Review: The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, v.1: a collaboration from hitRECord

Reviewed by Christina and Ingrid
[We received complimentary copies of this book in exchange for an honest review.]
Published: 2011

It's about: The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories is the result of a collaborative project from hitRECord, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's multimedia production company. Thousands of artists contributed words and pictures, and the best of the best were selected for publication in three tiny (4"x6") books.

Volume 1 has about 45 very short stories, each one or two sentences and accompanied by art.

Christina thought: I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, even more so since I found out about hitRECord. I really dig the idea of online artistic collaboration, and given my interest in Hint Fiction I was enthusiastic when I heard about The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories. The book itself is very, very cute and hipstery. I like having it around the house.

But I thought the quality of the stories was uneven. A few of them are beautifully simple and meaningful. A few are clever and/or funny. Most of them are cute. Several are kind of obvious (the Midas touching himself thing: doesn't every kid think about that when they first hear the story of Midas?) and some are just plain cheesy. Some are eye-rollingly emo. I generally admired the art more than the words.

So yeah, this collection didn't amaze me, but I still enjoyed the few minutes I spent reading it.

Ingrid thought: I remember seeing an ad on BookRiot for this book a few months ago. There was a big banner that flashed the words "The universe is not made of atoms," it said, "it's made of tiny stories." I was intrigued. My final opinion of this book, though, is that it's just kind of meh. I mean, it's pretty cute, but not all that interesting. It almost seems like a kids book. Kids would love how small this book is (I think - kids like small stuff, right?) and they would like the pictures. If I were reading this to a kid, though, there would be a few I would skip, like this one:

So I'm not quite sure who the audience is supposed to be for this book.

Like Christina, I also thought some of the stories were cheesy ("When you become a ghost, feel free to haunt me.") A few of them I really liked and would love to have framed on my wall. Some uncomfortably reminded me of something Jonathan Safran Foer would write. ("If I read our story backwards, it's about how I unbroke your heart, and then we were happy until one day, you forgot about me forever.") Blech.

This is more like a collection of amusing little thoughts someone had and wrote them on little pieces of paper with doodles. Some are dumb and some are kinda cute. There isn't really anything that draws them together. I didn't love it.

Verdict: In between.

Reading Recommendations: They probably sell it at Urban Outfitters. You could just go there and read it, but then you wouldn't be supporting all the artists who contributed to it.

Warnings: Very light sexual innuendo maybe in one or two.

Favorite excerpts:

Top Ten Tuesday: Christina's Book Club Picks

pretty photo via

Ah, yes. Choosing a book for a book club is difficult, isn't it? I always feel like it's a stressful people-pleasing dilemma: it can't be too long or too difficult or too dirty or too disturbing; you have to take into account the individuals in the group- their backgrounds, interests, and comfort levels- to some extent. But then if you choose something too "safe", the group won't have anything to discuss.
I'm not sure I'm the best person to be offering advice in this department since my book group choices tend to be total flops (like the time only one person showed up for the discussion, or the time only one person finished the book because everyone else was so offended by it that they quit reading). But I'll do my best!

1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
There's so much going on in this book: comics, WWII, Antarctica, Judaica, Dali... I could go on and on, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some major ones since it's been a few years. There's plenty to talk about. It's very smartly written, too. (And it has one of my favorite literary crushes.)

2. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
This is a short, sweet, quick read with an unusual plot. It provides some interesting discussion points and Ms. Krauss' style is unusual enough that I think a good book group would be able to talk quite a bit about her writing; it's always nice to be able to move away from the story itself for a few minutes when you've got a good bookish discussion going.

3. Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
I've chosen this for book clubs twice, and it has flopped both times. But I still stand by it as a good choice: It's a quick read, but there's a ton to talk about. It's got some political issues that will likely get a heated discussion going, but Kingsolver's presentation isn't too heavy-handed (though I guess that could be debated- all the better!)

4. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
I've already mentioned Ms. Ali in my Inspirational list. This would be a great one to choose if the readers in your club enjoy discussing memoirs that deal with Real Issues. Infidel is a fascinating and eye-opening book for most Westerners, I think.

5. Atonement by Ian McEwan
I adored this book (here's my review) and if I had my druthers I'd make a bookclub read it and watch the film adaptation. Then we'd all compare our supersmart thoughts. And in that ideal world, everyone would love both the book and the movie as much as I do.

6. The Odyssey by Homer and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
I haven't actually read the latter yet, but I will soon. I think it'd be cool to split the book club into teams and have one team read The Odyssey and the other read The Penelopiad. Wouldn't that make for an interesting meeting?

7. Choose your own Award Winner
My mom's book club did this one month- each member chooses a different Newbery Medal book and then at the meeting each person gives a little report about the book they read. I think it's a great way to shake up the routine a little. You could do it with Pulitzer Prize winners or National Book Award winners or Nobel Prize winners.

8. Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
I read this for a book club, and I thought it was a great selection. We discussed apartheid, Paton's beautiful writing, and the symbolism and themes of the novel. This would also be a good book to read and discuss if you're interested in the outsider-writing-about-another-culture idea.

9. All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald
This is another memoir about The Issues (in this case gun control, desegregation busing, poverty/organized crime) that makes for some excellent discussion in a book group. It's an extremely quick read that packs a punch.

10. My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro edited by Jeffrey Eugenides
You thought I could write a whole post without mentioning Mr. Eugenides, right? HA! I'm reading this collection right now, and it would be a great choice for a February book club gathering. There are lots of different styles to compare and contrast, and you could have a really interesting discussion about what constitutes a love story and what doesn't.


Several of these selections are from a period when I was in a GREAT book club. We had awesome, honest discussions that were punctuated with food and drink. When I moved to Kazakhstan, the other bookclubbers gave me The Book Club Cookbook, an awesome compilation of book selections matched with recipes and profiles of real-life book clubs. If you are in a cooking book club, you've got to check it out! A lot of the choices on my list are in the cookbook.

I'm looking forward to your thoughts- have you discussed any of my picks with your book group?

Review: Hippie Boy by Ingrid Ricks

Reviewed by Ingrid

Published: 2011

It's about: Ingrid's parents divorced when she was young. Her mother remarries a yucky guy named Earl and her father is never around. Ingrid looks forward to the summers she spends with her father traveling across the country selling tools. Perhaps because her life at home with Earl is so difficult, Ingrid idolizes her father and loves spending time with him.

Ingrid's mother has had a difficult life and clings to her religion as a sort of buoy to keep her afloat. Earl senses this and takes advantage of her naïveté by patronizing and emotionally abusing her and her daughters. Ingrid struggles to find her sense of self within her family at home and in her relationship with her dad.

I thought: The only reason I bought this book was because the cover looked interesting, the author has the same name as me, and it was only $3.00 to buy on my kindle. Soon after I bought it I found out it was self-published, which doesn't surprise me. (The cover fooled me. Most covers of self-published books are poorly designed and have Papyrus or Comic Sans all over them.) Self-published books tend to be lower quality, mostly because no publishers will take it. I have a little bit of faith that there could be some quality self-published books out there. This, however, wasn't one of them.

This story was a huge pity fest. This is the stuff Lifetime movies are made of. (No offense Lifetime movies. I secretly watch you sometimes.) Because this book was a memoir, I want to make it clear that I totally respect Ingrid Ricks' experiences. However, I think her book was low quality. The writing was blah and uninteresting. The exaggerated characters were all good or all bad, and I had no pity for them - except for Ingrid's mom, who was so vulnerable and weak it bordered on pathetic. I felt bad for her, but not in an interesting, thought provoking way - more like in a Lifetime movie way.

Verdict: Because I felt so bad for the mom character, for some reason I feel bad putting this one in the Rubbish Bin. Let's say it's on the floor next to the rubbish bin.

Reading Recommendations: If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can read this book for free. If not, I wouldn't waste your money.

Warnings: A few mild swear words.

Excerpts:

"I took a seat on the other side of Mom and hugged her. Mom just sat and sobbed—harder than I had ever seen her. I couldn’t tell if she was crying because she was scared or had a broken heart. 'It’ll be okay,' I heard Connie say, doing her best to be the support system she always was to Mom. I wanted to agree with her but I couldn’t. Everything in the room was busted up or torn apart—just like our family. How could things ever be okay?"

What I'm reading next: Oh, I don't know. I thought I was going to read The Virgin Suicides but I think I'm going to read Middlemarch first.

Review: Love Times Three by Joe, Alina, Vicki, and Valerie Darger

Love Times Three: Our True Story of a Polygamous Marriage 

Reviewed by Ingrid

Published: 2011

It's about: Joe Darger has three wives - Alina, Vicki, and Valerie. Along with journalist Brooke Adams (the polygamy contributor for The Salt Lake Tribune,) in this memoir they explain why they chose to live this lifestyle and attempt to debunk false notions many, if not most people have about polygamy. Because polygamy is a felony in the state of Utah, the Darger's took a big chance publishing this book. They hope that people will see that they are normal, respectable people, not criminals. They hope to someday see the decriminalization of polygamy in the state of Utah.

The Dargers also explain their religious beliefs and share details of how they organize their day-to-day lives in one house with 20+ children.

I thought: I liked this book a lot. There are so many books out there about how horrible and abusive polygamy is (with titles like Escape, Favorite Wife, The Bigamist, Prophet's Prey, Church of Lies, Stolen Innocence, etc etc.) But, as this book attests, there are also many honest, good, educated people who practice polygamy. Anything that encourages empathy and open mindedness I support 100%, so I am all over this book.

I particularly liked the little details the wives shared about their daily lives. In one chapter,  Alina describes their home:

"We made decorating decisions together for the common areas of our home ... the common rooms are modestly furnished, in a traditional style and neutral colors. We let our designer talents shine in the bedrooms. Mine is traditional, with a robin's-egg blue and chocolate color scheme. Vicki's room has a Victorian look, while Val's bedroom has a beach cottage theme that uses shades of pink, green, and dusty blue."

This passage endeared the Darger family to me. I loved details like this. They're just like us, you guys! But seriously.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf.

via Harper Collins

Reading Recommendations: If you're interested in polygamy, I highly recommend you supplement readings of other, mostly negative memoirs with this positive one. I find that reading about polygamy from multiple points of view greatly increases my understanding and empathy for those whose lifestyle I don't necessarily agree with.

If you're interested in learning more about the Darger's, check out their website or follow them on twitter. They also were on NPR to discuss their book on Talk of the Nation.

Warnings: None, trust me. These people come from a very conservative background. Though we're all curious, they don't expand at all on what goes on in the bedroom. (Though I'm a little ashamed to admit it - I'm DYING to know what the wedding night was like after Joe married Vicki and Alina on the same day.)

Favorite excerpts:
"Val, and I each believe we are Joe’s eternal soul mate. But we consider each other to be soul mates, too. It’s that belief in our female connection that drives our commitment to each other and gets us through tough times. Our friendship and love have grown over the years, to the point where the little jealousies are far outweighed by the knowledge that my sister wives always have my back."

What I'm reading next: Hippie Boy by Ingrid Ricks

Other books I've reviewed about polygamy:
Hidden Wives by Claire Avery
Daughter of the Saints by Dorothy Allred Solomon
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

Moby Dick Readalong: Chapters 56-93

Jan 9: Introduction

Jan 12: Chapters 1-26

Jan 19: Chapters 27-55

Jan 26: Chapters 56-93

Feb 2: Chapter 94-epilogue

Here we are at the end of chapter 93! We're getting close to the end! Here's what happened in this section:
---------------------
Ishmael tells us that he likes certain French engravings of whales and considers them quite decent. There are also depictions of whales made from other materials, such as teeth, wood, stones, and stars.

The Pequod is quite far out to sea by this time. The sea is wide and terrible, and Ishmael claims that "man has lost that sense of the full awfulness of the sea which aboriginally belongs to it." The relationship of the sea to the land is analogy to something within the self, Ishmael says, "For as this appalling ocean surounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horrors of the half known life. God keep thee! Push not off from that isle, thou canst never return!" (Spooky.)

Oh! The great white whale is spotted in the distance! The boats are lowered, the men go after him - however, they turn back when they see a huge squid which is very bad luck. Bummer.

Ishmael describes how ropes are used on the ship. Stubb kills a sperm whale. The process of harpooning a whale is exhausting, we're told. (Reading about it can be a little exhausting too...)
Stubb eats a whale steak for dinner. Sharks gather around the freshly killed whale which is still in the water. Stubb reprimands the cook for not cooking his steak to his liking.

Ishmael discusses the whale as a dish, which parts are eaten, what they taste like, etc. Sharks continue to feed on the whale corpse in a frenzy. They seem to be possessed by devils.

The men cut the blubber from the whale using a large hook. Whales have a thick coat of blubber around their bodies to keep them warm, but around their very outside they have a thin, transparent, vulnerable skin. The big white blob of what's left of the whale is pulled alongside the ship, and Ishmael believes its ghost may be following as well. Ahab peers down the side of the ship at the head, wondering what mysteries of the sea it has seen.

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