We all like to go on random book hunts at the local Barnes and Nobles which are always a good time, but once in a blue moon you’ll stumble upon a true gem. That one book that fully satisfies your thirst for the ultimate odd, witty, well written, visually captivating and reasonably priced book of all time. It’s the one that glues you to the seat and makes you forget everything prior to your amazing discovery.
This book is no fucking joke by any means. It’s lengthy, detailed, hard to understand, and serious! But… it’s worth it. If you haven’t read anything by Phaidon Press, please hurry yourself to the Architecture, Photography, and/or Design section of your bookstore and look for the distinctive Phaidon logo on the binding. These people are making history. The material and approach to which they publish material is very honorable and highly respected by anyone who knows their craft. The Art of Looking Sideways, only comes in hard-cover and is 534 pages (it’s a dong) and includes 72 “chapters” which cover everything from perception to aesthetics. Alan Fletcher pours a lot of personal advice/experience into this book. The feeling you get from this book would be like if your best friend had the wisdom of your grandfather and decided to share it with you on a Sunday night over some Ahmad Tea.
After reading the entire book a few times, I’ve concluded that Alan Fletcher is a brilliant man. Every page is a beautiful lesson told with just right combination of simplicity in its presentation and complexity in the depth/value of the lesson. In the front cover you’ll find things like, “Triumphs of imagination such a the person you live is 72.8 % water.” In addition to his own wisdom, Fletcher features hundreds of quotes. One of my favorite quotes Stendhal was one of them, “I do not feel I have wisdom enough yet to love what is ugly”.
I have bought three copies of the book so far for full price… I’m sure you can find it on Amazon or half.com for a good price if you’re already sold but if not, at the least go the bookstore, sit down, and read a few pages with your full attention. I promise you’ll have a good time.
I leave you with an excerpt.
“Two monks were watching a flag fluttering in the wind.
One said, ‘It’s the wind that moves.’
The Other said, ‘I disagree, it’s the flag that moves.’
But a Zen patriarch standing nearby, said, ‘It’s not the wind, nor the flag…
It’s the mind, that moves.” 
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