HitRECord | Book Chatter

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories – Volume #2
By Joseph Gorgon-Levitt
(It Books, November 2012, 128pp.)

The Short of It:

A marvelous little package of creativity.

The Rest of It:

This is another, amazing collection of stories and illustrations in the Tiny Book series. I reviewed Volume 1 last year and was so taken with the project in general, that I didn’t hesitate even for a moment when Volume 2 was offered to me earlier this year. HitRECord, founded by Joseph Gordon-Levitt invites writers and illustrators to contribute to these volumes via the HitRECord website.

These works are short, super short. We’re talking one to two pages long with only a few lines of text. The novelty is that it’s tiny, can be held in a pocket and whipped out whenever you have a moment. My daughter walked off with Volume 1, but I’ve had Volume 2 on my desk for a couple of weeks now and I can’t tell you how many have stopped by to check it out.

Here are just a couple of my favorite stories/illustrations. The first contributed by Metaphorist and TheSerpentTheCharmer, and the second by mprather75 and aamanddacc.

What I like about this series is that it makes art and stories accessible to all people, even non-readers. There is not one person I’ve shown this book to that did not find it interesting in some way. And the book itself is just lovely! I can’t wait to have the entire series sitting on my shelf.

Do check out the website if you are interested because there are a lot of videos to watch too.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories
By Joseph Gordon-Levitt
(It Books, Hardcover, 9780062121660, December 2011, 88pp.)

The Short of It:

A short, snappy little book filled with creativity.

The Rest of It:

When I first heard about this little gem, I knew I had to read it for myself. HitRECord, founded by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun, Inception, 10 Things I Hate About You) reviewed contributions from thousands of writers and artists to create this collection. The stories are only one or two pages long. Some are humorous, some of thought-provoking but the real challenge here is telling a story in just one or two pages complete with illustrations.

The book itself is very well done. It would make a fabulous gift and honestly speaking, the writing is pretty clever, too. I also enjoyed the illustrations. When it came in the mail, The Girl took off with it thinking it was for her. She read about half of the stories and then asked if she could keep it. Uh, no. Maybe later, like after I’ve read it! So you see, it’s a tasty little morsel.

Here’s one of my faves from the collection. Click on the photo a couple of times to view it larger.

Aside from all the fun of reading a book like this, I think it’s important for people to be able to feel as if they have a creative outlet. Often, we want to be creative but the process often seems too difficult or overwhelming. If you are an artist who would like to contribute works for volume 2, check out the web site.

Also, here’s a video to tell you a little more about it: