Books 2009

Stumbling on Happiness

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses

Challenges for Game Designers

The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World

No More Teams!: Mastering the Dynamics of Creative Collaboration

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive?

On Stranger Tides

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School

Sandman Slim: A Novel

Crooked Little Vein: A Novel

The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1

Outliers: The Story of Success

Bill Bryson books

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

The Bone People

The Road (Movie Tie-in Edition 2008 of the 2006 publication)

B.P.R.D.

Coders at Work

Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution

When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time

John Adams

The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal

Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts

DC's Wednesday Comics

I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets!

Space Systems Failures: Disasters and Rescues of Satellites, Rockets and Space Probes

Juliet, Naked: a novels

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

Little Brother

Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else

Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening

Roman Blood: A Novel of Ancient Rome

The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed

The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America

Heaven's Prisoners (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)

Fake ID (Hunted)

Serious Play: How the World's Best Companies Simulate to Innovate

Down By The River Where the Dead Men Go

Old Man's War

Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

South of Broad

That Old Cape Magic

World Without End

The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition

Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams

The Funniest Cop Stories Ever

Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The World

Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray

Problems of Art

The Simple Art of Murder

How the Mind Works

Lonesome Dove: A Novel

The Once and Future King

10.17.2009

Art and Architecture

Title: The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles, and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion, and Internet Animators
Author: Richard Williams
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication Date: January 7, 2002
ISBN: 0571202284
Suggested by: Hal Barwood
Comments: Beyond The Illusion of Life in detail and practicality by the master of Roger Rabbit.
 
Title: Architecture: Form, Space, and Order
Author: Frank D. K. Ching, Francis D. Ching
Publisher: Wiley
Publication Date: December 18, 1995 (second edition)
ISBN: 0471286168
Suggested by: Paul Schuytema
Comments: “Simple overview of architecture. Good for level builders.”
 
Title: A Bug's Life: The Art and Making of an Epic of Miniature Proportions
Author: Jeff Kurtti
Publisher: Disney Editions
Publication Date: December 23, 1998
ISBN: 0786864419
Suggested by: Mike Pondsmith
Comments: “Or any of the ‘making of’ Disney and Pixar stuff. Talk about how teams function. Create docs. Team dynamics. The ‘Bug’s Life’ one is particularly good.”
 
Title: Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance
Author: Karal Ann Marling (editor)
Publisher: Flammarion
Publication Date: February 15, 1998
ISBN: 2080136399
Suggested by: Patricia Pizer
Comments: A fascinating volume which unites the writing of Marty Sklar, Frank Gehry & others in the analysis of the intentions and strategies behind the design of Disneyland. Full of fabulous photos & sketches from the famed Disney Archives.
 
Title: Design of Cities
Author: Edmund N. Bacon
Publisher: Penguin Books
Publication Date: May 1, 1976 (revised edition)
ISBN: 0140042369
Suggested by: Patricia Pizer
Comments: “How cities are designed and function over history.”
 
Title: The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation
Author: Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas
Publisher: Disney Editions
Publication Date: October 19, 1995 (revised edition)
ISBN: 0786860707
Suggested by: Hal Barwood
Comments: A great coffee table book by two famous pros and a standard teaching text.
 
Title: A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction
Author: Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: 1977
ISBN: 0195019199
Suggested by: Mark Terrano
Comments: Warren Spector recommends everything by Christopher Alexander: “Alexander’s Timeless Way of Building is both instructive and therapeutic – I’m convinced reading/rereading it lowers my blood pressure. His new series, Phenomenon of Life, is pretty wacky – I’m still trying to wade through its four thick volumes – but it’s certainly through-provoking.”

Comments (0) 11.15.2006