Customer Reviews

Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

How often do you drop your used shopping lists into the shredder? I would expect you would reply, "Never". And because of this, Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found, by Bill Keaggy, was born.

I was just walking by a bookshelf when my eyes lingered for an extra second on this book. I think my first impression was that it was a cookbook by some over-the-hill rock stars... I mean, milk, eggs, and vodka? But where was the subtitle, "Meatloaf's/Pink Floyd's/Grand Funk's roadie cookbook."

Then I caught the real subtitle: "Grocery Lists Lost and Found."

It was intriguing enough that I picked it up off the shelf.

This was a really entertaining collection of real shopping lists, with the wrinkles and creases, the torn edges, the use of scrap paper, the misspellings, and America's diet (there is a reason obesity rates are on the rise) all laid out in their glory.

There is enough of a collection that at least one of these discarded lists will look familiar.

Is it yours?

Fine literature these lists, and this book, are not. However, the collection was interesting to peruse, and I'll bet this would be a great icebreaker at a party (take turns trying to read the lists on each page... "hookers and blow"?). This book would also be a great present for that friend or family member with that good sense of humor.

Now that I've read Milk Eggs Vodka, I suspect I will pay a bit closer attention to what I write down on that scrap of newspaper. After all, Bill Keaggy may be the next person to use my grocery cart.

Just got my copy of this one a few days ago. Really very funny. The book covers all manner of grocery lists, from those filled with dreadful mispellings (my lord, our education system is in the toilet), to the totally absurb. That someone actually made a list consisting of stamps, fish and "undies" is pretty funny. There's another with cellophane, garlic bread, butter, eggs, hookers and blow. Makes you wonder what kind of party they were having.... There's also a great deal of commentary from the author on food facts and our peculiar list-making obsessions. I think another reason why the book is so cool is the look and feel of it. Some books are just so nicely designed you want to own them for that aspect of their appeal alone. This one certainly measures up to that standard. The design reminds me a bit of Post Secret. The content is, as noted in another review, similar to what you'll find in Found (which I also have). But personally Milk Eggs Vodka made me laugh a lot more than Found did. Maybe it was the focus of the material or the author's sense of humor, or my own quirks, I'm not sure. A good time, regardless.

Bill Keagy shares his love of the unusual, your discard shopping list. At his website and his book, Milk Eggs Vodka, we get to see what some people are shopping for, as well as Keagy's humorous commentary. It is completely amazing to see the misspellings and how our own shopping list can be seen as a source of amusement for others. This book is funny and irreverent and worth taking a peek.

This book presents an undeniably intriguing concept. It's hard to imagine how much fun it can be to peruse other people's trash until you actually try it for yourself. And there's nothing inherently wrong with Keaggy's book, aside from the fact that this particular idea has been done before, and much more effectively.

You see, for several years, there has been a magazine called Found, which takes reader submitted finds, including shopping lists, love notes, photographs, and all sorts of other things, and publishes these bits of trash. The result is a stunning collection of micro-stories that feel incredibly real, because they are. Found Magazine has spawned two books, a website and I believe a CD. And it existed years before Milk Eggs Vodka was published. Perhaps most telling is the fact that a single issue of Found contains more items, and more variety, than this entire book. Found did it first, and Found does it better.

That's not to say Milk Eggs Vodka is not worth checking out. There is certainly some interesting stuff to be found here (pun only slightly intentional). But I definitely recommend that you investigate Found (each issue is only $5) before you spend $20 on this.

Gave this gift to an English Professor and then bought one for myself. It is unique enough for the coffee table and fun to read aloud with the family. Seeing photos of the grocery lists makes you feel like a spy into our commercial culture.

This is a very clever book. I like how it is in full color and is organized very creatively. My reccommendation is that you read the lists FIRST, then read what Bill Keaggy has to say. Sometimes it's not funny if you read his snipit first. I also love how he created some recipes based on the lists he's found. I can't wait to try some out. Very good book to add to your collection.

This book had me laughing so hard in the bookstore I just had to buy it. The lists themselves are great...but when you have the Jimney Cricket remarks of author Bill Keaggy they become hysterical. I can read sections over and over and still crack up! He gives the lists personality and a very creative edge -- like. "Stop Smoking Bad Mom!" Get this book you will never look at lists the same way again!

If you're into quirky, voyeuristic looks into other peoples lives, you'll love this. Some of the commentary on the lists is a little pointless, but the lists provide more than enough humor. On the other hand, if you looked at this page wondering why anyone would want a book of other people's grocery lists, stay far away.

One of the funniest books ever! Buy a copy. You will not regret it.

I heard "Bob & Sheri" discussing this book and they made it seem so funny I ordered it the same day it was featured on their nationally syndicated radio program. There were some funny spots but it was not the cover-to-cover laugh riot that I had hoped for.