We Love You So – Where The Wild Things Are – Spike Jonze

If you’re looking to strike up a relationship with Vladimir Nabokov, it’s probably best to start with Lolita, which has an opening chapter so beautiful it will make you pee your pants, or Pnin, a short ‘n sweet novel about a loopy professor. There’s also the author’s memoir Speak, Memory, which includes lovely descriptions of the writer’s boyhood in Saint Petersburg, and Pale Fire, a crafty novel/poem/exegesis explosion. Any of these books would constitute a fine starting point.

Here, on the other hand, is what NOT to begin with: the recently released The Original of Laura (Dying Is Fun), a volume comprised of the index cards upon which Nabokov wrote his last novel. Or, at least, the notes for his last novel. The Original of Laura is not a fully-fleshed work, but rather an unfinished experiment that will be baffling to all but the most steadfast Nabokov fans. If you fall into this category—or you just enjoy the odd literary puzzle—by all means, dive in.

Those who know their quantum mechanics will be aware of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, which dictates that the more precisely one physical property is known, the less precisely the other can be known. The specifics of the principle have to do with equations and electrons and measurements of velocity; the vagaries of it, however, can be fruitfully co-opted as a metaphor.

On this end, look no further than artist/illustrator Maira Kalman’s Principles of Uncertainty, a compendium of stories, photography and paintings that touches on everything from Vladimir Nabokov to taxidermy to Kitty Carlisle Hart. Kalman, the author of twelve children’s books, is as good at the prose game as she is at painting. The book is an encylopedia of charming objects and thoughts; a universal favorite and an instant classic if there ever was one.