Great Books to BuyIn Association with Amazon.com 
 Location:  Home» Comics » Science Fiction & Fantasy » What It Is  
Aisles
All Books
Art
Biography
Business
Childrens
Comics
Computers
Cooking
Entertainment
Fantasy
Gardening
Gay and Lesbian
Graphic Novels
Health
History
Homes
Horror
Law
Literature
Manga
Medicine
Mystery
Nature
Nonfiction
Parenting
Photography
Politics
Reference
Romance
Science
Science Fiction
Sex
Spirituality
Sports
Technical
Teen
Textbooks
Travel
Related Sites

Just Books for Kids

Liberal Media News

Anime Canyon

Cameras and Photo

Ultra Mega Mart

Ultra Mega Mart UK

Ultra Mega Mart Canada

Geek Book Store

OS X Mart

Boolean Sales

UnFox News

the sensible celiac

Celiac Shop

Books, DVDs, and More

Plenty to Buy

News and Shopping

Bookmark this page:
ADD TO DEL.ICIO.US ADD TO DIGG ADD TO FURL ADD TO STUMBLEUPON ADD TO YAHOO MYWEB ADD TO GOOGLE

What It Is

What It Is
Author: Lynda Barry
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
Category: Book

List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $16.47
You Save: $8.48 (34%)



New (35) Used (8) Collectible (1) from $15.41

Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars 12 reviews
Sales Rank: 2673

Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 209
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.9

ISBN: 1897299354
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9781897299357
ASIN: 1897299354

Publication Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Similar Items:

  • One Hundred Demons
  • The Principles of Uncertainty
  • The Good Times Are Killing Me
  • Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: Making Comics: Manga, Graphic Novels, and Beyond
  • The Greatest of Marlys

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
“Deliciously drawn (with fragments of collage worked into each page), insightful and bubbling with delight in the process of artistic creation. A+” —Salon
How do objects summon memories? What do real images feel like? For decades, these types of questions have permeated the pages of Lynda Barry’s compositions, with words attracting pictures and conjuring places through a pen that first and foremost keeps on moving. What It Is demonstrates a tried-and-true creative method that is playful, powerful, and accessible to anyone with an inquisitive wish to write or to remember. Composed of completely new material, each page of Barry’s first Drawn & Quarterly book is a full-color collage that is not only a gentle guide to this process but an invigorating example of exactly what it is: “The ordinary is extraordinary.”



Customer Reviews:   Read 7 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars Way exceeded my expectations! The coolest book I own!   August 15, 2008
Reading my way thru life (VA)
I ordered this after reading about it on Kelly Kilmer's blog, where she highly praised this repeatedly and made me think that I was missing out on something wonderful if I didn't buy it.
So I bought it, and what I found out is that I had been missing out on something wonderful!!

I couldn't be more happy that I bought this book! First of all this book surprised me in that it is nicely sized 8.5 x 11 (approx) and it's much THICKER than I had imaged it, and it's HARDCOVER.(I was expecting a soft cover magazine type book)So, after I admired the outside, and opened it up, I was even more impressed and excited with what I found!! Yes, I thought I was in comic book/collage/art journal/writing prompt heaven!! With so much to look at, I just about wore myself out trying to look at/read everything. -Which is also a nice thing about this book, I am highly doubting that you'd run out of things to look at or read here.

This is kinda like looking at one of your school friends notebook, or journal, except SO MUCH BETTER! There are comic book pictures, random thoughts, journal prompts, drawings, ideas, etc, etc, etc. This is an awesome and inspiring book. This tops the list of coolest books that I own!!



5 out of 5 stars Amazing Book   July 11, 2008
W. Donovan (New York)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I am an artist-teacher, and I wish someone had presented this information to me sooner.

The book has a front section that is sort of an artistic, stream of consciousness, diaristic account of Lynda Barry's own creative life. Followed by a workbook, which I didn't have any specific expectations about, but I was sitting there following the steps, and it was pretty amazing how effective the method Barry advocates is. It took me off guard, and I think I am going to use it next week in the class I teach.

Overall this book ranks somewhere around the best books I have ever read because it sort of snuck up on me, and made realize some stuff about myself and my creative process that I may have resisted in a less charismatic presentation.



5 out of 5 stars what it is   July 3, 2008
Elise M. Bowman
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I recommend this to anyone who loves Linda Barry. This book is supposedto be a condensed version of her wrtining workshop. Mostly, it is L. B. collages and drawings. It explores many of the issues that arise during the creative process.


5 out of 5 stars A guide on remembering   June 24, 2008
Virginia Holman (USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful


One of the most important aspects of writing anything-- memoir, fiction, poetry--is the ability to remember. Sounds simple, but we forget so much naturally and are actively encouraged to forget what doesn't suit the needs of any particular group, usually family. Lynda Barry's wonderful primer on how to being to probe the images of your life is just grand
and will doubtless serve many artists and writers as they explore their lives and the lives of others. An exercise as simple as try to recall the earliest phone number you had and try to picture that phone seem so simple, but take you to places that you'd long forgotten.

Like everything by Barry, it's humane and masterful and compassionate and smart. A wonderful addition to any artist's desk.



4 out of 5 stars what is it   June 19, 2008
Leslie Bell (Davenport, Iowa)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Lynda Barry is idiosyncratic, funny, dreamy, hardcore etc. etc. She's also a practicing pragmatist. Anyone needing a refresher course on disassembling the obstacles to creativity could probably benefit from this book. The collages are elaborate, beautiful and tender but I think I actually like the hand drawn asides that bring the reader into the world of the artist's upbringing and self-talk, the area at which she's always excelled. It's by being herself that Barry becomes Everyman for every man and woman.

Can't find the right gift? Try a Gift Certificate

Nearby
• Science Fiction & Fantasy
Subjects
Books
• General
Comic Strips
Comics & Graphic Novels
Subjects
Books
• General
Comics & Graphic Novels
Subjects
Books
• General
Graphic Novels
Comics & Graphic Novels
Subjects
Books
• Drawn and Quarterly
Publishers
Comics & Graphic Novels
Subjects
Books
• General
Arts & Photography
Subjects
Books
• Hardcover
Binding (binding)
Refinements
Books
• Printed Books
Format (feature_browse-bin)
Refinements
Books
Book Shelves
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Audiobooks
Authors, A-Z
Fantasy
Gaming
Large Print
Media
Science Fiction
Writing
OS X Mart:Apple Computers, iPods, Mac Stuff
Penguins

Penguin 64

Penguin CPU

Penguin Kitchens

Penguin Audio

Penguin Videos

Penguin Cameras

Just For You