HitRECord’s collaborative coalition of artists and writers are making history with The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, a collection of ...
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reviews
Jan 24, 2012
Jenn
rated it: 
This is a fairly twee and in many ways adorable book produced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt's hitRECord open-collaborative creative arts company. The book's cover boasts that it features "67 contributors from the 8,569 contributions on the Tiny Stories collaboration on hitRECord.org." Contributions are both very, very tiny stories (never more than two sentences) and black-and-white hand drawings. The concept itself is to take online submissions, under online user names like wirrow (the main
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Jan 22, 2012
Jenny
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I'll admit up front that part of the reason I wanted to review this is because it was associated with Joseph Gordon-Levitt who I love as an actor. But, also, the book sounded so unique. This book is essentially a compilation of the contributions to Gordon-Levitt's production company hitRECord where artists of all types tell tiny, but impactful, stories utilizing a combination of words and art.
The book is actually tiny and adorable. I read it as soon as it came in the mail, and it took More...
The book is actually tiny and adorable. I read it as soon as it came in the mail, and it took More...
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Jan 06, 2012
Elizabeth
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If you enjoy storytelling and collaborative artforms, THE TINY BOOK OF TINY STORIES volume 1 is a treasure waiting to be discovered.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (yes, the actor) is the director of hitRECord, an "open-collaborative production company," which encourages anyone to contribute "records" (creative content) that others can use in collaborative projects, some of which get produced and sold. They split profits 50/50 with contributors, and use their cut to finance More...
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (yes, the actor) is the director of hitRECord, an "open-collaborative production company," which encourages anyone to contribute "records" (creative content) that others can use in collaborative projects, some of which get produced and sold. They split profits 50/50 with contributors, and use their cut to finance More...
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Jan 05, 2012
Ti
rated it: 
The Short of It:
A short, snappy little book filled with creativity.
The Rest of It:
When I first heard about this little gem, I knew I had to read it for myself. HitRECord, founded by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun, Inception, 10 Things I Hate About You) reviewed contributions from thousands of writers and artists to create this collection. The stories are only one or two pages long. Some are humorous, some of thought-provoking but the real challen More...
A short, snappy little book filled with creativity.
The Rest of It:
When I first heard about this little gem, I knew I had to read it for myself. HitRECord, founded by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun, Inception, 10 Things I Hate About You) reviewed contributions from thousands of writers and artists to create this collection. The stories are only one or two pages long. Some are humorous, some of thought-provoking but the real challen More...
Dec 13, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
When I got the query letter that compared this to PostSecret and the Six Word Memoirs books, I knew this was a book I had to read, and I am so glad I did get that pitch. This book is magic.
I will admit that I have a complete obsession with books like that. I love small glimpses into people's lives and seeing things I completely relate to and things I don't understand at all. This book isn't exactly like that, but there are definite similarities. This is more like incredibly short More...
I will admit that I have a complete obsession with books like that. I love small glimpses into people's lives and seeing things I completely relate to and things I don't understand at all. This book isn't exactly like that, but there are definite similarities. This is more like incredibly short More...
Feb 02, 2012
Gaby
rated it:
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories (Vol. 1) by HitRecord and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was selected as an Amazon Best Book of December 2011. It's a gem of tiny (as opposed to short) stories.
The stories are so tiny that they take up a page or two at the most. While these stories are more like poems, puns, riddles, and sophisticated cartoons (think New Yorker), I found the selections brilliant. A mix of whimsy, humor, wryness, and quirky (in the best possible way), The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories More...
The stories are so tiny that they take up a page or two at the most. While these stories are more like poems, puns, riddles, and sophisticated cartoons (think New Yorker), I found the selections brilliant. A mix of whimsy, humor, wryness, and quirky (in the best possible way), The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories More...
Dec 17, 2011
Nancy
rated it:
HitRECord’s collaborative coalition of artists and writers are making history with The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, a collection of innovative crowd-sourced creative projects that pushes the limits of originality, cooperation, imagination, and inspiration. HitRECord, a grassroots creative collective founded by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known worldwide for his performances in (500) Days of Summer and Inception, is a forum where thousands of artists worldwide share work and contribute to
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Jan 07, 2012
Brittany
rated it:
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories is a collaborative effort put together by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. hitRECord is an online art spectacular filled to the brim with talent. Anyone can sign up and contribute in any way.
In this first volume of the tiny book series, there are one to two sentences for each story and they are accompanied by an illustration. The stories all make you think and expand your imagination a little bit further. Some are cute, some are sad and some are strange. They are More...
In this first volume of the tiny book series, there are one to two sentences for each story and they are accompanied by an illustration. The stories all make you think and expand your imagination a little bit further. Some are cute, some are sad and some are strange. They are More...
Feb 08, 2012
Marie
rated it:
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories is filled with tiny stories and illustrations. Each story is no longer than a few sentences and is accompanied by a tiny illustration. The whole book is "a collection of innovative crowd-sourced creative projects that pushes the limits of originality, cooperation, imagination, and inspiration."
This is such a delightful little book. It definitely has a little something for everyone. The stories and illustrations are varied in theme and styl More...
This is such a delightful little book. It definitely has a little something for everyone. The stories and illustrations are varied in theme and styl More...
Jan 18, 2012
Gmr
rated it:
Yes, that double take you just did WAS warranted as the “director” of the project is a famous actor (aka RegularJOE)…and yes, I said director. You see this unique little creation is a group effort in which stories submitted on their website are worked, tweaked and finalized to reveal the true splendor within. In other words, YOU can contribute, possibly be included in a future volume, and help other creative souls like yourself reach their full potential despite the miles between you.
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Dec 29, 2011
Mackenzie
rated it:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is not the first celebrity to have published a (non-autobiographical) book. John Lennon did it twice, James Franco has done it, Stephen Gately has done it and, next year, Chris Colfer will do it. But if publishing a work of fiction is some sort of competition, it is Gordon-Levitt who has the biggest chance of winning the race... simply because his efforts produce the most heartwarming effect at all.
Don't get it wrong - he didn't write the contents of the small bo More...
Don't get it wrong - he didn't write the contents of the small bo More...
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Dec 13, 2011
Bells
rated it:
Most people hear the name Joseph Gordon-Levitt and know him from the various movies that he has acted in. But he's also involved in a project with a company that he has started. HitRECord allows artists worldwide the chance to share their works with one another and then are remixed by their peers. Music, art, and videos are uploaded to the site where anyone can view them. Now this book may be little, but you don't think about that once you get the chance to read the entertaining tiny stories i
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Dec 27, 2011
Serena
rated it:
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories Volume 1 by Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a collection of short stories and illustrations. hitRECord is an open, collaborative website joining musicians, authors, illustrators, and other artistic people in the creative process. The book itself is short with a mere 83 pages, very little text, but engaging images.
Some of these stories are witty and play on old wives tales and sayings, while others use text as an image to convey their messages. A quick read over More...
Some of these stories are witty and play on old wives tales and sayings, while others use text as an image to convey their messages. A quick read over More...
Jan 23, 2012
Angelc
rated it:
This tiny little book is so original and refreshing. I gobbled it down in one sitting, and I simply adored all of the thought provoking tiny stories and beautiful, quirky illustrations.
The most interesting part about the tiny stories is that you can really make up the rest of the story yourself. They all definitely have a beginning, middle, and end, but the rest of the story is up for interpretation. It really makes every one's experience of reading the stories different.
It m More...
The most interesting part about the tiny stories is that you can really make up the rest of the story yourself. They all definitely have a beginning, middle, and end, but the rest of the story is up for interpretation. It really makes every one's experience of reading the stories different.
It m More...
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Jan 10, 2012
Natasha
rated it:
- That Mr. Gordon-Levitt isn't just a really pretty face. He's doing some spectacular things for the arts.
- That this book is VERY cute and is definitely going to be added to my SMILE books. What are smile books? These are the books that I grab when I need a smile.
- That I probably would still buy this book despite the cost of the book (I do think it is slightly overpriced for what you get - BUT it's currently on sale at Amazon.com [as of Jan 10, 2012]. You see part of the proceeds More...
- That this book is VERY cute and is definitely going to be added to my SMILE books. What are smile books? These are the books that I grab when I need a smile.
- That I probably would still buy this book despite the cost of the book (I do think it is slightly overpriced for what you get - BUT it's currently on sale at Amazon.com [as of Jan 10, 2012]. You see part of the proceeds More...
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Jan 25, 2012
Alicia
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It’s kind of difficult to review a book that is made up of tiny stories. It’s a small book and definitely unique. I’ve heard of HITRECORD before, but had never been to the site. If you haven’t been, it’s an awesome open-collaboration production company founded by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. If you have a couple of hours to spare, I would definitely check it out if I were you!
Back to the book. As a book collector, I am so excited to have this book in my collection. The tiny stories are More...
Back to the book. As a book collector, I am so excited to have this book in my collection. The tiny stories are More...
Jan 22, 2012
Brittany
rated it:
Liked? I thought the title was just a cutesy little name for the book, but no. It really is a tiny book! It will take you maybe 10-20 minutes to read through the book, and maybe a second read to look at the pictures again. This anthology doesn't really deserve to be reviewed as a book because it is a collection of tiny stories, some humorous, some not, contributed by various people through the internet. And it's pretty cool.
Recommend? Yeah, if only to just have it on hand for a quick laug More...
Recommend? Yeah, if only to just have it on hand for a quick laug More...
Jan 30, 2012
Sarah Joyce
rated it:
Lately, I am gravitating towards brevity in my writing and in what I read. I heard about The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1 compiled by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (RegularJOE) through HitRECord and thought it sounded perfect. It is! I loved the tiny stories, and they are tiny. Each story (sometimes only a few lines long) is accompanied by artwork that adds a special element to it. I am often amazed at how only a few words can say so much and have such a powerful impact to the reader. This is a co
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Dec 30, 2011
Jasmine
rated it:
Okay I just read this book in 20 minutes, and I read it fully. it's micro stories and it deserves 5 stars.
1. the stories are freaking amazing, 2. the illustrations are freaking amazing, 3. you should read it, before or after you read mark hodder I'm not particular given it's shortness.
I was going to do this review like my other micro stories review but when I started marking stories I was marking every page so I was like "that's no good" so I was going to open to More...
1. the stories are freaking amazing, 2. the illustrations are freaking amazing, 3. you should read it, before or after you read mark hodder I'm not particular given it's shortness.
I was going to do this review like my other micro stories review but when I started marking stories I was marking every page so I was like "that's no good" so I was going to open to More...
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Dec 28, 2011
Wallace
rated it:
Two and a half stars, rounded up to three. Although some page were laugh our loud funny (only a few) and a few other resonated with me, I'm not sure it was enough to qualify a buy (which I did). I rounded up to three stars because (now that I have it) I will show some of the pages to other people.
Basically it feels a bit like there was too much hype over this one... and it's probably better to just read it at the store (or library or friends...) in the three minutes it takes to read i More...
Basically it feels a bit like there was too much hype over this one... and it's probably better to just read it at the store (or library or friends...) in the three minutes it takes to read i More...
Dec 31, 2011
Mary (BookHounds)
rated it:
MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT
How much do I love this book? An infinite amount.
Each story is a combination of images and words all for maximum impact. Much like Six Word Memoirs and Hemingway's short story, this slim volume is huge with concepts. Created by a multitude of artists, this multimedia collection is a true treasure that would make a wonderful gift for those hard to please people that generally don't like books. I had no idea who the mastermind is behin More...
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT
How much do I love this book? An infinite amount.
Each story is a combination of images and words all for maximum impact. Much like Six Word Memoirs and Hemingway's short story, this slim volume is huge with concepts. Created by a multitude of artists, this multimedia collection is a true treasure that would make a wonderful gift for those hard to please people that generally don't like books. I had no idea who the mastermind is behin More...
Jan 07, 2012
Sara
rated it:
Yes, this book is quite tiny. A tiny, adorable piece of art. Filled with stories no more than three sentences — and many that are just one — it features the work of 67 contributions from the creative collective site hitRECord. Illustrations paired with the stories range in style from notebook sketches to expert pencil work, each in a way that works well with their respective text without interpreting it too literally.
Perhaps some readers might find the content a bit too twee, but I l More...
Perhaps some readers might find the content a bit too twee, but I l More...
Jan 02, 2012
Felicia
rated it:
NOTE: The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Volume 1 was such a fun book. This type of book does not lend to my usual type of review style so I am going to let my 3 favorite stories do the talking for me. These 3 stories appealed the book reader in me. I thought the illustrations were great and really clicked with the story. The concept behind HitRecord is also something that I think is great for the creative community in general. I do hope that everyone will check out this book!
Dec 18, 2011
Ari
rated it:
TBH, I bought this book because I'm a big fans of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Can't help it! He's young, good looking, and such a talented actor.
As it turns out, his book doesn't disappoint me. The illustrations are nice and original while the narrations put on each illustration are short yet got the point. Kudos for all hitRECord-er involved.
My only complaint is this book is so tiny, literally. Now I'm looking forward for the next volume.
Nice work, Joe! ^,^
As it turns out, his book doesn't disappoint me. The illustrations are nice and original while the narrations put on each illustration are short yet got the point. Kudos for all hitRECord-er involved.
My only complaint is this book is so tiny, literally. Now I'm looking forward for the next volume.
Nice work, Joe! ^,^
Dec 29, 2011
fennie
rated it:
this collection of tiny stories with accompanying illustrations is the perfect little book. there's a feel-good quality to it and it's not just entertaining, it's clever and thought-provoking. one story may bring a smile to your face, while another might bring a smirk, still others make you reread what you've just read.
kudos to joseph gordon-levitt. he's the reason i bothered to buy this book and now i'm an even bigger fan.
my only gripe? too few pages!
kudos to joseph gordon-levitt. he's the reason i bothered to buy this book and now i'm an even bigger fan.
my only gripe? too few pages!
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Dec 14, 2011
Jason
rated it: 
I don't recall which amazon review recommended this book but it ended up on the "best" list for December. I bought it. I regret it. That was money for anything else. I do not enjoy or want the relationship between pencil drawings and writing to be in book form. I like cartoons in the newspaper and I love Russel Edson which might seem antithetical to my argument here, but this book is junk and I am not sure I will contribute to the project at all.
Dec 07, 2011
Lauren
rated it:
Page-length stories that range from endearing to clever to heart-wrenching, all collaborations. I'm just a little bit in love.
I pre ordered it. I got it in the mail. I opened it. I read it instead of eating lunch. Then I tore up the box and stuffed the cardboard pieces into business reply envelopes from credit card offers so the companies have to give more money to the postal service. I'm excited about every step in this process!
I pre ordered it. I got it in the mail. I opened it. I read it instead of eating lunch. Then I tore up the box and stuffed the cardboard pieces into business reply envelopes from credit card offers so the companies have to give more money to the postal service. I'm excited about every step in this process!
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Jan 04, 2012
Angie
rated it:
"You're gone. No mailing address. But I send you letters anyway." <-- Makes it worth it.
This took me six minutes to read. I read them all, studied the illustrations. Didn't rush. Six minutes. It is simply the Tiny Book of Tiny Stories. It felt like an upgraded, reality-laced adult version of a Shel Silverstein book. Smart. That's all, this review is already longer than any story in the book.
This took me six minutes to read. I read them all, studied the illustrations. Didn't rush. Six minutes. It is simply the Tiny Book of Tiny Stories. It felt like an upgraded, reality-laced adult version of a Shel Silverstein book. Smart. That's all, this review is already longer than any story in the book.
Dec 23, 2011
Cari
rated it:
I have never read anything like the Tiny Book of Tiny Stories! I love how unique the concept of the book came about. I was also fascinated by the fact that the stories felt complete and the illustrations added to each story. I think this is a great addition for any book or art lover. Also with every story I kept finding myself saying "oh this is my favorite story" and at the end I couldn't pick just one story. I can't wait for the next two books in this tiny series!
Oct 13, 2011
Bob
rated it:
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories
This is one of the most original and creative collaborations I’ve seen. Brief, funny, and deeply intellectual thoughts tell stories alongside illustrations (some of them would make great tee-shirts!). On each page there is a gem in a world of its own. These tiny stories shine light in nearly every dim corner of the creative mind.
This is one of the most original and creative collaborations I’ve seen. Brief, funny, and deeply intellectual thoughts tell stories alongside illustrations (some of them would make great tee-shirts!). On each page there is a gem in a world of its own. These tiny stories shine light in nearly every dim corner of the creative mind.
