A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

La Jetée: Ciné-Roman Chris Marker Zone Books , 1992 Hardcover | 9-1/2 x 7-1/2 inches | 258 pages | 290 illustrations | English/French | ISBN: 978-0942299663 | $39.95 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : La Jetée is the book version of the legendary 1964 science fiction film about time and memory after a nuclear apocalypse. Chris Marker, the undisputed master of the filmic essay, composed the film almost entirely of still photographs. It traces a desperate experiment by the few remaining survivors of World War III to recover and change the past, and gain access to the future, through the action of memory. A man is chosen for his unique quality of having retained a single clear image from prewar days: no more than an ambiguous memory fragment from childhood — a visit to the jetty at Orly airport, the troubling glance of an unknown woman, the crumpling body of a dying man. Chris Marker  is a filmmaker, photographer, traveler, and he likes cats. REFERRAL LINKS :       ...

One of my favorite parts of the urban exploration that I've been undertaking this month is visiting bookstores. When I say bookstores, I'm not talking about the big chains that start with B, but the small, independent stores, the used bookstores, even those thrift stores that have a good book selection. In New York, the most popular non-chain store is The Strand . Yep, been there many times, and its annex. Labyrinth Books is another good one with a lot of discounted books. Housing Works Used Books Cafe is great not only for finding used books but just hanging out or hearing an author speak. Coliseum Books recently went out of business (as did Murder Ink , one I didn't get the chance to see - both are indicative of the difficulty, or impossibility, of running an independent bookstore on an island of high, high rents) so I hit it's 50-70% clearance sale. And don't forget Urban Center Books for all your architecture needs. I'm sure there's more I'm for...