What art books should you be reading?

Discover the books on culture meant to be in your life

Give any amount to the crowdfunding campaign for the Out of the Picture, Mary Louise Schumacher's film about art critics, by Tuesday, May 31, take our idiosyncratic-but-quick quiz so we can get to know you a little better and -- bam! -- discover what art books are destined to be in your life and library. Mary Louise will select a group of books just for you. Look for your results in her Instagram Stories and in your email inbox.

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* 1. You are at your favorite local bookstore (a shoutout to ours, Boswell Book Company) and spot these on the “recommended” table. Which one are you most drawn to?

The wide-ranging collection of essays that covers everything from the Trump era to X-ray vision.

The 692-page book that rethinks human history.

That Kazuo Ishiguro novel people have been talking about.

A wildly entertaining memoir that’s also a how-to-survive-the-21st-century techno screed.

An epic read that envelopes generations in a place you’ve never been.

A dishy but telling biography set in Hollywood.

A look at American cities and the economic forces that have created housing crises.

A pulpy art caper that you can turn to to escape a little.

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* 2. What would you like to do this week to bring more joy and peace into your life (yes, this is our way of encouraging you to practice some self compassion)?

Make art

See art

Sleep better and get unstructured time be with my intimates

Go full Sister Wendy, hang out in a trailer in the woods with art books

Read the newspaper everyday over coffee (or equivalent)

Throw a dinner party for the people who matter most

Attend a glorious drag show (like this one on June 10)

Other (please specify)

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* 3. Who is already part of your reading life (you might want to look these writers up if they’re new to you!). Check all that apply.

bell hooks

Susan Sontag

Maggie Nelson

Jeneé Osterheldt

Carolina Miranda

Salamishah Tillet

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* 4. Which organizations or movements are you inclined to support this week (check all that apply, and, yes, this is our way of encouraging other forms of giving in these times)?

Decolonize This Place

Color of Change

Women’s Refugee Commission

Southern Poverty Law Center

Local journalism (a shoutout to our favorite, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service!)

March for Our Lives

Other (please specify)

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* 5. Here's something I do NOT want on my bookshelf (pick the one that most applies).

Contemporary politics

A lack of contemporary politics

Realism

Surrealism

Theory

Criticism

Other (please specify)

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* 6. On a scale of 1 to 100, how dispirited would you be if Mary Louise selected a big, fat tome for you -- with 1 being a loathing of door stop-weight books and 100 being a bring-it-on-Mary-Louise feeling.

100

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 7. And finally, please take a moment to tell Mary Louise a little more about your book-related desires right now. What are you in the mood for?

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* 8. Now, your deets (we will share your list with you via email and, if you have an account, social media).

Your Name

Your email

Your Instagram handle