Bret Easton Ellis's Controversial Fiction: Writing Between High and Low Culture (2013); Paperback 238 pages (Literary Studies), Used Both literary author and celebrity, Bret Easton Ellis represents a type of contemporary writer who draws from both high and the low culture, using popular culture references, styles and subject matters in a literary fiction that goes beyond mere entertainment. His fiction, arousing the interest of the academia, mass media and general public, has fuelled heated controversy over his work. This controversy has often prevented serious analysis of his fiction, and this book is the first monograph to fill in this gap by offering a comprehensive textual and contextual analysis of his most important works up to the latest novel Imperial Bedrooms. Offering a study of the reception of each novel, the influence of popular, mass and consumer culture in them, and the analysis of their literary style, it takes into account the controversies surrounding the novels and the changes produced in the shifty terrain of the literary marketplace. It offers anyone studying contemporary American fiction a thorough and unique analysis of Ellis's work and his own place in the literary and cultural panorama.

HIP ART: The French Touch (2004); Paperback 164 pages English/French (bi-lingual) language - Art/Street Art/Graffiti, Used With Hip Art the French Touch, graffiti changes its status. We are a long way from a succession of badly organized and more or less blurred images. On the contrary, Kriss Montfort's photographs provide us with an artistic vision of an urban phenomenon. This book was motivated by the desire to contribute to giving its lettres de noblesse to a major art form. If we've entitled it "Hip Art", it stems from a desire to pay tribute to Hip Hop, a culture which has inspired artists throughout the world. The sub-title,  "French Touch", is an indication that this work deals with the French style we find in our environment, a particular art in that everything is blended (lettering, figurative art, diverse interventions, collage and a mixing of material, stickers, etc) and an art specific enough to warrant an entire volume. Hip Art is a copiously documented photographic study of French style (color, lettering). It also includes interviews from representatives of the French school: Jay, Mazout, and Bab2, an extensive bibliography, and an index permitting one to identify artists and their works.

THE ART OF SPRAY PAINT: Inspirations and Techniques from Masters of Aerosol (2017); Paperback 160 pages Street Art/Graffiti/Art/Hip Hop, New Artistry with spray paint goes much deeper than what some would write off as vandalism. Modern spray paint artists use the medium in a myriad of inventive ways, see them in The Art of Spray Paint.  With roots in graffiti and utilitarian projects, spray paint has come to the forefront of the art world, seen both on the streets and in museums across the globe.  The Art of Spray Paint investigates the diverse artists who are thriving with the medium, from the evolution of graffiti by John “CRASH” Matos, to the photo-realistic stencils of Logan Hicks, or the precise lines and can control of Tristan Eaton. Zimmer provides a window into the world of 20 leading artists working with spray paint in diverse ways including graffiti, urban art, stencil, portraiture, crisp graphic work and mixed media.  You’ll also discover DIY projects and tricks of the trade, as well as a focus on the artist’s role in society, the rise of mural festivals and its effects, and each artists’   background and attraction to spray paint as a medium.  Contributors include: CRASH, PichiAvo, BR163, Logan Hicks, Joe Iurato, Nick Walker, Caroline Caldwell, Casey Gray, Tristan Eaton, Matt Eaton, Hueman, Elle, Tatiana Suarez, Conor Harrington, Remi Rough, Will Hutnick, Rubin415, Rebecca Paul, Zac Braun, Ian Kuali’i, Ele Pack,  and Dana Oldfather

THE CONCRETE WAVE: The History of Skateboarding (1999), Paperback 200 pages Skate/Art/Documentary, Used Forty years after its birth on the streets and in the empty swimming pools of California, skateboarding has become a legitimate sport. Legend Tony Hawk has graced a "Got Milk?" ad, and skate parks are popping up in landlocked middle America. Although Brooke, a "skategeezer" and member of Toronto's Metro Longboarders, wrote this for skateboarding's retired, active, and future practitioners, any sports fan will enjoy this colorful crash course. After a brief prehistory, readers ride four "waves", a nod to surfing from 1959 to the present. Within each, Brooke features skateboarding's inventors, investors, stars, companies, media, and technological advances in a magazine-like layout. Best of all are the smart-ass anecdotes (e.g., Bob Schmidt's "The Day They Invented Skateboarding") by skateboarders, which originally appeared on Brooke's Skategeezer home page. A four-part appendix lists skate pros, movies, competitions, and parks. A high-speed treat, even for the gravitationally challenged. Highly recommended, duuude........