Tuesday, May 16, 2006

(insert verb) this book!

The recent New York Times essay, Scan This Book, combined with Morgan Spurlock's recent gig, got me to thinking about how much money the world has been making ever since Abby Hoffman popularized This Book as a concept for a title. The irony of course is that Abby's book is titled Steal This Book and is an anti-capitalist analysis of American consumer society. So what do we do? Make money on his verbage, of course.*

The titles below are generally from Amazon, although I have spared the hyperlinks, since the goal is not to sell them to you. The most interesting part is that every title I found was published after Hoffman's 1971 Steal this Book. That means the market mania on This Book really does seem to come from the early anarchist version. Too bad Hoffman didn't copywright, eh?

Steal, Ban, Read
Steal This Book (1971 - Anarchism, Radicalism)
Steal This Book and Get Life Without Parole (1999 - Humor)
Steal This Book Too! An Historical and philosophical scrutiny of humankind. Are you prepared to allow humankind to fail?
Ban this book (1982 - cartoon collection by Pat Oliphant)
Read This Book (alternate title: Every Woman Should Go To Law School, 2000)
Read this book before your child starts school (1994 - Preschool)
Read This Book Or You're Grounded: A Secret Guide to Surviving Home (2003 - Juvenile Lit)

Take and Hide
Take this book to the dentist with you (1998)
Take this book to the hospital with you (1985)
Take this book to the gynecologist with you (1991)
Take this book to the pediatritian with you (1994)
Take this book to the obstetrician with you
(1998)
Take this book to work: how to ask for money, fulfillment, and advancement (2006 - career)
Take This Book, Please: Drawings by Sheila Greenwald and Fred Hausman (1984 - humor)
Hide this Italian book (Berlitz)
Hide this Spanish Book (Berlitz, 2004 - Spanish language, slang)
Hide this French book (Berlitz, 2004 - French language, slang)

Eating
Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading (2006)
Eat This Book: A Year of Gorging and Glory on the Competitive Eating Market (2006)
Eat This Book: Cooking With Global Fresh Flavors (2005)
Eat This Book! (edible pages, with edible ink pen called Foodoodler)
Eat This Book: The Last Diet Book
Eat this book: The Holy Community at table with holy scripture
Marijuana: If the cops come, eat this book

Points about advertising/consumerism
(pro)

Buy this book: Understanding Advertising (1991)
Buy this book: Studies in Advertising and Consumption (1997)
Buy American: Buy this book (1992)
(con)

Hey, Kidz! Buy This Book: A Radical Primer on Corporate and Governmental Propaganda and Artistic Activism for Short People (2004 - read the review)
Buy this book: A charter member of the me generation sticks up for the slandered seventies (1980)

Seemingly Mean Things to do to This Book

Please Write in This Book (2006 - Fiction)
Set This Book on Fire (2001 - Poetry)
Shred This Book: the scandalous cartoons of doug marlett (1988)
Tear Up This Book!: The Sticker, Stencil, Stationery, Games, Crafts, Doodle, And Journal Book for Girls! (American Girl Library)
Burn this book and move on with your life (2001 - psychology)
Burn this book : Ignite a new life with god (2007 - Christian Youth)

Seemingly Nice Things to do to This Book:
Kiss This Book (2001 - Fiction)
Feel This Book: An Essential Guide to Self-Empowerment, Spiritual Supremacy, and Sexual Satisfaction (1999 - by Janeane Garafolo and Ben Stiller, as told to Janeane Farafolo and Ben Stiller; preface by Ben Stiller; Forward by Janeane Garafolo)
Feel This Audiobook: Instant Therepy Only a Crazy Person Would Ignore
(same authors)

More demands made
E-mail This Book (Cartoon Bank)
Recycle This Book: Ecology, Society, and Man (sic, 1972)
Drive This Book (2001, interactive children's book)
Take This Book and Call me in the Morning
Read this book and stop smoking
Get Stoned and Read This Book

How to make a buck with This Book:
Steal This Book! Million Dollar Sales Letters You Can Legally Steal to Suck in Cash Like a Vacuum Cleaner on Steroids (2005 - also the most rediculous title of the lot)
Buy this Book and Make Me Rich by Rush M. Limburgher (1994 - humor about guess who)
Deduct this book: How not to pay taxes while Reagan is President (1982, 1983)

The Opposite of This Book:
Don't read this book; Don't read this book if you're stupid; Don't read this book unless you really want to know the answers to all those questions you've had about death; Don't steal this book whatever you do: more poems about school
Don't Steal this book (1974 - prisoner's literary writings)
Don't Eat this Book: Foundations for Marvelous Meals (1992 - cookery)
Don't Eat this Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America (2005 - junk food, humor)

* By the way, the only book on this list that can be found actually for free online is still Abby Hoffman's original version. Check it out, don't buy it.

UPDATE: Steal This Wiki

2 things that people say:

jimmy said...

Nice list, but it's incomplete. You left out the ever-popular Monster at the End of This Book. That was one of my favorite books growing up.

marc said...

Great link! This means that Steal This Book is not the only one on the list that is free online. However, I purposely left out Monster because it doesn't fit the (insert verb) theme. A mere technicality though.