Code Brown: 13 Humorous True-Life Tales About Poop

by Garrett Calcaterra

An anthology of humorous true-life stories and essays about poop. Featuring new work from Melinda J. Combs, David McElhinny, Daniel A. Roberts, Eric Scot Tryon, Michael Williams, Jeffrey Wallace, Shannon Medisky, John Fox, and more. Edited by Garrett Calcaterra.

88 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2013

About the author

Garrett Calcaterra is author of the epic fantasy series The Dreamwielder Chronicles. His other books include Dreamrush, The Roads to Baldairn Motte, and Umbral Visions. His short work has appeared in numerous anthologies, speculative-fiction magazines, and literary journals, including Confrontation, Writers’ Journal, Black Gate, Wet Ink, Redneck Eldritch, and more.

Garrett previously taught creative writing at Chapman University and the Orange County School of the Arts. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science from Pacific University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Chapman University. When not writing, he enjoys playing guitar in his band Wheel House, hiking with his two dogs, quaffing good beer, and enjoying life with his wife and best friend, Mandy.

Reviews

[Tom Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing is observation, and not all that we observe is rose colored or scented. Just because a story involves one of the least attractive of all body functions doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have value.

Still with me? Good, I never doubted you. I believe in you.

Code Brown is an entertaining collection of short stories thematically connected by the GOOD OLD NUMBER TWO. Also see: caca, poop, crap, shit, excrement, feces, etc.

For some this might be off-putting so editor Garrett Calcaterra does his best to explain the merit for such a theme in the introduction for the book. But for my money, if someone picks up this book and thinks, hey this will be fun, then I don’t think you need to justify the material. Just do it.

And if you’re offended by the subject matter, then you’ll never pick up the book anyway.

I WAS SERIOUSLY OFFENDED BY THIS BOOK.

I have a number of great poop stories and no one bothered to ask me to contribute. Garrett, if you are reading this…the way to put together a successful sequel to this toilet tome is to include something written by me. Please put me on the short list. Thank you.

There are thirteen stories in Code Brown, all are extremely well written, humorous, and address the scatological nature of the book in a manner that I think any kind of reader would find very acceptable. Some standouts include Holly Vance’s tale of interpersonal boundaries, Shannon Medisky’s warning to watch what you eat, and John Fox’s guide to divining your own feces. Overall, it’s a well-balanced collection of poop stories.

Now there’s a sentence I never thought I would write.

If you’re like me, you love a great story. Code Brown is full of them. That’s as close to a poop reference as I am going to make. Seriously, I cannot impart upon you how much restraint was required by the reviewer to not fall into a swirling pool of metaphor, analogy, and word play. A book like this just wants you to pinch a few off, if you get my drift.

A mildly related closing note: As I read Garrett’s introduction, my cat walked into the room and farted. In ten years, I have never heard the cat fart. Smelled yes, but never a clear audible. My guess is that she also approves of the book.

[Garrett Calcaterra · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, I've collected a hilarious batch of essays and true-life tales about poop. Yeah, I know, poop. It sounds crass, but I promise this is as high-brow as toilet humor gets. The writers are all top notch, having appeared in publications like Glimmer Train, Willow Springs, the Los Angeles Times, Family Circle, The Good Men Project, US Airways Magazine, PBS Online, The Writer Magazine, Exceptional Parents, and Classic Drummer Magazine, just to name a few.

Life can be rough, and all too often we get caught up in our daily stresses. The thirteen pieces in this book remind us to not take ourselves too seriously and to enjoy the small things in life. It's thoughtful, poignant, and most importantly, funny.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is like one of those impulse book buys at Urban Outfitters that ends up being the funniest book you ever read. Seriously. I laughed at every single story. It'd be a great ironic stocking stuffer, or a gift to that college friend you shared an embarrassing experience with back in the day.