the challenge) themselves.
Read more about it here or check out my new Instagram feed. (And check out my concept art for the book cover below).
And Now For Something Completely Different
After reading an article recently about image-generating machine learning tools, I began to explore MidJourney. That is how I created the Sondheim book cover above, in under 10 minutes! I also used it to generate holiday cards for this newsletter. I shared one at the top, and below were some runner’s up (the lot created in a total of 14 minutes). Enjoy!
Thank you for being a part of the BJC family in 2022. Wishing the best to you and yours in 2023!
Above from prompt: an experience designer showers friends with books in an enthusiastic display of affection for the holidays, in the style of surrealism
Above from the prompt: an experience designer showers friends with books in an enthusiastic display of affection for the holidays
Above from the prompt: an experience designer showers friends with books in an enthusiastic display of affection for the holidays, in the style of a New Yorker Cartoon
Above from the prompt: from an experience designer showers friends with books in an enthusiastic display of affection for the holidays, as directed by Steven Spielberg
