The Prager Sisters’
Favorite Books
Alex & Vanessa Prager, Artists
The California-based sisters Alex and Vanessa Prager are both artists. Alex, an acclaimed photographer and filmmaker, is known for her Hitchcock-esque sensibility, while Vanessa’s incredibly rich oil paintings and drawings are spectacular. Their combined list, below:
EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck
“I read this book every five years or so. It tells a raw tale about a family living in California. Last time I read it, I was enroute to Europe, but I was so into it I ended up finishing it in the first country I stopped in, then had to carry it around in my luggage for two more weeks. It’s a heavy book.” – Alex
MIDDLESEX by Jeffery Eugenides
“This is one of the first books I read with such a modern twist. When I started reading it I didn’t know what I was in for. I was hooked.” – Vanessa
THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett
“They experience things in this book on the regular, that I just couldn’t even fathom. I love the idea of this book: The goal is greater than the characters. It takes on a life of it’s own. It’s something very unusual for an inanimate object, and extremely interesting.” – Vanessa
PLAY IT AS IT LAYS by Joan Didion
“One of the most starkly written books I’ve ever read. It gives a very honest point of view on one woman’s journey living in Los Angeles. I hated it the first time I read it, and the after the second time, I died.” – Alex
“This book is about making a life and career for yourself on your own, outside of the system. I really relate to that, because my background is very DIY.” – Alex
THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE by Haruki Murakami
“I felt like I was floating in a salty swimming pool the whole time I was reading this.” – Vanessa
AN AWESOME BOOK by Dallas Clayton
“Such an uplifting book. It’s for kids, but we’re pretty sure he wrote it with his friends in their mid-20’s and 30’s in mind, too.” –Vanessa & Alex
“We first saw her work years ago at the Serpentine gallery in London, around the time Vanessa started painting. We were both really into what we were looking at and bought her book before we left the building.” – Vanessa & Alex
“These Los Angeles-based artists are making some really cool ceramic works. I haven’t seen this book yet as it’s being released a couple weeks from now, but doing what they’re doing, it’s going to be good!” – Alex
ERWIN WURM by Helmut Friedel and Franz Schuh
“This is one of the best book cover designs I’ve ever seen: A huge 3D pickle against white. It also happens to be one of my favorite artists.” – Alex
“A hybrid of Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud: This painter is killing it right now.” – Vanessa & Alex
JENNY SAVILLE Gagosian Gallery
“She makes you feel like you’re touching the flesh, but not in a sexual way.” – Vanessa
MARTYRS AND HOLYMEN by Larry Fondation
“He captures such a unique and dark side of life, specifically Los Angeles. Whenever I see the displaced, I think of Larry’s books. He tells stories from their viewpoint.” – Vanessa