Book Reviews Archives - Quartersnacks

A Look At ‘9/12’ — Mike O’Meally’s Book Of Photos Shot In New York The Day After 9/11

Features & Interviews September 10th, 2026 · 12:00 am · 2

📝 Words by Adam Abada

When thinking of some of the most iconic skate photos of the 2000s, it doesn’t take long to come up with an image by Mike O’Meally. O’Meally has yet to do a big glossy retrospective book encompassing his work, but in going through his archives, he had a different idea. After a 2018 photo show of symbolic imagery from his skate travels – where O’Meally donated profits to the FDNY’s Fire Family Transport Foundation – he decided he wanted to give back more to New York City, a place that helped grow his career and connection to the skate world. Mike had shot six rolls on September 12th, 2001 and thought there might be something there.

Deep Winter Book Review: ‘Skateboard Culture’ by Morgan Bouvant and Sébastien Carayol

Features & Interviews January 23rd, 2026 · 12:00 pm · 1

🔑 Words by Adam Abada

QS staff meateorologist Matthew Perez informs us that 18 inches of snow is coming to New York on Sunday. Sounds like a good time to crack a book. Here’s a review of the newest and biggest skateboard book I know of.

Spring Reading Round-Up: ‘Pray For Pigeons,’ ‘Laser Quit Smoke Massage’ & ‘Chipped’

Features & Interviews April 24th, 2025 · 12:00 pm

🔑 Words by Adam Abada

Spring is as great a time as any for reading. While reading can mean a lot of things, consider using time in the newly crisp air and blossoming scenery to read some of these books authored by skaters from the past year or so.

Holiday Book Review (& Excerpt!) — ‘Right, Down + Circle: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’ by Cole Nowicki

Features & Interviews December 12th, 2023 · 12:00 am

🗒 Intro by Adam Abada
📖 Excerpt by Cole Nowicki

Like many of us – myself included – Cole Nowicki wouldn’t be here without Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. He has a personal connection to the game, coupled with the acumen of a professional writer/researcher (and weekly newsletter-er.) Right, Down + Circle: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, his new book about the game, amounts to a really tight, compelling read.

Summer Reading Round-Up: Skateboarding and __________

Features & Interviews July 29th, 2021 · 12:00 am · 18

Words & Images by Adam Abada

“Shut up and skate!” That is a refrain I have seen written and analyzed more than actually spoken or practiced, but its dumb ethos echoes through so much of that which is considered “real” skating.

With the mindset of getting into the “summer vibe” (or something like that), I recently watched Dogtown & Z-Boys. Sean Penn’s bitter post-Spicoli narration about the [then] worst drought in California history doesn’t specifically say “shut up and skate,” but it lays claim to the temperament that it comes from. The film made me think about skateboarding’s connection to the world: the weather, school, roads, family, class, economics, substance use, housing. The film claims modern skating was born out of a drought.

Like everything else, when we skate, we bring the outside world to it. I do want to skate, but I don’t want to shut up about it! These three authors’ — all of whom skate — books, ideas, and studies help show that we can bring whatever we please to skateboarding to make it something that pleases us.