25 Book Ideas
Ideas for some books that probably haven't been written yet.
A book that comes in a ring binder with the author and title scribbled in sharpie on the front. All the pages look like they’ve been scanned and xeroxed multiple times. Edition of 50.
A book of poems with each poem printed on a separate sheet of cardstock, all housed loose in a Mylar pouch. Author and title printed on a sticker stuck to the front. Edition of 100.
A book left submerged in a creek overnight. Edition of 25.
A book of short stories where the title of each story is a set of precise geographical coordinates, with one copy of the book left at each named location. Edition dependent on number of stories within.
A book which is only sold from the trunk of a Honda Civic parked on a specific street corner between the hours of 9:00pm and 5:00am. Edition of 500.
A book with a word count of 62,872 entitled 62,872 Words. Edition of 100.
A book which can only be purchased by sending a nude picture of yourself to the publisher. Edition of 30.
A book presented in the form of a dusty old shoebox full of postcards, telegrams, various baubles and knick-knacks, a leather wallet, a stack of canceled checks. At the bottom of the box is a death certificate issued by a fictional government. Edition of 10.
A book documenting attempts at convincingly forging the signatures of various Modernist poets. Alternately, a book documenting attempts at convincingly forging the signature of a single Modernist poet, until perfection. Edition of 25.
A book written entirely in lowercase, with no punctuation save periods, commas, and line breaks. Emphatically NOT a work of poetry. Edition of 300.
A book containing a single number which is totally unique, and has never been represented or even conceived of at any time anywhere in the world before. The number is, in itself, artistically compelling. Edition of 30.
A book of stories or poems where each story or poem is accompanied by a “Smell Card” that, when scratched, releases an odor. Each card’s odor is more unpleasant than the last. None of the odors have any direct connection to whatever the story or poem is about. Edition of 100.
A book without a purpose. Edition unlimited.
A book printed on a 3 1/8in x 230ft thermal paper receipt roll with a grammage of 55. Edition of 50.
A book of religious texts with a cinderblock on top of it. Unique.
A book with no title or credited author, bound in oil-stained burlap. Edition of 25.
A book of photographs of pages of other books. One photograph of one page per page. Edition equivalent to the number of unique books photographed.
A book printed on strips of scavenged birch bark, bound together with loops of fishing line. Edition of 5.
A book whose ostensible publication date is continually pushed back, each announcement of postponement accompanied by a press release which includes increasingly elaborate, spectacular claims about the text and its presentation. These press releases are eventually compiled and released in place of the book, which itself is never published, and may or may not exist. Edition of 888.
A book completely encased in red wax; stamped on the spine with the publisher’s seal, and on the block with the author’s seal. Edition of 30.
A book entitled Crime, printed and bound using stolen paper, glue, machinery, etc. Edition of 10.
A book of “seasonal poetry” available only through mail order, the text of which varies dependent on the date the order is postmarked. Edition of 366.
A book that falls apart like a rotten log upon being opened. Unique.
A book where each copy is written by hand on whatever scrap paper its author has lying around. Edition unlimited.
A book that takes legally-binding responsibility for the eventual, inevitable deaths of its readers, proactively absolving any others who, in the future, might otherwise be blamed for hastening their passing, or even directly causing it. Distributed for free on street corners, anonymously. Edition unlimited.