You Know Exactly

by Paul Madonna

The third and final volume of All Over Coffee presents some of the most beloved and never-before-collected pieces from the weekly series. Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle , this timeless work, which includes collaborations with many prize-winning authors, is now collected for the first time into a new gorgeous hardcover edition. "[Paul] Madonna, Bayview-based artist, illustrator, writer and award-winning author, is renowned for his long-running city-inspired comic strip series ‘All Over Coffee.’ Once described by Madonna as ‘a comic strip without the comic,’ the series paired intricate sketches of The City—a street corner, a view of Alcatraz or a deserted alleyway—with poignant, poetic text. The infusion of art and literature challenged typical comic strip conventions, attracting a regional cult following and setting Madonna on a path of artistic discovery. The third and final installment [of the series], You Know Exactly, launched this month."
— San Francisco Examiner "All Over Coffee was in many ways a gift to the city. It immortalized the San Francisco that locals see every day; not the one most commonly depicted in movies and on TV. Because of its grounding in familiar corners, sidewalks and liquor stores, Madonna's art can also ask viewers to explore their own psyche, or to suspend their disbelief, or to go on a journey with him they weren't expecting. And sometimes, just sometimes, it'll be so close to home, you'll think he's made a personal visit."
— KQED Arts & Culture "[A]n impressive coffee-table style volume, You Know Exactly, the Third Collection of All Over Coffee is an inherently fascinating book to browse through."
—Midwest Book Review You Know Exactly enigmatically melds art, story, and travel to capture the profundity reflected outside and resting deep within the soul. With original writings plus collaborations with award-winning writers including Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Cheryl Strayed, Andrew Sean Greer, Robert Olen Butler, Kristen Tracy, Daniel Handler (otherwise known as Lemony Snicket), and more, artist and writer Paul Madonna pairs words with exquisitely rendered cityscapes to create a poignant, thought-provoking showpiece. Each page offers something short stories, poems, fleeting thoughts, and one-liners displayed alongside pen and ink drawings that travel from San Francisco to New York, from Paris to Tokyo. The effect coalesces into a mesmerizing work that you’ll want to return to again and again.

Genres: Art, Comics, Graphic Novels

176 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Paul Madonna is an award-winning artist and author whose unique blend of drawing and storytelling has been heralded as an “all new art form.” He is the creator of the series All Over Coffee, which ran in the San Francisco Chronicle for twelve years, and the author of seven books,  All Over Coffee ,  Everything is its own reward (winner of the 2011 NCBA Award for best book),  On to the Next Dream , You Know Exactly (finalist for the 2022 Golden Poppy Book Awards), and the Emit Hopper Mystery Series, Close Enough for the Angels , Come to Light , and The Commissions . Paul also collaborated with award-winning author Gary Kamiya on the best-selling book Spirits of San Francisco .

Paul's drawings and stories have appeared internationally in numerous publications such as the Believer and zyzzyva, as well as in galleries and museums, including the Oakland Museum of California, the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum, The San Francisco International airport, and the William Blake Association in France. Paul was a founding editor for therumpus.net, has taught drawing at the University of San Francisco, and frequently lectures on creative practice. He holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and was the first (ever!) Art Intern at MAD magazine.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful surprise! I received a review copy of You Know Exactly What You Have To Do through LibraryThing without any knowledge of Paul Madonna, or All Over Coffee, his comic strip that ran in the San Fransisco Chronicle from 2004 to 2015. This large-format, beautifully printed book is the third in a series collecting some of the best of the strip, though I wouldn't fret about taking it out of order. All Over Coffee is/was something of an ever-changing project, not so much telling a story but capturing moments in time and space. Each "strip" is really just one hand-drawn image, sometimes with overlaid or accompanying text, sometimes just on its own. Madonna's loose but detail-oriented hand presents building's, cityscapes, everyday objects, and landscapes in a monochrome so vibrant you could almost walk into them, sometimes with a splash of color to bring out an element. The stories they tell are often vignettes - from the mundane to the fantastic - whose relationships to the images are up to the reader to decipher. Very often, the text is just a phrase incorporated into the image, such as the title so dramatically printed on the front cover. The book is bound like a sketchbook, with the spine on the top of each page, making leafing through a little art adventure.

Madonna includes several essays describing his process, the history of the strip, and introducing some of the themes that tie together the selections. All in all, it is a beautiful, often touching, strangely inspiring, and quietly melancholy slice-of-life that I firmly recommend. Now I need to go find the first two collections!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels a bit corny to say, but Paul Madonna is a real inspiration for me; I love his style and approach to his art equally. This is a wonderful book, both a visual treat and a good exploration into his craft—not so much the making of the work as his editorial decisions around the All Over Coffee series, his books, and other projects. I discovered him at City Lights Bookstore when I was in San Francisco in 2015, and just fell in love with his work—time for me to own more of it in paper-and-board format, I think. I had a professor in my undergrad years who said that every piece of art you make should have beauty and mystery, and Madonna's work satisfies that craving for me in a big way.

[Slay All Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book, these photos and mixed media and words and images...I am completely blown away. This is my first rendezvous with Paul Madonna, and seeing how this is his third collection, I clearly have to backtrack and get copies of his first two books.

This book sits on my coffee table, as I encourage it to be a conversation piece. Sometimes I just flip it open to a random piece of thought and imagery and I just stroke the glossy paper and read the words over and over. It's become a sense of calm for me, and also a sense of wonder.

Thank you, Paul Madonna, for this collection of beauty and intrigue.

[Paul Madonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm clearly biased, but this is the best collection of All Over Coffee. It has five years of work, from 2010-2015, and having had six years between finishing the series and putting together the book, I was able to come at it with a clear eye.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to LibraryThing and West Margin Press for an advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

I have been reading Paul Madonna since the San Francisco Chronicle began publishing his work in February 2004. At that time he was considered an artist/cartoonist and the pieces published were a comic strip called All Over Coffee. I have also seen Madonna’s work framed in a museum exhibit. This oversized book is the third and final collection of All Over Coffee.

A blend of storytelling and art, many would call this a graphic novel. Most of the images are pen & ink and watercolor and focus on architecture, sometimes landscapes, but rarely people. They often feature older San Francisco Victorian buildings with a great deal of detail, in addition to words and phrases that Madonna adds to create an aura of symbolism and meaning.

Interspersed with the art are first person accounts of Madonna’s experiences, which makes this a memoir of sorts. His personal story is juxtaposed with the often bizarre and haunting short stories written on top of the graphics. He also discusses why he chose to include certain images and why they are important to him, so the book becomes a personal notebook or diary.

I think Madonna is extremely talented. I admire his success in starting as an unemployed college graduate to becoming a published comic strip artist, winning several awards, publishing three books, and exhibiting in many museums. And through it all he has continued to draw, paint, and write in his unmistakable style.

This is the kind of book that is best appreciated when read a few pages at a time. I would put it on a coffee table for guests to enjoy. It would also make a unique gift.

[Deni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This looked fascinating, though I don't remember reading or seeing Paul Madonna's work before. Doesn't mean I haven't, doesn't mean it's not memorable--it is memorable. I'm feeling senioritis.
My niece graduated from Sarah Lawrence with an art degree, I saw this giveaway, thought she'd be interested, so I entered the giveaway. I won. Score!
While I waited for her visit, I looked through the book and it is great. I want more. I'll probably buy it for myself. Also interested in a mystery series he mentions near the end.
Manya just visited, I gave it to her. She liked it but didn't want to take it at first because I was enthusiastic about it. Her mom and I convinced her that I was thinking of her when I got it, and really, really hoped that she would like it. So, she gladly accepted. When she pulled out an extendable section, we all saw it differently. I couldn't read the entire thing quickly, because each letter was colored differently. I had to read word by word. They read most of it in a meta overview, then re-read. We spent more time on that section because we discovered how we see things differently.
She's taking it home to Honolulu...it's obvious that she treasures this book/gift. I'm grateful to Paul Madonna, the publisher, and Goodreads for giving us that experience together.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

'You Know Exactly' is a classic "coffee table book". It's a hefty hardcover that I find best for randomly flipping through and looking at the pictures. While I have nothing against the musings on assorted pages (that range from a single, tight sentence or flash fiction), it was the art that stole the show for me. There's a fun, lighthearted feel to it; persuaded by the title, I'd imagine an artist sketching these scenes while having coffee in a shop. The splashes of color and sketch-like line work gives independent art vibes at times and more stream of consciousness at others.

The writing may resonate with others who grab the books, but I was unfamiliar with the series of work this is a 3rd collection of. I'm giving this 3.5-4 stars, but I'd probably give a 5 to a collection of only this art. I'll still be leaving this around the living room for guests to flip through; most of the people I know would love to give it a glance.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book.

I was not familiar with Paul Madonna's work before getting this book. Now that I'm familiar with it, I love it. The city scape drawings are wonderful and mixed with little stories, the whole book was really cool and I look forward to seeking out and finding more of Paul Madonna's work.

[Jeff Siperly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Definitely going to buy the first 2 collections.
I was getting lost in the artwork .

Some of the short stories confused me or didn’t satisfy me but that’s the case with short stories in general .

I loved the segment on MURALS. Always fun to hear the creative workings of a piece and I hope to see these murals one day.

[Mark Hartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good illustrations with text. Some are better than others. Nicely done and makes for interesting reading. Nice big hardback that shows off the illustrations in a large format. A nice finale for Paul Madonna’s series.

[Veronica F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book with awesome art. I got it through a Goodreads giveaway. I picked it out for my middle school classroom, there are a couple pages I'll have to cover or 'edit' to make them school appropriate. The art was AMAZING!!!!

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this on a friends coffee table and browsed it for a bit on a visit. Interesting, thought provoking, insightful! Love the photos and drawings. I wasn't familiar with Paul Madonna, but may have to look up his other two books! Good books to browse on a lazy afternoon.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL experience. I absolutely LOVE this book.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork in this book is amazing I spent many hours going back and inspecting each picture. The minute details bring it all to life.