The Learners: The Book After the Cheese Monkeys

I agree with the other reviewers... if I hadn't loved "The Cheese Monkeys," I never would have read this book, but I'm glad I did, because it was excellent. For those who don't like Kidd's writing style, it could get annoying, but for those who do, it's another gem. Overall a great novel, very fast read, makes you think about psychology a little bit too.

...unless you read The Cheese Monkeys first. I was familiar with Mr. Kidd's graphic design for some time, and saw him speak at the Gravity Free Conference. It was such an enjoyable talk I ordered The Cheese Monkeys online, and it was waiting for me on my arrival home. I was out of town all week and thought I would just read a few chapters before bed. The way I figure it Kidd owes me a good nights sleep. When I finished the book I waited a few hours and went out and bought The Learners, devouring it as well. I'm not sure what makes a book great, but for me, both of these are in that category. The Cheese Monkeys is such a nice nostalgic look back at college and the experiences that make that time so amazing, as well as the time travel back to a time when creating art didn't involve a mouse and a delete key. It also has a girl, the type that I would have either married or taken out a restraining order against, I'm not sure in what order. And The Learners picks up where The Cheese Monkeys left off, with the college student getting his first job, part of his quest born of his college experience, that once again pays homage to the day when things were thought out before they were created, because creating took cumulative effort. I'll say no more, to avoid spoiling the story. But I think these books need to both be read, in the proper order. They paint the same kind of historic picture in my head that Mad Men does, where you can smell the stale cigarette smoke and picture the Boomerang Formica. Enjoy. I certainly did.

This book is great. I have waited on it for like 5 years. As soon as I finished the cheese monkeys, I was in love with it. I read the serial parts to the learners on usa today like 2 years ago and it got me stoked. Finally the full novel is here. Chip Kidd is a wonderful designer and a great writer as well. Check out this book and the cheese monkeys if you haven't already.

I read this nonstop on a 19 hour flight (there were some small delays between countries) and couldn't stop or put it down. More mature and, in some cases, better written than the Cheese Monkeys, you are left with a sense of what becoming an adult after college is like...especially if you are in the fields of advertising or design. Unlike the end of the Cheese Monkeys, this one really leaves you with a feeling of wanting more. You want to find out what happens next so badly that it leaves you an emotional wreck for days. We can only hope and pray that Mr. Kidd will grace and bless us with a third book. Highly recommended, just make sure you have some tissues around (if you know what I mean). Yes, that's exactly what I mean!!!

Chip Kidd's sophomore novel The Learners in some ways surpasses his first jump into writing because of the darker edgier tones. I first read Cheese Monkey's as a senior in high school, and since then have been hooked. I read and reread the Learners preview on USATODAY.COM, and was eagerly awaiting the publication. This book will not let you down, there are twists and turns, and more importantly characters from the first book. To classify this as a sequel would be unjust, this is a continuation of Cheese Monkey's giving just enough to be wanting more. I started this book and could not put it down, I had to know what was going to happen next. It is a fantastic work of art and can not be described in all its glory with just words.