Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art


Susan J. Napier - 2018
    The story of filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's life and work, including his impact on Japan and the world A thirtieth‑century toxic jungle, a bathhouse for tired gods, a red‑haired fish girl, and a furry woodland spirit—what do these have in common? They all spring from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest living animators, known worldwide for films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises.

Christmas with the Queen


Brian Hoey - 2014
    Where do she and her guests spend Christmas and how do they get there? The answers to these and many other questions are given in this intriguing and riveting account of what really goes on at a Royal Christmas, written by one of Britain’s leading Royal writers, and based on facts from impeccable sources at Buckingham Palace.Brian Hoey is acknowledged to be one of the most important Royal authors in the world, having written 28 books about the Royal Family. He conducted the first ever television interview with the Queen’s only daughter, Prince Anne, the Princess Royal, and also wrote her only official biography. He was a commentator at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981, and again, at the funeral of Diana in 1997, and his written work has appeared in countries throughout the world, particularly the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Hoey has been a guest on many major radio and television shows in Britain and America, including the Today Show, Good Morning America and in Britain, This Morning.

Cook Anime: Eat Like Your Favorite Character—from Bento to Okonomiyaki


Diana Ault - 2020
    Join an otaku on her tour through anime food and find out what your favorite characters are savoring and sharing—from bento to yakisoba—and then learn to make it at home! Along with each recipe, you will discover facts behind the food, such as history, culture, tips, and more. Perfect for foodies and anime-lovers alike, Cook Anime is the all-inclusive guide to making the meals of this Japanese artform.

Starting Point: 1979-1996


Hayao Miyazaki - 1996
    A hefty compilation of essays (both pictorial and prose), notes, concept sketches and interviews by (and with) Hayao Miyazaki. Arguably the most respected animation director in the world, Miyazaki is the genius behind "Howl's Moving Castle," Princess Mononoke" and the Academy Award-winning film, "Spirited Away."

Tokyo: A Certain Style


Kyoichi Tsuzuki - 1997
    Think again. Tokyo: A Certain Style, the mini-sized decor book with a difference, shows how, for those living in one of the worlds most expensive and densely packed metropolises, closet-sized apartments stacked to the ceiling with gadgetry and CDs are the norm. Photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki rode his scooter all over Tokyo snapping shots of how urban Japanese really live. Hundreds of photographs reveal the real Tokyo style: microapartments, mini and modular everything, rooms filled to the rafters with electronics, piles of books and clothes, clans of remote controls, collections of sundry objects all crammed into a space where every inch counts. Tsuzuki introduces each tiny crash pad with a brief text about who lives there, from artists and students to professionals and couples with children. His captions to the hundreds of photographs capture the spirit and ingenuity required to live in such small quarters. This fascinating, voyeuristic look at modern life comes in a chunky, pocket-sized format-the perfect coffee table book for people with really small apartments.

Mia Culpa


Mia Freedman - 2011
    It's a lot like asking a woman who's just come home from a girls' dinner 'What did you talk about?'  The short answer?  Everything! When Mia Freedman talks, people listen. Perhaps not her husband. Or her children. But other people. Women. Mia has a knack for putting into words the dilemmas, delights and dramas of women everywhere. The new rules for dating in the internet-romance age? Yep, tricky stuff. Things are not what they used to be. And sex talk at the dinner table? Appropriate or not? Perhaps not, unless in an educational capacity and even then some things are best left unsaid . . . With intrepid curiosity and a delicious sense of humour, Mia navigates her way through the topics – great and small – of modern life.

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia


NintendoHeidi Plechl - 2011
    This handsome hardcover contains never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the games, and much more! Starting with an insightful introduction by the legendary producer and video-game designer of Donkey Kong, Mario, and The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto, this book is crammed full of information about the storied history of Link's adventures from the creators themselves! As a bonus, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia includes an exclusive comic by the foremost creator of The Legend of Zelda manga - Akira Himekawa!

Water from the Sun and Discovering Japan


Bret Easton Ellis - 2006
    The Shots aim to promote the short story as well as the work of some Picador's greatest authors. They will be contemporarily packaged but ultimately disposable books that are the ideal literary alternative to a magazine.Bret Easton Ellis' two short stories chronicle the lives of a group of Los Angele's residents all of them suffering from nothing less that death of the soul. Ellis has immense gift for dialogue, off-the-wall humour, merciless description and exotic bleakness.In 'Water from the Sun', Cheryl Lane is going under. Her marriage to William has broken down, she has moved in with a young boy half her age who is more interested in other young boys that in her and she keeps not turning up at work, the one area of her life that seems to be in good working order. To keep afloat she drinks, she shops and she takes pills. Would meeting up with William, something she has been avoiding like everything else in her life, give her what she needs anyway?In 'Discovering Japan', Bryan, is on tour. His manager, Roger, has taken him to Tokyo to promote his record and do a few gigs. But to get Roger out of hotel room, off the drink, drugs and women is going to be a tall enough feet itself for Bryan. Written with spare and hypnotic prose, this is a story about a man hell-bent on distruction by a writer deeply concerned with the moral decline of our society.

Nancy Drew's Guide To Life


Jennifer Worick - 2001
    Nancy Drew's Guide to Life is a loving tribute to the young sleuth and the wisdom she imparted.This book is filled with practical tips, as well as seemingly whimsical (but surprisingly sound) advice. Her sage counsel is accompanied by the classic covers and artwork from her yellow-spined books.

Kokology: The Game of Self Discovery


Tadahiko Nagao - 2003
    It has now become a phenomenal success in America as well. Using sound psychological principles, Kokology asks you to answer questions about seemingly innocent topics -- such as the color of an imaginary bird that has flown through your window, the cleanest room in an imaginary house, the sequence in which you read the articles in the daily paper -- and then reveals what your answers say about you.This edition of "Kokology" includes over 100 of these situations and scenarios. Whether you play the game alone as a means of self-discovery or with friends (if you dare ) in an effort to discover more about each other, Kokology will provoke hours of reflection, insight, and hilarious good times.

Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack


Andrew Schartmann - 2015
    (1985) score redefined video game music. With under three minutes of music, Kondo put to rest an era of bleeps and bloops-the sterile products of a lab environment-replacing it with one in which game sounds constituted a legitimate form of artistic expression. Andrew Schartmann takes us through the various external factors (e.g., the video game crash of 1983, Nintendo's marketing tactics) that coalesced into a ripe environment in which Kondo's musical experiments could thrive. He then delves into the music itself, searching for reasons why our hearts still dance to the “primitive” 8-bit tunes of a bygone era.What musical features are responsible for Kondo's distinct “Mario sound”? How do the different themes underscore the vastness of Princess Peach's Mushroom Kingdom? And in what ways do the game's sound effects resonate with our physical experience of the world? These and other questions are explored within, through the lens of Kondo's compositional philosophy-one that would influence an entire generation of video game composers. As Kondo himself stated, “we [at Nintendo] were trying to do something that had never been done before.” In this book, Schartmann shows his readers how Kondo and his team not just succeeded, but heralded in a new era of video games.

Warriors of Legend: Reflections of Japan in Sailor Moon


Jay Navok - 2005
    Neophytes to Japan studies will find Warriors of Legend an accessible way to learn about this fascinating country. Those who know quite a lot about Japan already will find their understanding enhanced by the way the book analyzes the nuances of Tokyo's history and Japanese society. The book also argues that Sailor Moon is a unique series in that it was both internationally popular and strongly structured by the culture of the city of Tokyo and post-Economic Bubble Japan.

Legends and Lipstick: My Scandalous Stories of Hollywood's Golden Era


Nancy Bacon - 2017
    Her life is one of stunning extremes. The author tells her whole story of what it was like to have love affairs with the likes of Paul Newman, Errol Flynn, Tommy Smothers, Rod Taylor, Vince Edwards, and Hugh O’Brian, plus exciting friendships with the Rat Pack, Judy Garland, Bobby Kennedy, Jay Sebring, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and Marilyn Monroe (to name only a few!).

Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S.


Roland Kelts - 2006
    The book highlights the shared conflicts as American and Japanese pop cultures dramatically intersect.

Aku No Hana


Satoshi Shiki - 1998
    One day after school, he discovers and impulsively steals the gym clothes of Nanako Saeki, the classmate he has a crush on. However, a lonely girl named Sawa Nakamura happens to catch him in the act. Nakamura blackmails Kasuga into a "contract," under the threat of revealing his secret.