Some Kind of Ride, Brian's second hardcover release, is a beautiful collection of stories filled with laughter & a quirky mix of dark & light. The colorful artwork leaps off the page while the stories bring you right to the heart of how it feels to be alive today.
I found this while I was home in Boston, and my mom and I were killing time before seeing Mamma Mia (the movie, sing along version) in one of those really old fantastic antique movie theaters with velvet seating and cool architecture... I love this artist and treasure his little stories about life and hadn't seen anything by him in a long time so this was a great surprise. It is a simple little philosophical book with drawings, and all I can say is that one of his readers once wrote the author and told him that he had been sleepwalking through life and his art and stories reminded him of being alive again. It does that for me too, when I am tired and weary and disappointed. I have a print of his framed that says, "She cried at least once every day, not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful, and life was so short." And isn't it?
Brian Andreas' books never fail to enchant me. It's almost impossible to explain his books to someone who has never read them - the best I can say is that they're kind of inspirational picture books for adults. The pages are filled with (admittedly) bizarre drawings and what he calls "stories"; but they're never more than a few lines. Little thoughts and snippets that seem to summarize a bigger conversation. They always rejuvenate my hope and delight and wonderment with life in general.
The title here on Goodreads is a prime example of why I only gave this book 3 stars. Sence? The content is pretty good and unusual, and the art is unique and pleasing. But the execution was a little sloppy for such a short and otherwise carefully planned book, with grammatical errors spoiling it somewhat for me. It could have been exceptional and instead leaves me feeling the difference.
Though of course I loved it because I love *all* of Brain Andreas's beautiful books... I didn't feel quite as connected to this one as I have to some of the others. hence the 4 instead of 5 stars.
Absolutely gorgeous book. Love the juxtaposition of black & white and color illustrations. Beautifully produced, sweetly whimsical, and packed with wisdom delivered with a lovely sense of humor.