Reading List: April 2012

I love to read. Whether it's diving into a good story and grappling with some non-fiction, I love the ability of words to transfer ideas and emotions from one person to another.

So here's some books and blogs that caught my eyes this month and I want to pass along to you:

film_editing

Technique of Film Editing by Karel Reisz and Gavin Millar

 
An amazing overview of film editing! It's a little dated as far as the films it uses for examples and it has no mention of digital editing and its effect on the craft, but if you're looking for some good reading on the theories of editing, you should really pick this up.

i_will_teach

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

 
This isn't really a book on film or media, but it has great insights for any of you wondering what to do with your money! Geared towards twenty-somethings who now have a job and have no clue if they should save, invest, or put all of their money towards student loans, Ramit goes thoroughly over each option, giving you ideas of how to best let your money work for you, automating the process so you can worry about what you love, not your money. Definitely high on my recommendation list!

giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry

 
I can't believe I somehow missed this one as a kid! So I finally got around to reading it and man was it powerful! Great read with plenty to think about for days to come, and interesting in light of other futuristic government stories (think Hunger Games haha). I like that the book doesn't explain the history, it almost immerses me more because I'm constantly trying to figure it out. It has a nice ambiguous ending, but was still satisfying. If you missed out on this book like I did, you should definitely pick it up!

star_wars

Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope by George Lucas

 
Books based on movies are what they are, but it's still a fun way to interact with a story in a new way. I've seen Episode 4 a million times, so it was fun to read the book and get a different take on the script. This book actually came out before the movie, so there are subtle differences here and there since it was based on an earlier version of the script, which is cool to get a glimpse of. For those of you like me who can't get enough Star Wars, give the book a try, you might be pleasantly surprised!

kaufman

Worldly Wisdom: Collected Quotations and Aphorisms by Josh Kaufman and Carlos Miceli

 
As the title implies, this is a book of quotes. You'll find them organized by topic, and I must say that Kaufman really outdid himself in finding great ones! A great resource if you're ever looking to be inspired or find something to help prove a point. And if you have Amazon Prime, you can get it for free! Not bad at all!

Blog Posts to Check out

And here are some articles I came across this month that you should read:

What We Should Have Learned in College: For those of you like me who just graduated from college, this is a great read on how best to use what you did learn in college to land you a job.

Christopher Nolan Explains His Love for Shooting on Film, and Disinterest in 3D: Title says it all, check it out if you're curious why Nolan keeps saying 3D isn't the way to go.

All artists are self-taught: Seth Godin on artists.

10 Minimal Disney Movie Posters: As awesome as it sounds, check these out!

Kung-Fu Frog: Yes you read that right, but you have to see it to believe it!

Dear Blank, Please Blank: For those of you who love this new fad, here's a great collection!

Gary Ross Won’t Direct ‘The Hunger Games’ Sequel: Saddest film news of the month! I really loved Ross' version of the first book, and it saddens me that the studio was more worried about hitting a date than making a great movie. But such is life I suppose.

How to Find Beautiful and Free Placeholder Images: If you make websites, this is a great resource for finding images for your sites!