From the book description: "From the creators of the wildly popular Web site Unhappyhipsters.com, this essential guide is for today's hipsters what The Official Preppy Handbook was for prepsters. Featuring detailed illustrations, beautifully staged photos, and helpful charts, this master manual is perfect for aspiring modernists, those who love them, and, of course, those who love to hate them."

I remember the Official Preppy Handbook very well, because when I was 16 I had my very own copy which I pored over for endless hours, both because it made fun of preps in a really amusing, snarky way, and because, well... I needed to figure out how to pass myself off as one. Many years later, I've now found a new bible in ILitMW. As a designer, I've daydreamed endless hours away wishing for a minimalistic, sparse, well-designed and stylishly appointed home, but as this book makes amply clear, keeping such a home takes complete dedication and an unwavering commitment, not to mention a very deep wallet, which few of us can afford. Beautifully designed and illustrated with plenty of tempting visuals (some more scary than tempting, to be honest), this book is divided into various sections that are both helpful guidelines for those looking to achieve the perfect hipster haven, and snarkily funny for those of us who can only watch from the sidelines.

There's no lack of material to quote from here, but here's one morsel I found particularly delectable, which also sums up the attitude required to pull off this kind of lifestyle (from the "Outdoor Furnishings" section):

Most people have become attached to the idea of "comfort" when sitting. With modern furniture, however, it's important to rethink your concept of what is comfortable. In a thickly cushioned chair, your body may be supported—but at what price to your design values? Your intellect? Your psyche? How comfortable are you with losing those aspects of self? It's better to focus on the pure joy and thrill of being close to high design than to slump into an overstuffed chair for a nap.

Best of all is the epilogue, which talks at some length about (famously gay) architect Philip Johnson's "Glass House" in New Canaan, Connecticut, which features no less than fourteen different buildings on the forty-seven-acre property. After describing what each space was built to contain, the final paragraph gave this far-from-minimalist reader some measure of comfort:

The lesson: if you can't let go of your book collection, then it's only logical to build a house for it. Or if you need a place to kick back and watch reality television, build another house. If your boyfriend is a world-famous art collector, build another house. And if you can't figure out where to stash the circuit board and furnace—you guessed it—build another house. Because the only way to become a true minimalist it to be conspicuously maximalist. ( )

I am a big fan of the Unhappy Hipster blog (uhm, unhappyhipsters.com, I think?) and was thrilled when the authors announced a book. Even better, it's only inspired by their blog, instead of being a reiteration of the same, which is a pitfall for a lot of blogs-turned-book.

While the blog is a series of sardonic captions attached to photos of modern design (interior, exterior, architecture) usually sourced from Dwell magazine, which includes "natural" settings - that is, not overly contrived or fake, but actually how things are. A lot of the photos include the residents doing ordinary things, perhaps with the goal of not appearing overly posed. At the outset, Dwell's vision was a reaction to the pretentious and fake-feeling design magazines, but as the years have passed, the photo spreads have skewed more and more in that same direction as Dwell magazine gains renown. Or so the introduction of It's Lonely in the Modern World explains.

The blog - and the book - poke affectionate fun at the super serious world of modern design. They inject a playful air to what can be severe lines, hard surfaces, and stern colors. I really enjoyed the book's method. It mimics a general design book, discussing "Interiors", "Exteriors", and "Accessories", with each broken into smaller sections - "Surfaces", "Lighting", "Kitchens", "Rooflines", "Windows + Doors", "Children", and "Pets", among others. These sections provide examples, give suggestions, and note pros and cons of different options. There are also intermediary portraits of famous modern designers (very well done in pencil by Jenna Talbott) with accompanying quotes and very brief biographies which occasionally have a gossipy, lurid turn towards the end (rather than being strictly professional or formal).

While the layout and trappings of the book are very much traditional when it comes to the design genre, the contents are less so. The authors write very seriously about each subject, but go to extremes in pretentiousness, display of wealth/expense, and disregard for common sense. This is, truly, a satire of some of the ideals and trends in modern design magazines. The voice is snobby, dismissive of anything that is "common" or "popular" - IKEA is a common object of derision.

I tried to find quotes to show some of the humor I appreciated, but nothing seemed quite right when taken out of context. You'll just have to trust me that if you're familiar at all with modern design, the current trends, and have an affectionate humor towards them, you will understand exactly why a page showing swatches of ideal shades of white for concrete - all of which are the exact same with different names - is so great. Or, perhaps, the charts to help decide which dog breed or chair style is right for you, whether you're an Artist, a Vegan, Ironic, a Thrifster, or one of several other types.

It's Lonely in the Modern World did leave me with conflicting emotions at the end: on the one hand, I was thoroughly amused at the satire of the design magazines and how unrealistic they can be; on the other hand, I was totally in awe (and lust) for many of the designs included as examples, or even some of the examples from Dwell Magazine. I suppose this is the same feeling the authors have - affection for modern design, but weariness with the seriousness and expense (amongst other things) involved in doing it Perfectly. ( )