Recommendations

A. Literature: The Contortionist's Handbook, by Craig Clevenger. I haven't read prose this tight in a long time, and it's one of those books you just cruise through in a matter of hours, obsessed with every word. It's dark, twisted, vibrant, and funny, everything you'd come to expect from Chuck Palahniuk, who in a quote from the front cover calls this "...the best book I have read in easily five years. Easily. Maybe ten years." It's also a fascinating study of identity, and how we are always reinventing who we are based on the little details we reveal to others - things most of us aren't conscious of doing, whether it's a small detail you tell your doctor, the way we keep our hands hidden when we lie, or in a story told to an authority figure to get them off our backs. The conclusion is a bit of a let-down, only because the premise is so fascinating, and the writing so sharp, and it's hard to live up to that promise. And yet, it's a fun, intelligent, bizarre ride, and a book that should be receiving more attention than it has.

B. Cinema: Get Carter. No, not the Sylvester Stallone remake, the original British version, starring Michael Caine, who in 1971 was one of the coolest guys on the planet. Dark, atmospheric, very '70s in terms of the look and the soundtrack (a supposed inspiration for Portishead), it reminds me in a weird way of Dirty Harry, just the way it's shot, only it's much better. This is a classic British gangster film, gritty, harsh, and soulless, one that needs to be seen more than once to really embrace all of the little details.

C. Web: Nadissistic: I can't tell you how beautiful these self-portraits are. Each image is so vibrant and surreal. Check out all three sections of her portfolio to see what I'm talking about. My favorite is "Autumn 2006" although the new black and whites are amazing too. Luckily, she's agreed to collaborate on my next book project, and I can't tell you how honored I am. This is amazing photography.

D. Television: Extras: The latest Ricky Gervais project, a partnership between the BBC and HBO. The first season just came out on DVD, and it's hilarious. Just like The Office (the BBC version), it takes a moment to really pick up on the inside jokes and the level of the humor, but once the terms are established it's just as funny, and just as absurd, which is really saying something. Here's a clip from episode one (Season One), where Kate Winslet plays a nun who gives phone sex advice to two extras on the set of her latest film.