Author:Alison Zai
A vibrantly coloured yet darkly humorous comic collection about the absurdity and beauty of being alive.
We've all felt the pain that comes from realising a beautiful moment will soon become a distant memory. We're all guilty of avoiding deadlines by researching obscure facts about dirt or bingeing scary conspiracy videos. Inspired by these universal experiences and existential musings, Alison Zai walks the line between laughing so hard that you burst into tears and crying so hard that you break into laughter.
Weird Exist is divided into three intrinsic human acts - to exist, to love, to create - and ultimately touches on how weird it is to do all of that. Also included is Zai's popular long-form comic, Bee Real, which follows one little irritable bee's enlightening mission to extinguish the sun. With sharp levity and emotional complexity, this colourful collection finds the fun in life's hard truths.
Weird and wonderful ... Idiosyncratic characters and scripts come to life with eccentric pearls of wisdom and Lewis Caroll-like nonsense, often depicted in a palette of bright cartoon colours ... Many have flocked to Alison's impressive series of works as endless sources of comfort, laughter, or inspiration - whether that be in her distinct visual style or uncanny storytelling capabilities. What makes Alison so distinct is how the whimsical and otherworldly dimensions of her drawings often transmute into something more relatable by way of a quirky aphorism ... Short yet impactful comics
—— It's Nice ThatSimultaneously hilarious and insightful, Alison Zai's comics will definitely make you laugh and perhaps send you into an existential crisis - all with irresistible, colourful artwork
—— SARAH ANDERSEN, New York Times-bestselling author of 'Sarah's Scribbles'Alison Zai's work is full of delicious ironies, juicy colours, and incisive observations about the weirdness of aliveness
—— WORRY LINES, author of 'This Book Is For You'The Art Of Noticing is a book about reading, verbal and non-verbal reading, which is how we increasingly read now, and how we have always read. Walker encourages us to make a non-literal reading of our world, which can mean non-judgmental and more enlightened.
Rob Walker's writing has always been wonderful because of his unique eye for noticing what other people miss. With this new book, he's basically teaching you all his secrets for seeing.
—— Ryan Holiday, bestselling author of Ego is the Enemy and The Obstacle Is The WayFrom ‘unitasking’ to the ‘mindful shower,’ The Art of Noticing is filled with clever, eminently deployable strategies for getting more from the world around you. It’s a paean to alertness, a sensory upgrade, a delightful field guide to being alive.
A deliciously digestible read. . . . Read this book. You'll be reminded of just how powerful simple gestures can be when they're fueled by passion and purpose
—— The Free Lance-StarThis book helps to reflect on how you act and what you wish to achieve in life
—— CONNECTCompelling ... a challenge not just to traditional narratives of political power, but also to liberal assumptions about freedom.
—— Kojo Koram , Times Literary SupplementA fascinating and important book, which brings to the surface some of the deepest political undercurrents of our times. Crack-Up Capitalism is an exemplary use of history to illuminate the present, forcing us to reassess what we thought we knew about the contemporary world.
—— Hari Kunzru, author of Red PillRevelatory. In this head-spinner of a book, Quinn Slobodian shows how zones, islands, micronations, gated communities, and cyber realms are remaking our planet. The capitalist future they portend isn't a borderless utopia but a jurisdictional shatter belt, where democracy is a distant dream.
—— Daniel Immerwahr, author of How to Hide an EmpireWith each new book, Quinn Slobodian adds extraordinary new detail to his ongoing account of 21st-century political and economic arrangements. Crack-up Capitalism is concerned with the "zones" of global space: the micro-divisions and gradations from which the real atomic force of our system derives. It's very convincing: get ready to throw out all previous maps.
—— Rana DasguptaIn Crack-Up Capitalism, Quinn Slobodian takes us on a wild ride through the fenced-in compounds and failed states of today's capitalist world. This sharp and wickedly entertaining book is a necessary field guide to the LARPers, bloggers, and grifters of the libertarian and anarcho-capitalist world, a warning that they are closer to fulfilling their fantasies than we might think, and a clarion call for collective action to preserve - and greatly expand - democracy as we know it.
—— Sarah Jaffe, author of Work Won’t Love You BackRichly documented exposé ... An insightful piercing of the veil of nation-states to reveal capitalism's frightening, anti-democratic tendencies.
—— KirkusA gifted storyteller ... a critical wake-up call .... revealing the roots of a rot many have hitherto been unable to name and confront. By opening that portal, Slobodian trusts us to take the next steps, confident that in knowing the beast, we might better be able to slay it.
—— Quill & QuireSlobodian's vivid description of zones shows us why our political system can no longer be said to be democratic ... Slobodian wakes us up to democracy's underthrow: decentralization is a strategy for its unraveling, not its salvation.
—— Jodi Dean , Los Angeles Review of BooksDemocracy is already facing numerous threats from factions on the right who question the legitimacy of election results that don't go their way. Crack-Up Capitalism is a reminder that this political challenge is only one of a number of fronts in the sustained attack on American democracy.
—— Adam M. Lowenstein , The AtlanticA sound intellectual investment, an insightful read ... Would definitely recommend.
—— The British Army Review