Abe Friedman

The Fate of Fausto: A Painted Fable

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As simple as it is beautiful, this touching (slightly dark) tale about a greedy man who tries to own all of nature offers both children and adults an anti-acquisitive lesson. Minimalist lithographs and spare text pair perfectly, for a contemplative, all-ages experience.

MUNCHIES Guide to Dinner: How to Feed Yourself and Your Friends 

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Written in a conversational tone, this cookbook is a dinner guide for those who order takeout too much. Four sections build in complexity, offering a culinary roadmap for your would-be chef. Everything from basic prep to multi-dish parties is explained. Simple, tasty recipes with a focus on food that under-30’s actually eat make this an ideal gift for millennials and the cooking-averse.

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

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Always-on notifications about encroaching malaise of all kinds lead many of us feel paralyzed. Jenny Odell, a tech-minded artist in SF, felt the same way. With a little help from her friends (everyone from ancient Greeks to contemporary indigenous ecologists), she empathetically outlines ways to resist the commodification of self that inevitably ends in apathy. Gardens, greetings, history, and community play a large part. Artists, environmentalists, techies and curious-minded people of all stripes will enjoy this most, but everyone will get something from this kind-hearted book that explores the interaction between tech-self-environment and what we can do.

The Folly

 

Mr. and Mrs. Malgas live a contented, if bland, life until a stranger sets up shop in the abandoned lot next door. When he begins building… something… from detritus and scraps, the frailty of the Malgas’ (and our) assumptions of those around us begins to show. This absolutely brilliant parable can be read on many different levels.