Thursday, February 2, 2012

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories (Volume 1) by HitRECORD & Joseph Gordon-Levitt

"The universe is not made up of atoms; it's made of tiny stories."           - The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories (Volume 1) 

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories (Vol. 1) by HitRecord and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was selected as an Amazon Best Book of December 2011.  It's a gem of tiny (as opposed to short) stories.

The stories are so tiny that they take up a page or two at the most.  While these stories are more like poems, puns, riddles, and sophisticated cartoons (think New Yorker), I found the selections brilliant.  A mix of whimsy, humor, wryness, and quirky (in the best possible way), The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories is the sort of book that starts conversations.  For instance, I'd love to compare notes with others, see which were their favorite stories.   I started out listing the ones that I wanted to share with friends: the one about the doctor's wife, the magician's rabbit, the story of the egg and the orange, the periodic table, the stuffed guests. . .  But then I realized that I liked so many of them that a full list would likely bore you.  Check it out yourself!

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories Volume 1 sort of reminded me of those Nutshell Library books in I'd read when I was much younger. I'd carried my beautifully illustrated and tiny Nutshell Library books everywhere until they were so worn out.  I brought them with me when we moved overseas and to every house we moved to.  In the same way, I know that The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories is a keeper - it's a book that I'm taking with me no matter where I move to.  Sort of like my collection of Shel Silverstein books.

But I don't just like the book.  HitRecord, its collaborative approach and the way that the organization shares the profits of its projects is also unusual and worth supporting.

HitRecord is an "open collaborative production company" with projects that include videos, live shows, music, and books.  The  Tiny Book of Tiny Stories is its first book project with each item chosen by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who in the spirit of open collaboration and sharing,  goes by the handle of "RegularJoe".


  • ISBN-10: 0062121669 - Hardcover $14.99
  • Publisher: It Books (December 6, 2011), 88 pages.
  • Review copy provided by the publisher.

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