Before I get into the topic of this post, I just wanted to remind you that voting for Book Blogger Appreciation Week is only open through this Saturday, September 12. So, if you’d still like to vote for Books on the Nightstand in our three categories (Best General Blog, Best Book Group Blog and Most Eclectic Taste), do it soon!
And now, speaking of “eclectic taste…” In the world of book sales and publishing, there are many shorthand phrases used to describe books: “readable” is usually used to describe a non-fiction book that has a good narrative flow and isn’t too dense; “reminiscent of the author’s earlier work” means the new book is better than the author’s last book. And then there’s “bathroom book.” Of course, you can tell that this is a book meant to be read when you’ve got a few extra minutes of “down time.” Short sections, often humorous, you know the type of book I’m talking about. Well, I’ve got two new books for you to put next to the “best seat in the house!”
The World According to Twitter by David Pogue – Pogue began this experiment by posting a question on Twitter, every night around 11pm. 95 questions and 25,000 answers later, we have the best of the best in this book. For instance “Take a common abbreviation and tell us what it really stands for” (@jakemates came up with “AIG – Arrogance Incompetence and Greed”) or “Write a brilliantly gripping first line of a new novel” (@rkarolius says “You’d never think buying a goldfish could trigger the Apocalypse, but I guess you really do learn something new every day.” By far, the most ridiculous and hilarious one I’ve come across so far is by @pumpkinshirt. He submitted 462 answers across all questions. They were so good, David Pogue, his assistant and his editors were only able to winnow that number down to 155 answers which made it into the final book. Pogue asked ” Make up a new Internet abbreviation.” @pumpkinshirt answered “YWKHSLIC: You wouldn’t know her, she lives in Canada.” Hilarious!
You are One-Third Daffodil compiled by Tom Nuttall – This is one of those “quirky-facts-you-didn’t-know-you-needed-to-know” kinds of books. Some of the facts of funny, some are horrifying, most are just plain unbelievable. A sampling:
- Until the late 1960s, men with long hair were not allowed to enter Disneyland.
- Isaac Newton invented the cat door.
- In 1976, the United States had 30 percent of the world’s college students. By 2006, that had dropped to 14 percent.
- For every insurgent killed in Iraq, 250,000 bullets have been fired.
Every fact listed, includes the source, but no further information. I firmly believe that this book will lead to increased Googling on the part of everyone who picks it up. But be warned: this is one of those books that will have you saying “I’ll just read a few more…”
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The World According to Twitter edited by David Pogue, Black Dog & Leventhal trade paperbackt
You are One-Third Daffodil compiled by Tom Nuttall, Broadway Books trade paperback
Have a comment, question, or book recommendation? Call our voicemail line and wait for the beep. Tell us if we may play your message on a future podcast.
Hi Michael,
Ann here, your friendly Books on the Nightstand co-host. You may have noticed that I added the “by Michael” image at the top of the post. I had to do it, since I didn’t want our sophisticated readers thinking that *I* would write a post about such an indelicate subject. In our home, we confine our reading material to the proper areas of the house. Tsk, tsk, I certainly hope nobody is offended.
I do want to say that I also had a great time reading The World According to Twitter. In fact, I still have a few pages left. I intend on finishing it tonight, as soon as I retrieve it from the ba…, er, library.
well this just cracks me up!!
I never understood why my dad always grabbed a book when he went there. I mean, I guess I’m too busy thinking about, well, er, you know. Now that I think about it, maybe the distraction would be um, ***clears throat** helpful.
Thanks for all you guys do!
These are two great suggestions. They’d be great for long car rides too – as long as I’m not the one driving of course.
I like to read The Sandman when I’m in that place. Heh.
LOL. I love the Twitter book. Hilarious. And clever. Will definitely have to look for that at my library!
I usually keep a magazine handy for its glossy pics and quick reads, but these were 2 great suggestions. Sometimes it’s the quietest place in the house to read.
And to set the record straight, they are kept there for my leisurely soaks in the bath…ummm, yeah, that’s it.
(I might just be that Canadian girl pumpkin shirt was talking about
)
There’s an episode of Seinfeld where George takes a book into the restroom at a bookstore. Somehow, the clerks “know” it’s been in the bathroom just by glancing at it, force George to purchase the stigmatized book and refuse to accept it as a return later! He spends the rest of the episode trying to trick the store into accepting it as a return…
For reasons I can’t explain (because I just don’t know) I can’t stand having printed material in the bathroom! It’s the only place in the house that does not have a book in it! Interestingly, in the years I had pretensions of being an artist, I would keep trivia books, puzzle books, joke books, almanacs and atlases in my studio and pour though them when I was suffering from the painter’s equivalent of writer’s block!
I think that may be one of the few Seinfeld episodes I’ve never seen Tanya! I’ll have to look for it…
Interesting to hear that trivia books, etc. helped with your “painter’s block”
Brilliant! That solves Christmas for all the men I know.
Oh my god, this is so funny! Both of these books are in my “throne room” as well… interesting.
Congrats on your BBAW win! I am a new follower.
♥Nely
CONGRATULATIONS on your win in BBAW – Most Eclectic Book Blog
Well deserved!!
You Are One Third Daffodil sounds like my kind of book. I love weird facts!
Dammit!
I just entered a long and comprehensive comment, and when I hit the submit button my Internet Explorer freaked out.
Was it somehow saved or do I need to retype the whole thing?