Pipsqueaks! Little Books with a Big Novelty Punch -- BOOK THOUGHTS

BOOK THOUGHTS

Pipsqueaks! Little Books with a Big Novelty Punch

Oh, the pipsqueaks! You know the little books that accumulate in your house? I don’t mean short books, although most are. I mean books that are physically small and often have what I think of as a novelty aspect to them. They are typically illustrated, often compilations, and are quick reads. They usually arrive as gifts or impulse purchases. They are the kind of little books often found at the checkout counter of bookstores.

I think of these little books as pipsqueaks. They hide on my shelves and occasionally squeak at me. They are meant to be read immediately and don't like being left on the shelf like an unread copy of Don Quixote or Moby Dick. In the interest of quieting the squeaking and clearing space on my shelves (admittedly, not much), I’ve gathered a very short stack of these cute little things, with the goal of reading them soon to get them off my shelves and out of my brain.

Would you have impulse purchased any of these?

• With Thanks & Appreciation: Thoughts, Sentiments, Tokens & Traditions of the Past by Pat Ross. Apparently, double-barreled titles are another feature of these books. I see there is a note inside telling me this was a gift from the realtor who helped me buy my first house back in 1989! Good grief! I need to read it or just pass it on.

• Bamboo Farmer Wisdom: 101 Inspirational Thoughts by Greg Bell. Greg is a friend of mine who wrote Water the Bamboo: Unleashing The Potential Of Teams And Individuals, an excellent business leadership/self-help book that I reviewed here. Bamboo Farmer Wisdom is a sort of tag along collection of inspirational aphorisms.

• Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. This is a perfect example of what I am talking about. I grabbed this one day when I was shopping at Powell's, intending to read it that afternoon. Several years later, it is still on my shelf. Time to remedy that!

• I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano. Didn’t every cat owner get this in a Christmas stocking hen it first came out? I think I got three copies!

• Freedom Feminism: Its Surprising History and Why it Matters Today by Christine Hoff Sommers. This is the only substantive book in the stack. I got it from American Enterprise Institute when I joined its Leadership Network and meant to read it right away.

• Bad Dad Jokes: That’s How Eye Roll by Bart King. My friend Jack Ohman illustrated this one, so I got a copy when they launched it.

• Literary Feasts: Inspired Eating from Classic Fiction by Sean Brand. This one is an understandable impulse purchase, since I will buy any books, whatever its size or format, that combines books and food.

• What Shall I Say: A Guide to Letter Writing for Ladies, no author, is a facsimile of an 1898 self-help book. I found it in a Little Free Library and couldn't resist. 

• The St. Trinian’s Story: And the Pick of the Searle Cartoons, compiled by Kaye Webb, illustrated by Robert Searle. Another LFL find. I knew nothing about Searle or St. Trinian's, but google tells me that Ronald Searle was a British artist and satirical cartoon artist. He created the famous, fictional St. Trinian's School as the subject of comic strips, books, and movies. 

• An Englishman’s Commonplace Book by Roger Hudson. It is unfair to lump this gorgeous Slightly Foxed edition with the others. For one thing, it isn't so little. But it is a very short compilation of brief observations, quips, and quotes, so has the high novelty value that makes it a pipsqueak to me.

What pipsqueaks are hiding on your shelves?