SICKA THAN AVERAGE

Made in Tokyo

Are you a Japanophile? Do you sweat Bathing Ape's Nigo harder than Pharrell, Teyana Taylor, The Clipse and the entire Star Trak family? Do you stare at Murakami's artwork on the cover of Kanye West's Graduation album? Or maybe you're into the thrown-together coolness of United Bamboo's designs or the romantic, lapsadaical vibe of Tsumori Chisato's patterns ad prints? Perhaps it's not Japanese fashion you admire as much their anime films (word to Akira or the trippy, colorful artwork of icons like Murakami Takashi (pictured at his studio in the second image from the top).

Whether you're intrigued, perplexed or fascinated by Japanese art, film, fashion, architecture or interior design, the superb new book Tokyolife: Art and Design (Rizzoli Publishing), written by Ian Luna and featuring contributions from Lauren A. Gould, Tom Mes, Jasper Sharp, Mika Yoshida, Hayashi Fumihiro and more, can serve as your gateway to the homegrown talent of one of the most influential and avant-garde cities in the world. The essays are both informative and thought-provoking, covering heady topics like the rise of Tokyo as a future, otherworldy "supercity" and the collapsing boundaries between fashion production and consumption in postmodern times; the photos, meanwhile, capture the works of Tokyo's tastemakers: from filmmaker Koreeda Hirokazu to art collective Groovisions, painter Takano Aya, couture houses Comme Des Carcons and Dresscamp, and interior designer Yoshoka Tokujin (among many others). The in-depth look at Tokyo's current cultural and artistic output is refreshing and inspirational, so don't just plop this one on your coffe tabe to try and be cool — read it, look through the images, and absorb the content.

Tokyolife: Art and Design By Ian Luna, Rizzoli Publishing, $75.

Coloring Outside the Lines

This isn't meant for the faint of heart or those easily offended but, if you have a dark sense of humor and an appreciation for irreverence and smart-alecky wit, you'll get a kick out of this coloring book, titled I Don't Wanna Blow You Up! (seriously, that's the title!) It's yet another goodie by independent publisher Magic Propaganda Mill, the brainchild of Ricardo Cortés, who brought us the hysterical It's Just A Plant (a children's book about weed perfect for any die-hard stoner who isn't about to give up puffin'). If you go on the official site, the book is described as wanting to "counter the messages transmitted in the name of the war on terror" by "drawing attention to the myriad people of different colors and cultures who are living peaceful and meaningful lives."

Translation: the book illustrates numerous folks who hail from the Middle East, are Muslim, or whose heritage can be traced back to the Arab world (some characters are from Pakistan; others hail from Iran, Egypt, etc.) and each character is a rendition of a real-life person — from theology professor Tariq Ramadan to construction worker Imaan bin Laden. Each character is introduced with a basic, brief bio (as in, This is such-and-such who was born in such-and-such place and does X,Y, and Z -- none of which includes any plans to blow people up.)

Truth be told, the book isn't meant for kids at all, but rather, it's one of those quirky coloring books that adults can appreciate for pointing out the ludicrous nature of the society we live in, where the government and the media have conspired to instill fear in people's hearts and, in doing so, have created more racial strife and essentially persecuted anyone who follows Islam or hails from the Middle East.

My favorite part? There's a page where they introduce Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (aka Nas of Illmatic fame) and they mention that he mentioned "blowing up" on his records in reference to his growing popularity and not any usage of explosives. Ok, I'm about to fall off the chair even as I type this!

$11; Visit http://www.blowyouup.com