Remember the glory days of summer growing up, when you were free from the bondage of schoolwork? Of course, there was always one teacher who would try to give you a reading assignment. How dare she! As a nod to the teachers everywhere who encouraged reading during summer vacation we’ve put together our Long, Hot Summer Reading List. These are all the books we’re currently enjoying. Yes, there will be a quiz this fall. If you have any suggestions for our list, let us know.

- NOVELS -

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe

Light Boxes by Shane Jones

Paint it Black by Janet Fitch

The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille

This is Where I Leave You by Jonothan Tropper

- MEMOIRS -

Bossypants by Tina Fey

How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill

Just Kids by Patti Smith

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

- MARKETING MATTERS -

Buyology by Martin Lindstrom

Designers Don’t Read by Austin Howe

- ORAL HISTORIES -

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales

- ZOMBIES, WITCHES AND WIZARDS -

Anything remotely related to Harry Potter

World War Z by Max Brooks

- THOUGHT PROVOKERS -

Anything by Malcolm Gladwell

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Pop Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klostermann

Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

- BLOOD BOILERS -

Griftopia by Matt Taibbi

The Big Short by Michael Lewis

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There’s a bit on Shepard Fairey’s site regarding his cover redesign of Marshall McLuhan’s classic The Medium is the Massage. One of the first books I studied when I got into advertising, it still blows my mind:

Electrical Information Devices for universal, tyrannical womb-to-tomb surveillance are causing a very serious dilemma between our claim to privacy and the community’s need to know.

Published in 1967, forty years before we started living publicly on Facebook.

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A couple of months have passed without a post. Sorry about that. Let’s catch up. Here are some of the things we’ve noticed, bookmarked and talked about since we last wrote:

1. Keith Richards authored a book called “Life.” This fact alone should be interesting enough, but there are some real lessons for creativity in Richards’ story. The guy is a student of his craft, studying ceaselessly. Everything is a potential source of influence and inspiration. He also goes into great detail regarding his creative process. Grab a copy.

2. The writer behind the Letters from a Nut series of books has been revealed. I’m kind of upset it’s not Jerry Seinfeld. Regardless, this writing has been as influential on my advertising copy as anything from our industry.

3. We’ve just launched a holiday outdoor campaign for Dixie Lily. We’re excited to be working on this resurgent brand, and there promises to be more including some pretty awesome packaging work from our design arm.

4. Red Square #2 just opened. The office, which is a bit of a mess presently, houses our creative department (now numbering 24). We’ll post proper photos and more details soon.

5. “Big” announcements from Apple and NASA disappoint. Really, Apple, adding The Beatles to iTunes was something “I will never forget?” Really? And NASA, next time you tease an announcement regarding extraterrestrial life, you’d better have found E.T.

There’s plenty more, but no need to get wordy. We do have some great news coming this week. Be warned: none of it will change your world like having The Beatles on iTunes or the discovery of an arsenic-based bacteria. Nevertheless, we’re excited.

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A couple of recent reads that I recommend: Rework and What the Dog Saw.

In the latter, Malcolm Gladwell sums up one of the tricks to great advertising (my opinion—he’s not speaking in that exact context): the trick to finding ideas is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a story to tell.

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The latest addition to the Red Square library is Naive: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design. It explores the current resurgence of Classic Modernism in graphic design and showcases a wide variety of work–everything from illustration to poster art to editorial and book cover design. I am a big fan of The Heads of State, whose work is prominently featured.

Sadly our library isn’t public, so you’re gonna have to get your own copy.

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