A tiny bookish break in your day...

Hi there!

Welcome back to another exciting week here at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers….the place to bookishly celebrate the New Year every day of the week.

We're doing things a little different today as the featured title is a "little" different as well.  Check out the book trailer below for a glimpse at the creative wonder we'll be exploring....

Today’s post may be tiny in stature but it’s big on content.  It shows how much can be said with so very few words…and just how an accompanying pen and ink drawing can help to bring it all to life.  In keeping with the spirit of the book, I’m aiming for a short post today (stop laughing…I can do it!).  May I please introduce the book of choice?  Thank you!  Today's featured title is.….

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Volume 1

From

HITRECORD and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Yes, that double take you just did WAS warranted as the “director” of the project is a famous actor (aka RegularJOE)…and yes, I said director.  You see this unique little creation is a group effort in which stories submitted on their website are worked, tweaked and finalized to reveal the true splendor within.  In other words, YOU can contribute, possibly be included in a future volume, and help other creative souls like yourself reach their full potential despite the miles between you.  Pretty cool, right?  I thought so.

From the wondrous packaging of the words to the illustrations lighting up each page with even more imagination, this is not merely a book but a work of art.  Each page has some profound or amusing tale relayed in as few words as possible but always getting to the heart of the matter.  My favorite?  Hard pressed to narrow it down to merely one as so many will speak to you as you page your way through this one, however being the book fan that I am page 68 and 69 expressed the joy of a trip to the bookstore rather well.  If I may quote….

“His hands were weak and shaking from carrying far too many books from the bookshop.

It was the best feeling.”

See?  Add to that the included illustration of a young lad peering over same said stack and it’s irresistible.  There’s hardly a page turned where a smile, thoughtful pause, or tear can’t be found.  Don't believe me?  Check out this two page spread of wonder...

...or perhaps for something a tad more sinister....

O-O.

The mini-versions of the interior images included within the front and back covers add to the overall whimsy of the book and give readers something else to explore as they prepare to take a tiny trip to the land of the written word. 

At book’s end, you are left with this parting phrase….

The universe is not made of atoms; it’s made of tiny stories.

How poetic and yet so very true.  So I ask you readers...what will be your contribution to the tiny story you star in today?  Whatever it may be, make it count.

Recommended read for all ages as some aspect of the work can be enjoyed by one and all.  Little ones will enjoy the illustrations, older children the humor, adults the combination of both as well as the tiny details included within each.  It’s truly a remarkable work and plainly shows that it’s not the length of a book that matters so much as the content.  Review copy received courtesy of Joel at It Books / HarperCollins Publishers.  (Thanks!)  For more information about this title as well as their full catalog of works, seek them out online, or follow along on Twitter.

Until next time…happy reading...stories BIG and small!