Speck: A Curious Collection of Uncommon Things

I saw this book in the store and then left it behind in a mad fit at register lines that were too long. Two days later, I was back in the store--couldn't let it go. I love this book. It fits somehow with Drawing from Life: The Journal as Art, and I wonder if the two books have the same editor? It's a collection of views into other people's minds, affirmation of things I've thought to do and never followed up on (had my own collection of cat whiskers until I moved). I wish it had a little more background on HOW these artists managed their inventory--my experience suggests that for every "finished" and shared project, there are dozens in the wings, cluttering up the studio. But OK. Think Edward Tufte on Small Multiples--what an amazing amount of information is generated when information is collected and presented over time. Did I say I love this book?

This is one to buy for yourself and buy for your friends. It's for anyone who needs to be reminded that when we think outside the box, we come up with wonderful ideas. Read the editorial reviews and believe them - this is a strange, weird, wild book. I've grabbed family members and friends and made them sit down with it. I've put it on the Staff Picks shelf at the book store where I work. Personal favorites: the drawn lines showing the movement on different subway lines in NYC, and the collection of different rock samples and soil samples belonging to a barber in the city. These strange collections are actually very moving, very haunting and human. After you look at this book, try looking up other books published by Princeton Architectural Press, which is bringing out some of the best books around - they also did PHOTOBOOTH by Babette Hines, and YOU ARE HERE by Katherine Harmon.

This collection is an absolute pleasure to browse. Rising like a phoenix from all the "stuff" we usually overlook, Buchanan-Smith has compiled a work - both sublime and stark - that forces the reader to acknowledge the potential value of everything.

Speck is billed as a 'curious collection of uncommon things': from close-up photos of lint to very different bottles of sand from beaches around the world, this pairs unusual images of common things with reflections on what makes them unique. Packed with color photos and intriguing essays.

An excellent book about those things in our visual landscape that we overlook, under appreciate, or simply see differently. Speck makes you want to go out, look around, and take in the world through new, more creative eyes. Inspiring, informative, and fun. Plus it's simply beautiful to look at it--full of fine photography and all manner of striking images. You'll keep going back to it. Highly recommended.