Grooks

I read (and owned) this whole series when they first came out, and got in the habit of buying extra copies to give deserving friends. Unfortunately I only still have the first three, due to the trials of moving :-( It boggles my mind that they are no longer in print, as the wit and wisdom contained in these slender volumes belies the brevity of their format. I heard a rumor that they are going to go back into production sometime soon - if true I will probably buy a dozen of each for goft giving ;-)

The Grooks of Danish multitalent Piet Hein belong on everyone's bookshelf. And they deserve to be taken out and read in. And to be thought aboutThe amazing genius of Piet Hein is that his thoughts about life, about the small and the big things - but never unimportant things! - are short and at first sight simple, yet they say more than a Ph.D. thesis on Philosophy.Therefore even the most illiterate will be happy about every single dime she or he spends on a Piet Hein book. Of course you get more for the money if you buy his collected Grooks.

Piet Hein, scientist and mathematician, is one of the remarkable minds of the twentieth century. His Grooks are among the wittiest, most unobvious, most thought-provoking, most pleasing epigrams anywhere. They take the form of short rhymes, usually good-humoured, always unpretentious, always rewarding. They are easy to read and always enjoyable. They are widely known, but I cannot understand why they are not universally known. They have given me and my family, and friends to whom we have shown them, great pleasure, and we are grateful and admiring.

- Grook$ -/ If thoughts profound/ Sold by the pound/ Your price would be/ Infinity.

Piet Hein's grooks are unique and wonderful. Knowing and using them has greatly enriched my life. I have and know of 6 distinct grook books in english, along with various subsets published under other titles. Profoundly wise and witty, these rhyming aphorisms aptly observe many facets of life, often with delightful multilevel insight and playfulness. Each gruk is on it's own page with it's own revealing title and small illustrative sketch. Hein's Grooks are gems that grace and enliven reflective experience. They are unique and precious. This is unsentimental evaluation, not hyperbole. Despite his grook to 'shun advice at any price, that's what i'd call good advice', i heartily reccommend them to all humorous and reflective people. His Grooks aptly manifest his grook: 'Taking fun as simply fun, and earnestness in earnest, shows how thoroughly thou, none of the two discernest'. The books are hard to find. I have made a text file of many of the grooks.