I Love Charts: The Book [Paperback]

Jason Oberholtzer (Author), Cody Westphal (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 1, 2012

Based on the highly successful website, I Love Charts: The Book is more than the standard blog-to-book offering. It uses the book format to explore charts from a human perspective, creating an experience entirely different from the blog. The central question: Why do we chart?

The book includes never-before-seen charts and essays, ranging across many subjects, from the absurd and ironic to the starkly literal -- with charts dedicated to love, loss, art, culture and the minutiae of every day life. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In September 2009, college friends Cody Westphal and Jason Oberholtzer created the Tumblr, I Love Charts for themselves and their friends. They started with seven followers. Since, the website has grown to over 200,000 followers, making it one of the most popular sites on Tumblr.

I Love Charts has been mentioned by The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The New York Observer, NPR, PBS, MTV, CBS News, Forbes, The Economist, Bloomberg TV, Esquire, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Wired, The National Post, The New Republic, Newsweek, Mother Jones, Print Magazine, AOL, The Millions and Lapham's Quarterly and has appeared on The Huffington Post, McSweeney's, BuzzFeed, Gizmodo, MediaBistro, Jezebel, Mental Floss, SlashFilm, Boing Boing and Laughing Squid. 

I Love Charts ranked 1st on The Huffington Post's "33 Tumblogs You Need to Follow" and "23 Funniest Tumblr Blogs," was named one of the "100 funniest Tumblrs...Ever" by the New York Observer, one of "The 90 Best Tumblr Blogs Of 2011" by BuzzFeed, one of the "10 Funniest Tumblrs" by The Guardian and one of the "25 Genius Tumblrs You Should Follow" by CBS News.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks (May 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140226738X
• ISBN-13: 978-1402267383
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.8 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jason Oberholtzer is a writer, blogger, composer and musician living in Brooklyn, NY. He is the founder and curator of the popular Tumblr, I Love Charts, as well as the coauthor of I Love Charts: The Book. You can find his writing regularly on Forbes.com and sprinkled elsewhere around the Internet.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic May 10, 2012

By Just Me

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is great. Obviously because of the charts, but both Jason and Cody's writing in each chapter is great as well. I am really enjoying it quite a bit. I may be a biased fangirl, but it's still awesome.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love this Book! May 10, 2012

By Rachel A. Parsons

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read this book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. It's a witty, honest and eye opening view into the minds of the "I Love Charts" creators as well as a thought provoking assortment of essays which discuss everything from cats (very funny) to relationships (surprisingly insightful). The essays alone were worth the read, the charts illustrating each chapter are like icing on the cake. It's well written and real and worth the time and money to curl up in your favorite chair with a cup of your favorite beverage and engage in something different and fun.

23 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant but disturbing May 4, 2012

By Birdemic1978

Format:Paperback

Reading "I Love Charts: The Book" is a complicated experience. It left me feeling cold and empty not unlike after reading Hitler's Mein Kampf or the Communist Manifesto. But at the same time it made me sexually aroused not unlike reading the Kama Sutra or the Bible. I give credit to the authors. If I were planning to write a book about the French and Indian war from the point of view of the French Indians, I likely would not have chosen to do it in the form of series of innovative charts. However this bold decision pays off with a deep exploration of the human psyche. The creativity on display is remarkable and will constantly have you feeling as though you are hanging over a precipice above a huge chasm overlooking a shadow realm where your soul will be ripped to shreds, leaving naught but a dessicated husk. Many of the charts are very clever. If you are looking for a book that will make you laugh out loud, then cry tears of the darkest despair, then "I Love Charts: The Book" may be exactly what you are looking for.