books i have read, acquired, or encountered in a meaningful way while traveling on the west coast

The Encyclopaedia of Stupidity by Matthijs Van Boxsel, translated from Dutch by Arnold and Erica Pomerans
The Ch'i of the Brush: Capturing the Spirit of Nature with Chinese Brush Painting by Nan Rae
Jennifer Government by Max Barry
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
The Object Stares Back: On the Nature of Seeing by James Elkins
What Painting Is by James Elkins
Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler
The Impact of Modern Paints by Jo Crook and Tom Learner
Don't Think of An Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff
A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Reexamined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease (and other cultural revelations) by Cintra Wilson