Taking Things Seriously is a wonder cabinet of seventy-five unlikely thingamajigs that have been invested with significance and transformed into totems, talismans, charms, relics, and fetishes: scraps of movie posters scavenged from the streets of New York by Low Life author Luc Sante; the World War I helmet that inoculated social critic Thomas Frank against jingoism; the trash-picked, robot-shaped hairdo machine described by its owner as a chick magnet; the bagelburned by actor Christopher Walken, moonlighting as a short-order cook. The owners of these objects convey their excitement in short, often poignant essays that invite readers to participate in the enjoyable act of interpreting things. You'll never look at the bric-a-brac on your shelves the same way again.
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Book Description
We all have something in our lives that while not obviously valuable, is displayed as though it were a precious and irreplaceable artifact. Inquire about the object's provenance and you'll likely be treated to a lively anecdote about how it came into your host's possession. Keep digging, and you might even crack the code of what the thing really means.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
In an age when we're obsessed with the design, provenance, and value of every objects around us, these 75 short essays and photographs honor those magical, mysterious items that wiggle their way into our lives, and somehow into our hearts....eclectic group of creatives who eloquently describe their little pieces of Nothing Special--and why they mean everything to them. -- StepInside Design, December 2007
Short essays about treasured possessions, by artists, designers, writers and performers. The cartoonist and musician recalls playing with an assortment of rubber animals as a boy, 'acting out battles, domestic scenes, everything.' But the star was always Sunshine, above: 'one special little yellow pig.' -- New York Times Book Review, August 2007
Taking Things Seriously is a process, an experience in looking and interpreting, reminding us to take a good look at all the ordinary things around and to realize that they are each far more just that. -- FiveandaHalf.net, September 17, 2007
The Must List #9. Proving one man's trash is another's treasure, this collection of photos and essays shows how the unlikliest of things can provide inspiration. -- Entertainment Weekly, October 26, 2007
delightful, often hilarious -- Dwell, December 2007
Short essays about treasured possessions, by artists, designers, writers and performers. The cartoonist and musician recalls playing with an assortment of rubber animals as a boy, 'acting out battles, domestic scenes, everything.' But the star was always Sunshine, above: 'one special little yellow pig.' -- New York Times Book Review, August 2007
Taking Things Seriously is a process, an experience in looking and interpreting, reminding us to take a good look at all the ordinary things around and to realize that they are each far more just that. -- FiveandaHalf.net, September 17, 2007
The Must List #9. Proving one man's trash is another's treasure, this collection of photos and essays shows how the unlikliest of things can provide inspiration. -- Entertainment Weekly, October 26, 2007
delightful, often hilarious -- Dwell, December 2007
About the Author
Joshua Glenn is a Boston-based writer and editor at the Boston Globe.
Carol Hayes is an award-winning designer and artist. She lives in Brooklyn.
Carol Hayes is an award-winning designer and artist. She lives in Brooklyn.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a real original. It's great to pick up and enjoy, then pick it up again later and enjoy some more.
It encompasses something everyone does and hardly anyone really thinks about...hoarding/collecting stuff that is really important only to you. It puts a perspective on people's emotional ties to sometimes useless things. I had a lot fun reading it and sharing it.
Pat D.
It encompasses something everyone does and hardly anyone really thinks about...hoarding/collecting stuff that is really important only to you. It puts a perspective on people's emotional ties to sometimes useless things. I had a lot fun reading it and sharing it.
Pat D.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By C-
Format:Paperback
If you are somebody that enjoys things or objects, or even if you don't, this book is great fun to read. If you know somebody that tends to find interest in life - you should buy this book for them. If you know somebody that does not tend to find interest in life - you should buy this book for them, maybe it will help.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What a gem! This is easily one of my favorite books of the year. Elegantly written adorned with beautiful images, I implore you to rush right out and buy a copy for youself--and another for a friend! Top notch stuff here. It's a keeper!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book I know of its kind
Trash digger, dumpster diver, urban scavenger-repurposer, call me what you like; I happen to have a keen eye for the potential of an object of which another person has relinquished... Read more
Published on March 17, 2011 by Byron Case
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Intriguing compilation of stories about Stuff.
Most readers will wish, as I did, that THEY had thought to compile and edit a book like this. Or at least that they had been called upon to contribute an essay to this collection... Read more
Published on July 15, 2008 by Peregrine St. Clair
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Kind of Materialism
This was such a delightful read. Each of these (mostly short) essays extols a particular object which might, at first glance, seem like a piece of junk. Read more
Published on October 16, 2007 by Jonah Lehrer
5.0 out of 5 stars
A plate of toothsome canapés
A beautifully presented collection of bite-sized insights into objects and the minds of their owners. A coffee table without this book is a naked coffee table.
Published on September 16, 2007 by Mr. Patrick Cates
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm the co-editor, so I'm biased
I'm very pleased with the critical response! This book would make an excellent gift, and it was supposed to come out nearer to the holiday season for that reason... Read more
Published on September 5, 2007 by Joshua Glenn
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