Books That Make You Feel Like You’re in an Exhibit
Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels
We would normally spend Go to An Art Museum Day celebrating our favorite museums across the country and around the world. And while there’s nothing normal about this year, one thing remains: our love of art. It may not be safe enough to spend the day museum hopping, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bring the museum to you! To celebrate this delightful holiday, we’ve gathered our favorite books that feel like museum exhibits – and for once you can touch the art!
Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss
If your childhood was filled with Baby-Sitters Club books and the Sweet Valley High series, chances are you’ll love Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of ‘80s and ‘90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss. In this nostalgia bomb of a book, Moss looks back on the many (many!) teen books you knew and loved, as well as some you’ve never even heard of. (R.L. Stine’s How I Broke Up with Ernie, anyone?) If Paperback Crush was an exhibit, it would be right at home at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Washington, where deep dives into history meet pop culture gems.
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The Big Book of Mars by Marc Hartzman
If you love outer space – and have a particular affinity for the red planet – we know you’ll love The Big Book of Mars: From Ancient Egypt to The Martian, A Deep-Space Dive into Our Obsession with the Red Planet by Marc Hartzman. In this fascinating look at both the science and the pop culture of Mars, Hartzman takes us on an adventure you won’t want to miss. If The Big Book of Mars was an exhibit, it would be right at home at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, where both hard science and sci-fi are right at home.
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Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan
If you miss the joy of hanging out at a comic book shop, picking up your pull list and discovering indie gems, then you’re going to love the young adult novel Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan. This contemporary adaptation of Romeo and Juliet puts the dueling families narrative in a new light: an indie comics store and imprint versus a big box store with supervillain ambitions. If Verona Comics was an exhibit, it would be right at home at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, California, where legacy characters and emerging artists are all welcome.
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Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli
If you’re a big fan of writing that feels both surrealist and grounded – depending on what page you’re reading – you’re going to love Valeria Luiselli’s first novel, Faces in the Crowd. This book takes its reader on a journey through three intersecting and fascinating perspectives, folding the narrative in on itself as it progresses. It plays with language, poetry, time, and identity in a really beautiful way. If Faces in the Crowd was an exhibit, it would definitely be on view at the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, where perspective is challenged every day.
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Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Kid Artists by David Stabler
If you love reading about painters and visual artists from all walks of life, Kid Artists: True Tales of Childhood from Creative Legends by David Stabler is the book for you. You’ll learn about the fascinating childhoods of artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe and so many more! And you couldn’t ask for a wider range of experiences, ranging from Renaissance Italy to 1980s New York and everywhere in between. If Kid Artists was an exhibit, it would fit right in at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where art from all over the world is right at home.
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