Under my hashtag eileenreadsbooks on Facebook, I occasionally place Notes to my acquisitions as the library progresses. Here are selections in reverse chronological order from January 1, 2024 which is when I began inputting them on this blog. To see older book acquisition Notes, go to Facebook and look up the hashtag. Acquisitions from July-September 2025 are HERE; April-June 2025 are HERE, Jan.-March 2025 are HERE, October-December 2024 are HERE, July-September 2024 are HERE, April-June 2024 are HERE, Jan.-March 2024 are HERE.
12/29/25
Post-Christmas deliveries of two more miniature books from Tom! He doesn’t know much about miniature books but he tries. Dear Friends, may you find loving partners who never cease… trying.
Cheerfully added to the library whose target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), means 1,444 books down, 14,072 books to go!
12/25/25
One more miniature book for Christmas 2025! I forgot about the stocking. So we have one BIG stocking holding just one one teeny book as we go contemporary with Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!
Again just added to the library whose target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), means 1,442 books down, 14,074 books to go!
12/25/25
In the early 1900s, Phillips Publishing / Winthrop Press released a series of small booklets containing stories written by famous or popular authors of the time. The mini books were included with packages of Egyptienne Straight cigarettes, Piccadilly Little Cigars, and Sovereign cigarettes. (Miniature paperbacks 2.25" x 2.75", 32 pages, Cover and one interior illustration in color.) I once owned these titles which sadly were victimized by one of California’s wildfires (more info at https://eileentinybooks.blogspot.com/2019/08/1914-1915-cigarette-premium-series-from.html). But I love this series for hearkening a time when reading was more of a normal part of culture and, with these, am attempting to create a new collection… and it’s always special to hold an object that is over a hundred years old.
These enter my library whose target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), means 1,441 books down, 14,075 books to go!
12/25/25
What are Christmas presents without books? Like miniature books (1-3 inches) from Hungary who's renowned for high-quality graphic art, detailed typesetting, and fine bookbinding.
EIGHT HUNGARIAN MINIATURE BOOKS REGARDING JANKA GYULA
Janka Gyula (1942-2016 was a prominent Hungarian miniature book collector and publisher. His definitive work, "A Nemzetközi Minikönyv-gyűjtés Helyzete és Lehetőségei" (The Status and Possibilites of International Miniature Book Collecting) was published in 1972 and still serves as a significant resource for collectors of miniature books.
Dates Published: 1972-1987
• Gyula, Janka. Miniatűr Könyvek Bibliográfiája (Bibliography of Miniature Books) (1945-1970). 1972.
• Gyula, Janka. Miniatűr Könyvek Bibliográfiája (Bibliography of Miniature Books) (1971-1972) 1973.
• Gyula, Janka. Miniatűr Nyomtatványok (Miniature Prints). 1978.
• Gyula, Janka. Miniatűr Könyvekről Gyűjtőknek (About Miniature Books for Collectors). 1973.
• Gyula, Janka. Amit Még a Miniatűr Könyvekről Tudni Kell (What We Should Know About Miniature Books). 1974.
• Gyula, Janka. A Nemzetközi Minikönyvgyűjtés Helyzete és Lehetőségei (The Status and Possibilities of International Miniatue Book Collecting). 1972.
• Gyula, Janka. Holbein – Der Totentanz (Holbein – Dance of Death). 1974. Numbered 515 on the colophon.
• Gyula, Janka. Divatképek a régmúltból (Fashion Pictures from Bygone Times). 1987.
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SEVEN HUNGARIAN MINIATURE BOOKS BY OR ABOUT ANDRUSKO KAROLY
Karoly Andrusko 'Andrusko Karoly': One of Hungary's finest graphic artists, Karoly Andrusko has engraved over 400 ex-libris designs during his career.
Ex-Libris etchings, engravings and woodcuts date all the way back to the mid fifteenth century. Their function was initially quite utilitarian as miniature prints used to signify the ownership of books. As private libraries and their owners gained more wealth and prestige, however, so did their ex-libris bookplates. Pictorial imagery became as important as the wording and titles and the finished work of art came to stand as the owner's claim to posterity. Before long, famous artists were commissioned by prominent collectors to make their ex-libris art and during the centuries such masters as Durer, Holbein, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Rockwell Kent all contributed significantly to this great form of art.
The golden age for the ex-libris print, however, occurred during the twentieth century. Collecting ex-libris etchings and wood engravings reached such a peak during this time that many artists in Europe and America devoted themselves almost exclusively to this area. Such countries as Holland, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary formed strong and vibrant ex-libris societies and associations. In Hungary such fine artists as Antal Fery and Karoly Andrusko dedicated much of their oeuvre to the art of the ex-libris woodcut.
Dates Published: 1973-1980
7 volumes, all with unknown limitations. Comprising:
• Bruxelles. 1979. Brown leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations, text in French, Serbian, and Hungarian, published in connection with a UNESCO conference in Brussels, Belgium.
• Beograd. 1980. Brown leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations, text in French, Serbian, and Hungarian, published in connection with a UNESCO conference in Belgrade, Serbia.
• Potisje Ada. 1980. Black leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations depict views of an industrial factory and it's workers.
• Szeged. 1973. Black leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations depict views of Szeged, Hungary.
• Pápa. 1979. Black leather, gilt-stamped on spine and front cover, woodcut illustrations depict views of Pápa, Hungary.
Also includes:
• Károly, Andruskó and Bencz, Mihály. Lebontják a régi Iskolát. 1974. Orange cloth over boards with gilt-stamping on front cover and spine, woodcut illustrations by Andruskó Károly and poetry by Mihály Bencz. Published by the Association of Collectors of Yugoslavia, Novi Sad.
• Charles, Andruskó. Gimnazija Moša Pijade Gimnázium. 1975. Red gilt-stamped spine and front cover cloth over boards, woodcut illustrations by Andruskó Károly depicting bi-lingual high school in Novi Sad, Serbia, some pages are loose.
These enter my library whose target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), means 1,419 books down, 14,097 books to go!
12/23/25
While one can read a writer's work over time, there's something that happens if you read a writer in some concentrated manner. Reading Skip Fox's poetry collection LATE DAY and then his novel PUGS really highlight how this dude is one fine writer deserving of more attention. Kudos to Skip Fox; I found this list online of his books at--what a fine body of work!
Skip's two books are among those entering my library who are passing Addie's and Suki's sniff tests (which means I need to protect their pages from being cat-eared). So with the library’s target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), this latest crop means 1,404 books down, 14,112 books to go!
12/22/25
My favorite Communist is kind enough to celebrate, despite Communism, Christmas because it’s my favorite holiday. Sonny San Juan sends me a thoughtful gift: Thomas Pynchon’s AGAINST THE DAY! Why “thoughtful”? Because Pynchon’s novel is nearly 1,100 pages long and is a good model for me who also hopes to write a novel exceeding a thousand pages. With my “Kapwa Novel” poetics as grounding, I believe I can get there and not even die doing it!
Cheers! Pynchon’s http://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/reviews/against-the-day-by-thomas-pynchon/ enters my library and with the library’s target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), this latest crop means 1,396 books down, 14,120 books to go! Good evening!
12/5/25
I’ve had the privilege of editing poetry collections by some of our best contemporary poets, and it’s always a pleasure to receive the finished book. My latest such receipt is the masterful OR CURRENT RESIDENT by Thomas Fink. Rather than take my word in recommending it, I share its blurb from another fabulous poet, Paolo Javier, in images below.
Another special book is harry k stammer’s HAUI-QT SEARED which he says was partly inspired by my and Mark Young’s works—in my case, the hay(na)ku—that inspired him to work in short forms. I show one vizpo image below.
Tom’s and harry’s books join other recent acquisitions for my personal library. This is a poet’s library, which means it’s not limited to poetry-related texts but must span a wide variety of topics because anything/everything can create poetry—the library as the poet’s homework. With the library’s target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), this latest crop means 1,395 books down, 14,121 books to go!
11/14/25
Mark Young is a treasure among contemporary poets, editors and publishers. He’s also witty. I just relished his new collection, FROM THE CAVE’S JUKEBOX, and post a prose poem example below. Thanks to Sandy Press for sending.
I’m also grateful to Ateneo de Manila Publishing for the Manolete Mora book, as well as Station Hill Press and John Godfrey for John’s latest, PRETTIER GRIT. I appreciate publishers and writers thinking I’m worthy of free books 😊
These and other books join my library-in-progress; I show latest acquisitions below. Some might wonder why I am buying old books. Apart from how good literature doesn’t expire, I am also acquiring to replace some books from my library that was burnt or smoked by a wildfire. With my library’s target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), this latest crop means 1,389 books down, 14,127 books to go!
11/2/25
Just acquired a new addition to my collection of macrominiature books (books no larger than 4 inches): MOTHERDYING by avant garde artist Michael Lentz. It’s published by the wonderfully innovative Isolarii. I’m pleased to see that collection grow (also with the modern editions of Hanuman, another macrominiature book publisher). The Lentz, along with other recent acquisitions enter my library-in-progress. With the library’s target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), that’s 1,380 books down, 14,136 books to go!
10/27/25
Reading over the past week has been fantastic. I’ve identified one of the top two favorite novels I will have read for 2025 (I know the year’s not yet over but it’s unlikely another novel will generate more enthusiasm from me). I’ve read 35 novels so far this year and the superb MODERATION by the brilliant Elaine Castillo—such a wide-ranging mind!—engaged me more than most for reasons that will appear in a future review. (I review books not based on what others assign but based simply on what I liked reading; I’m sad that I can’t review everything I like.)
In poetry, I was blessed to receive a copy of Burt Kimmelman’s new poetry book A Door, A Window. I always enjoy Burt’s minimal masterpieces; I post an image of my favorite poem from his book.
Burt’s and other recent acquisitions are of course welcome into my library-in-progress. With the library’s target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), and with deducting one publication that was donated to a local Little Free Library, that’s 1,374 books down, 14,142 books to go!
10/13/25
I’m surrounded by understatements and the deadpan, including the Linda Ty-Casper memoir I’m reviewing and now these just-read books that look to join what will be among my Best Reads for 2025. Korean poet Oh Eun is new to me but clearly masterful; see his poem excerpt below with that wonderful image of piano playing and how that thumb and pinky become “limits to the expanding world.” I’ll show the back cover which describes well this collection of Shyun Ahn’s translations of Oh Eun’s poems. I also feature a brief excerpt from Scott MacLeod’s Shikataganai which refers to a Japanese philosophy of acceptance. Scott’s book is hard to excerpt and perhaps what I show doesn’t adequately manifest the charm, humor, and deceptive sense of effortlessness that the book as a whole creates—but it’s charmingly witty. I’m glad to have these books in my library.
So with said library’s target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), that’s 1,367 books down, 14,149 books to go!
10/6/25
Received latest anthology to include one of my poems, the very timely THE NATURE OF OUR TIMES. It's also the third book I'm reading by/edited by Filipino authors to commemorate Filipino American History Month (FAHM). It'd be hard to highlight a particular poem from what's nearly a 400-page anthology, so my highlighted one is chosen for a personal reason. I show Paula J. Lambert's poem because it takes off from the idea of the weight of a soul. It's a concept so intriguing to me that it made it into my new novel GENESIS. Paula doesn't explain her reference (nor does she need to) but I'll share this excerpt from GENESIS because maybe others will find it interesting:
'... the word “soul” evoked Duncan MacDougall’s so-called “21 grams experiment.” In the early 1900s, the physician hypothesized that souls have physical weight, and attempted to measure the mass lost by a human when the soul departed the body. MacDougall identified six patients in nursing homes whose deaths were imminent... When the patients looked like they were close to death, their entire bed was placed on an industrial sized scale that was sensitive to within two tenths of an ounce or 5.6 grams. There were problems with measuring the mass change of six patients at the moment of death, for example insufficiently adjusted scales. But one of the six subjects lost three-quarters of an ounce, or 21.3 grams. While MacDougall said more testing was required before any conclusion, The New York Times broke the story about his experiment. The scientific community rejected MacDougall’s results but the concept of the soul having weight, in this case, 21 grams resonated enough to be popularized through movies (including “21 Grams” starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Danny Huston and Benicio Del Toro), songs, a television series, a documentary, and even an issue of the manga Gantz.'
I also share as an image below the first page of Phillip Levin's Foreword to THE NATURE OF OUR TIMES because the topic is important.
THE NATURE anthology, along with recently acquired books (thanks to latest gift-givers Aileen, Scott, harry, and my favorite Communist Sonny San Juan who sends JERUSALEM because it's a "latest hot spot"), goes to my personal library-in-progress. With its target of 15,516 books (a number that replicates the number of books lost to a wildfire), that’s 1,366 books down, 14,150 books to go!
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