The Snooty Bookshop: Fifty Literary Postcards

by Tom Gauld

Fifty comics from The Guardian, by Britain’s most well regarded cartoonist

Tom Gauld (Mooncop, You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, Goliath) has created countless iconic strips for The Guardian over the course of his illustrious career. A master of condensing grand, highbrow themes into one- to eight-panel comics, his weekly strips embody his trademark British humor while simultaneously opening comics to an audience unfamiliar with the artistry that cartooning has to offer. Funny but serious, these comics allow Gauld to put his impressive knowledge of history, literature, and pop culture on full display—his impeccable timing and distinctive visual style setting him apart from the rest.

This postcard set celebrates more than a decade of Gauld’s contributions to The Guardian, with fifty of his most beloved strips, on everything from Samuel Beckett’s sitcom pitches (such as Waiting for Kramer: a show where two men await the arrival of a man named Kramer who never comes), “Procrastination for Creative Writers, a 10-Week Course,” and “Poetry Anthologies for People Who Don’t Like Poems.” Witty and beautifully drawn, The Snooty Bookshop will make you chuckle at least fifty times, guaranteed.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Fiction, Books About Books, Art, Graphic Novels Comics

50 pages, Cards

Published October 23, 2018

About the author

Tom Gauld is a cartoonist and illustrator. He draws weekly cartoons for the Guardian newspaper and New Scientist magazine. He has created eight covers for the New Yorker and a number of comic books. He lives and works in London.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of you who have not come across Tom Gauld before, you are in for a treat with this collection of literary-themed postcard set. In here are 50 of some of his funniest bookish cartoons written with his very distinctive artworks and deadpan humour. To give you a flavour of the quality of his work, have a look at his website and

https://www.tomgauld.com/portfolio/

https://www.instagram.com/tomgauld/

I do have a couple of favourites in here, one of which is a guy looking for his kindle, the other is how a book lover packs for their holiday.

I have been a fan of Tom Gauld for a while now, cutting out his cartoons from the Guardian Reviews and keeping them so to have some of the best in one collection is great. There is only one problem with this though; it is a book that you will need to buy two of. One to keep and one to send the fantastic postcards from to other book-loving friends. I won't be passing any from this copy on, but some may be getting it as presents.

[Antía S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bua, necesito todos los cómics de Tom Gauld por favor

[Ish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of 50 post cards with humorous literary comic strips, some of which are extremely relatable. The book is adorable and made me laugh quite a few times, my favourite post cards has to be the pig one and the Snow White one. This would make a great gift to any book lover!!

DISCLAIMER: This book was sent to me by the publisher, I did not request this book, all opinions are my own.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am still cracking up!

[Peter Tillman]

Looks pretty promising. Here are some samples:
https://www.page45.com/store/The-Snoo...
I partic like the Library Classification System:
"Purely for Show"
"Wish I Hadn't Read"
Heh.
Same artist/illustrator as the notorious Jetpack cartoon:
"You're all just jealous of my Jetpack!"
[Proper literature vs. Science fiction]
http://johnguycollick.com/youre-all-j...
Hee hee 🚀 😇

[Noora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playing a game called "how many great short books can i read in the bookstore before they kick me out?"
Still going strong.

[Lily the Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarcastically funny and relevant to anyone in the literary world.

[Catherine Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but it was brief. Some of the postcards are funnier than others. There are certainly many worth sending to my relatives to amuse them.

[Diana Prince · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book of postcards, this was an incredibly entertaining read. I'm so glad I picked up a copy at Small Press Expo - so much mail to follow!

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strange article to review. On the one hand, it's a book (a codex technically) containing some of Tom Gauld's comics about literature. On the other hand, it's a collection of postcards. Each page is a postcard, printed on good quality cardstock, and the customer is expected to pull them out and mail them. The binding was well-done, I've pulled out a couple of the cards so far and the whole thing hasn't fallen apart. Eventually I'll be left with just the cover, and I suppose I'll throw that into the recycling bin.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of comics for literature lovers. I hadn’t heard of this author before, I came across this in my local indie bookstore. It wasn’t until I opened Goodreads that I learned the author’s work is published in Britain’s The Guardian. The humor is directed at both authors and literature lovers. I’m not sure why this book was produced as a set of post cards as I imagine most readers (including myself) would want to keep them.

[Simon Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a short light hearted read and this fits the bill.
A collection of 50 literary postcards by Tom Gauld.
Made me laugh, think and groan in equal measure.

[Tanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly a book, but I'll be darned if I'll use any of the cards as actual postcards. They're mine, all mine!

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

50 droll gems bound together on the verso edge starting with what could be considered the title card, “The Snooty Bookshop,” in which the inquiring customer is told by the bookseller behind the cash register, “Yes, we do have a copy of the book you’re looking for. You’ll find it in the ‘Vastly Overrated’ section of the ‘So-Called Classics’ department.” And followed by other observations on the literary life drawn from other collections of the author’s work: “You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack” and “Baking with Kafka.” And ending with a one card “Short Story.” But, before that there’s a diagram of a system that I can see using at home: a color coded diagram entitled “My Library,” which includes the categories of: Read, Intending to read, Half-read, Pretending I’ve Read, Saving for when I have more time, Will never read, Purely for show, Read but can’t remember a single thing about it, and Wish I hadn’t read. Also include are: “Poetry Anthologies for People Who Don't Like Poems” and “Scenes from ‘Mrs Tittlemouse joins the Suffragettes’ by Beatrix Potter” and more.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today, I went to the bookstore and told myself not to buy any books.

But then I found this lovely little collection of bibliophile comics, and, well, it’s not really a book, is it? It’s a set of literary postcards sealed together with a spine.

So I bought it.

And it was great.

[Sara Ghotb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initially, I was drawn to this book by its cover. But I would hesitate to refer to this as a book, since it is likely a collection of postcards on a good quality paper. There is neither a sense of humor nor meaning in it for me!

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious

[Andy Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short read to start the year. A smashing birthday present last month. A collection of witty literary cartoons from Tom Gauld.

[Turquoise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many gems in this collection, I enjoyed going through it.

[Amilcar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys literature, humor and cartoons.

[白い世界 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stars. Sat and laughed out loud repeatedly.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mini comic book that doubles as postcards. I really enjoyed all the snarky, snooty comics. I especially loved the ones that mock "real readers of real literature."

[Rajwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Gauld's just the best.

[Pat Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a book. A collection of funny, reading focused postcards

[Neha Oberoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun snarky little postcards for writers and readers

[Karen Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gauld's artwork is lovely and his take on the world of books makes me happy.

[Francine Fang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Tom Gauld’s drawings. Love anything related to books.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, mostly-funny, and a great gift or tool for readers and/or writers of mostly-fiction.