The MOST UNUSUAL Books!!! Ergodic, Puzzles, or just different!

[@applepie5150]

House of Leaves is my absolute favourite book of all time!!

[@InfiniteText]

You must be a very patient person with great decoding skills. Sherlock style

[@drballsballsballs]

Mine as well it is incredibke

[@joshuafarden6069]

A very well made video. No click-bait thumbnail, or obnoxious music and flashy bullshit, nor was it sloppy. Just right. Good on you.

[@MorrowSind]

I just recently heard of a book that would be good in a part two to this. Cain’s Jawbone. It's a book that comes with the pages out of order. They offer a prize to anyone that can put it back in order. So far, only four people solved it. Thanks for sharing these books. All were very interesting. :)

[@InfiniteText]

Cain's Jawbone sounds intense! It is reassuring to hear some people were able to put it together because I'd be inclined to believe it was unsolvable and then that was the secret all along.

[@AScreenwritersJourney]

Great video! In the 1990's there was a popular series called "The Griffin and Sabine Saga" which had removable postcards, letters, etc. They were very artistic.

[@bedninja86]

Oh my goodness I borrowed these from a friend and read them years ago, and have been trying to get copies of them ever since and cannot manage it! And no one else I have ever talked to about them knew what I was talking about, so I started to think they were a fever dream lol

[@caronstout354]

I have the trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed them!

[@ahmedbakkar2181]

شكرًا

[@lsu1222]

This video demand a continuation! Amazing recommendations, seriously I loved it, I feel like i'm a different reader now, because of this ❤❤❤

[@InfiniteText]

I wish I had that many interesting books. I had to go in dark corners to find these ones. One day I will!

[@cuppachar201]

Jonathan safran has an awesome book which is a very easy read but has some fun layout details, 'extremely loud and incredibly close' - it's a lovely little story written in a really cool way from a young boy's point of view

[@InfiniteText]

I am familiar with his legible novels, I think that one was the one that got turned into a movie. I remember being very sad. I do enjoy when authors succeed in presenting things from a child's perspective. It really makes you think of the silliness of adult social norms

[@cuppachar201]

@@InfiniteText yeah, I have never seen the film because I love the book so much I think it would ruin it. But yeah, it's beautifully written in my opinion, I'd recommend it

[@Juliana-Bub]

This is exactly the video I've been looking for. After reading House of Leaves a couple years ago, I've been wanting more books with interesting formatting (I've just read The Familiar, also by Danielewski). I'm about to buy a few of your recommendations. Thanks!

[@johnm.withersiv4352]

Hope you didn't miss Nat Bantock's Griffen & Sabrine

[@Marvbunks]

My favorite book series is only available in German (I think). It's called "Hiobs Spiel" (Engl: Hiob's Game). Every chapter has a different format, drawings and stuff like that. It's about a man who plays the biggest/longest/harshest game against God/The Devil/Or whatever you wanna call the mightiest being. It's very dark and brilliantly written. The author is called Tobias O. Meißner and he wanted to write a story that lasts for fifty(!!!!) years in real life. The first one (so far he has written four; maybe three or four more are going to come) came out in 2002, so it will end in 30 years or so. Btw: He has written a LOT more genius books.

[@willk7184]

Really enjoyed your description of these books, I'm intrigued!

[@JayShayy]

So cool. The beautiful technology of a regular book can't be understated, but it is amazing to see these experiments with the form -- to further the function of telling a story. Thank you, opened up my local library page while I watched you and found a couple of these to check out.

[@InfiniteText]

I think each one of these I can imagine making as an individual artifact, but to plan it out in such a way that it is mass produced as the same, to plan out the cuts, and inserts, and pop-outs, takes some real talent. I hope you enjoy!!!

[@ricardocardenas186]

Wonderful video; thank you!!!!

[@crapex]

A book with pages made in copper and the covers made of stone. "Le conte du Château de Bic" by Gilles Vigneault.

[@theassassinrapper]

I just ordered House Of Leaves the other day. I'm really looking forward to reading it. :) Great video. Keep up the great work

[@jensraab2902]

This is an awesome video. I was aware of a few of the books but you intrigued me to look into several more of them. Showing the physical books also was very helpful. _Bats of the Republic_ is gorgeous! And that EAP journal is a really creative idea. I agree that it is almost impossible to read and I suppose hardly anyone is going to buy it to read the stories but the fact alone that the lines are actual text is quite inventive. I also like that you weren't shy to show your battered copy of _House of Leaves_ - it shows that it has been used and "read to pieces", just what authors would love!

[@vanessatool4346]

Instant Subscribe. They way you describe and discuss books is so real and geniune, I realllyyy love it. Keep your great work!

[@InfiniteText]

thank you for your kind comment, made my day!

[@caronstout354]

Recommended: Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, a post-apocalyptic novel written in a "de-evolved" form of English that includes a dictionary of that language...

[@InfiniteText]

thank you so much!

[@laurasalo6160]

What a great video! Thank you so much for all the effort and passion you put into this!

[@kimberleecatena]

Thank you! This was great! Gonna look into many of these. ❤

[@RememberedReads]

This was such fun to watch, so definitely fun on both fronts! :) My favourite weird-format book is Joe Sacco's The Great War. On the shelf it looks like a standard slipcased hardcover, but when you open it up it's actually one single page folded dozens of times. It's around 7.5 metres/24 feet long when you open it up, which is wild.

[@InfiniteText]

The Great War looks amazing, I just read the New Yorker article on it and it sounds great! Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@timshamberger1260]

Thank you for this. Tree of Codes is a wildly different, highly imaginative novel idea. I have worked on Cain's Jawbone and Maze, then written a marriage of the two styles nick-named 'Brain's Jawbone' (well, almost finished). John Finnemore has finished his own modern version of the jawbone-styled work.

[@chambersstevens3135]

What a wonderful video. Thanks for putting this together.

[@InfiniteText]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheBookFinch]

I always marvel how effortlessly original and creative content you put out. You are one of the most inspiring content creators to watch, no lie. :)

[@InfiniteText]

Thank you so much Reija! That's very flattering coming from you :) I bought the book we talked about on Goodreads, let me know when you want to start the buddy-read

[@TheBookFinch]

@@InfiniteText Maybe April? I have a bunch of library books that need finishing. Second half of April would work for me. :)

[@paperbackacademie6640]

I'm sure you've heard of Cain's Jawbone by now... The book you're supposed to tear off page by page to solve a mystery. Because the pages don't even go in a continuous fashion if you read it normally.

[@BookishTexan]

Thank you for sharing those cool books. I think one of the first book related videos I watched on KZbin had something to do with artists who created books that were works of art like that poetry book by Carson.

[@InfiniteText]

Oh really!? So that's what got you hooked in the booktube life! Well I'm glad you came across it because I wouldn't have learned so much about Hemingway otherwise.

[@markdaniels7174]

I have “House of Leaves” on order. I’ve heard great things. “S” also sounds interesting.

[@cranberr1]

Thank you for sharing all of these gems!

[@CuriousReader]

Omg, the Lewis Carroll one sounds amazing! I've been wanting to explore mathematics nonfiction, mostly because I've always found it so intimidating and I'm always wanting to try out new branches of nonfiction - so this sounds just nerdy enough to pull me in. I remember when I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, was the first time I experienced the 'mixed media' form in books, one of the reasons I wanted to read House of Leaves back then - I might have to pick it up one of these days. When I was watching this, the one book that came to mind was Tree of Code - I have never understood what it actually is, it's such a strange thing. Such a delightful video!!

[@InfiniteText]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! That's the first time I've ever heard someone say "I've been wanting to explore mathematics nonfiction"...you are one of a kind. If you are interested, another person who wrote a mathematical book was David Foster Wallace. He wrote a book called Everything and More, A Compact History of Infinity. You might enjoy that as well if you have a mathematically-oriented mind. Happy reading! thank you for watching and for your comment :)

[@yitz28]

Hear me out the Bible is kind of like one of those hard to define books it was written over the course of several millennia it’s got a very unusual format where the story at least of the first five books starts midway through the second book

[@liberator206]

The Voynich Manuscript doesn't exactly fit in this list but it sure is strange.

[@anitamaas6544]

Thanks for all this information about Unusual Books. I just ordered House of Leaves and BodyWorld. You made me soooo curious and i love this channel!!! ❤

[@InfiniteText]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoy! I hope you like BodyWorld and House of Leaves....it's.....going to be a journey with House of Leaves. Best of luck!

[@anitamaas6544]

@@InfiniteText It really is a journey haha very interesting story but besides that i ordered the book 3 times and all 3 books were full of glue and cracks in the cover. So the company decided i can keep the first one for free! Body World is not easy to get so that one will come in the end of may beginning of June. They did sent me one but that one was full of blood....so i had to sent that one back too. The books are spooky just by ordering hahaha

[@InfiniteText]

@@anitamaas6544 because Bodyworld started as an online platform with one chapter released at a time try googling Bodyworld Dash Shaw and you might be taken to it directly. I was introduced to it in a Digital-Born Text class so you might find it on a website dedicated to it.

[@anitamaas6544]

@@InfiniteText Thank you! I found it!! The book is an artwork itself 😊👍

[@anitamaas6544]

@@InfiniteText I just ordered the Horrorstor. You introduced me to 'weird' books and now i am hooked hahaha Every time i watch your video's i can't stop thinking about the books and you make me sooooo curious i just want to have them! So i have House of Leaves! Amazing but also very confusing and strange, even sad. Specially the part on the end, the letters of Johnny's mother was really shocking to me. Than BodyWorld i really had to laugh on that one. But when i read more and more in the book i think that professor is a very sick man a real freak but it is fun to read. The last one Horrorstor is now on the way and i am going to read it somewhere this week. Bye bye good luck with your video's and i stay tuned haha

[@rishikavajpayee]

This is the most interesting video I came across on booktube. Please make a part 2. ❤️❤️

[@InfiniteText]

I made a most recent one with rare books you might enjoy 😉

[@rishikavajpayee]

@@InfiniteText I will definitely check it out. Thank you so much ❤️❤️.

[@allisgrace1313]

This is the most interesting book tube video! Thank you!

[@InfiniteText]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@pauldiamond1583]

I recommend (purely for the format) "The Explorers Guild: Volume One: A Passage to Shambhala" by Kevin Costner, (yes, that Kevin Costner) Jon Baird, and Rick Ross It jumps back and forth between being a novel and being a graphic novel.

[@InfiniteText]

Amazing! Thank you

[@pandittroublejr]

Thank you...❤🙏🏾

[@greeneyedmimibostian3013]

I love your channel. You are very articulate and relate the summaries of these books very well. Above all The best on the internet.

[@InfiniteText]

well now I'm going to blush forever

[@rheynir8802]

One that I've never heard anyone talk about in these videos is the Cathy's Book series- its a ya series that is set up to be this girl- Cathy's - diary and she has just gone missing. There is phone number and websites in addition to all the stuff stuck between the pages and written in the margins. Unfortunately most of the phone and web services are no longer active but I loved it as a teen

[@InfiniteText]

I've never heard of this! sounds amazing! thank you for sharing it.

[@morganking580]

Ella minnow pea by Edward powys mathers! A book where as the novel progresses you lose more and more pieces of the alphabet and the text reads as such. And hopscotch by Julio cortázar. A book out of order that you can flip back and forth through various pages to make a story.

[@InfiniteText]

I have the Cortazar book but find it intimidating. I've never heard of the first one you mentioned. That's so cool!! Thank you so much for sharing

[@Vampirith]

You should read Hal Duncan's Book of all hours, Vellum and Ink.

[@vetechgrl2000]

IMG! What a great video! Thank you. Cant wait to see more

[@InfiniteText]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! One day I'll make a sequel, I just need to gather enough books

[@SimonDouville1]

the last book you presented reminds me of "cent Mille milliards de poèmes" by french author Raymond Queneau.

[@InfiniteText]

I'll have to check it out! Thanks 😊

[@SimonDouville1]

@@InfiniteText yeah there is this whole french literature movement called OULIPO where they tried various weird things with texts and the presentation of it. They were mathematician who went: we'll find new ways of writing by putting on contraints. the most famous one is Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec. beside the books i just mentioned the movement is famous for "La Disparition" ("a void" in english) by Georges Perec which is a book written without the letter "e" (which if you know a little french is really relevant a letter in that langage and in every langage it seems) and "Exercices de Style" ("exercices in style" in english) by Raymond Queneau which is a short stories book of the same story frame written in different literary styles. There is many others author in this style and many creative writing course use OUIPO constraints to inspire their lessons (like today students we'll try to write a text where every noun is replaced by the third noun you will find next to it in a dictionnary). They were famous for doing "cut out" poetry where basically you "cut out" texts snippets from books and newspaper and you rearrange them to make a new text.

[@armsofsnow]

This is the most amazing bookish video I've seen in a very long time :) Super inspiring! My favourite unique book is Mr Robot: Red Wheelbarrow by Sam Esmail and Courtney Looney. I'm not even going to try to describe it, let's just call it the diary of the main character of the tv show Mr Robot :) It looks like a composition notebook with "handwritten" content and doodles etc, and contains lots of removable items like postcards, "handwritten" notes etc. Do make sure to watch seasons 1 and 2 of Mr Robot the tv show before reading the book, because it contains lots of spoilers and extra material.

[@InfiniteText]

wow thank you so much! I will look into it, it sounds really cool! Thank you for leaving such a thoughtful comment. I have to admit, I have never heard of it so this will be a new door for me

[@alishacampbell9491]

This was amazing!!! Thank you for this!

[@InfiniteText]

You are very welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@francoisjohannson139]

Not to forget Anthony Burgess "A Clockwork Orange" featuring "nadsat"-language and Ken Saro Wiwas "Soza Boy" featuring broken english.

[@ofbooksandmen7899]

I always learn something new from your videos. It's great. That Edgar Allan Poe book, though!!!! Amazing!! House of Leaves, I need to read it, but I'm a little afraid of it. Although I kind of think that if I loved S, I'll enjoy the experience of House of Leaves as well.

[@MirandaGulasy]

What course did you take where you had to read House of Leaves? Did you read other books in that course? I'm so curious!

[@InfiniteText]

it was a course called The Digital Text. It focused on books that were "born on the internet" some which were in the style of choose your own adventure. One book was Dash Shaw's bodyworld as it got started online, another was a computer program called Galatea where you interact with Galatea as if you were Pygmalion talking to his own creation and she responds based on what you say to her. Lucy Hardin's missing period by Stephen Marche was another one. Then we looked at digital analysis tools to create english papers like how many unique words are in a book rather than using the same words over and over again showing an authors limitations on language

[@MirandaGulasy]

@@InfiniteText WOW that course sounds fascinating!!! I bet you excelled!

[@InfiniteText]

@@MirandaGulasy I found the full syllabus online with links if you want to go through it: individual.utoronto.ca/adamhammond/

[@abookolive]

I wasn't a big fan of the story of Bats of the Republic, but it truly was an aesthetic marvel. This was such a fun video, thank you!

[@InfiniteText]

I love the way the book looks so much. :) I honestly can't imagine what the production end looks like for some of these to mass produce them in such a way, there must be an element of individual manual labour per item

[@tattooeduglyguy3376]

Its a troll book, its meant to frustrate you with how unsatisfying all the arcs 'end' vs how beautifully made it is.

[@v.dargain1678]

I'm reading BATS OF THE REPUBLIC right now , and I think it's pretty mild as far as weirdness compared to the other books she's reviewing .

[@josmith5992]

This was fascinating, I'd only seen a few of these and not sure how many I would actually want to attempt to read 😉. One I thought of from many years back was Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy book which is like a pressed flower book but with fairies, it's funny AND lovely to look at. I thought of you today Andreea watching Barter Hordes latest video in his Death series, he looked at the book High Wind in Jamaica which has Pirates in it- death and pirates, have you read it?

[@InfiniteText]

High Wind in Jamaica sound like fun, thanks for the recommendation! Adding it to the list! I really enjoy the takes of Barter Hordes and Jason from Old Blue's Chapter and Verse have taken with their recent death-related projects. I think that's one of the most beautiful things to watch, each individual take on this topic..It's fascinating! I'll certainly make an effort to look out for the Prssed Fairy Book it sounds so cool! Death, pirates, and fairies! What are you doing to my TBR!!!!??

[@PoleAdventures]

Thank you for sharing those books! I only knew S. from J.J.Abrams. I search often for specail books like those. Do you have a new specail list for 2020?

[@InfiniteText]

I wasn't seeking them out, but one of my masters degree half-program was rare books and print culture so we discussed anomalies when it came to books, and I came across many of these by accident so I thought it would make a cool video. I never thought of it as a yearly thing, if I come across more I'll share them, but so far nothing has really blown my mind since

[@SaraH-dp4hh]

Try looking up ergodic books, S. fits into that category so it may help you find similar books. Also I’ve heard of the raw shark texts, I’m not sure what it’s about though.

[@donovanmedieval]

Roger Lancelyn Green also wrote a version of Robin Hood.

[@DianaDominguez]

Loved your video with amazing book recommendations ❤

[@InfiniteText]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@lethibich2081]

Very good and funny videos bring a great sense of entertainment!

[@theshoes7488]

Really clever job coming up with the topic of the video. Enjoy your taste as well.

[@InfiniteText]

Thank you :) I'm glad you enjoyed it

[@henleyjean9025]

Cain's Jawbone is a very strange one. There's also one, I can't remember the title, where you can understand what's going on no matter which page you turn to, you don't have to read it from beginning to end

[@InfiniteText]

that's actually very impressive for 1934! ahead of its time in experiments!

[@henleyjean9025]

Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar! That's that book you can read the chapters in any order you want. It's like the opposite of Cain's Jawbone

[@InfiniteText]

@@henleyjean9025 I own that one! haven't read it yet. I'm very intimidated by it

[@CaraCompass]

Albert Angelo has holes in it too like the last book

[@poohbertgaming]

You should check out this great ghost story, The fire in fortitude! By Melissa Scott, It blew my mind, part two had me up all night, it is a complete page turner, you should check it out. The legend of Beebledosh is about to take the world by storm.

[@LordMarlle]

To me the setup of Abrams book sounds almost identical to the relationship between Johnny and Zampanó in House of Leaves, but with gimmicky infocom-like feelies attached

[@nobodyqwertyu]

It's sort of a similar concept. But if you actually read the books they're wildly different. S may have been inspired by House of Leaves a little, but it's not a nockoff or derrevitive work.

[@sunbunker685]

Carroll also had proclivities toward children 😒

[@caronstout354]

His hobby was photographing pre-pubescent little girls...

[@JoyfulRelaxation22]

Cain's Jawbone is absolutely one of those weird books.

[@subject_of_ymir]

I love unusual stuff ...not unique but unusual.

[@MySerpentine]

So Ship Of Theseus is about a ship of Theseus? And that sounds like A Perfectly Normal, Regular Old IKEA

[@InfiniteText]

you know after I made this video I actually got lost in IKEA ....I can see the fear factor

[@paperbackacademie6640]

Hey i had a question, you showed a pause symbol at 6:10 in the video. My copy of house of leaves doesn't have that. Has the copy changed sometime in between?

[@InfiniteText]

I can't say I know the history of house of leaves that well. That would be an interesting bibliography study if it has! I'm sorry I can't be much help

[@neokhajit3978]

Could you do a review on The Unsacred Texts of the Koton? I've had it several times as a pdf file on several phones. i usually end up losing or breaking my phones. Last time i checked it was a free pdf file. Supposedly there was going to be a movie made about it. Never materialized and this was years ago. This book has a long history. Supposedly Nazi officers studied it. i like to hear someone else's take on it. Thanks.

[@doneisiadavis3001]

Great video!!

[@InfiniteText]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@billkeon880]

Strange Library by Murakami

[@johnm.withersiv4352]

Both Building Stories and Monography by Chris Ware would fit into this list.

[@InfiniteText]

Thank you! I will check those out!

[@zerefhitomi177]

House of leaves is Great but it's kinda hard to read

[@NatLli]

omg, these are great!

[@InfiniteText]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@BookTimeWithRyan]

Check out Codex Seraphinianus

[@InfiniteText]

I loved that book! I almost bought a big version of it but it was way too expensive and heavy

[@BookTimeWithRyan]

@@InfiniteText I have the first edition (and latest edition). I have a video with it but it was one of my early ones, so I might want to redo it.

[@BookTimeWithRyan]

I just ordered the S book. Looks so cool.

[@BookTimeWithRyan]

@@InfiniteText kzbin.info/www/bejne/fV6bmYl6iN6Gis0 here it is, the earliest and the latest copies.

[@lineriisager9726]

❤

[@Dreambigbig]

Where to buy Edgar Allan Poe's book that she recommended in this video?

[@InfiniteText]

It's mostly a notebook, the writing is quite small. Here is a link www.booksellerusa.com/products/even-in-the-grave-all-is-not-lost

[@Dreambigbig]

@@InfiniteText is there one that is exactly to the book she holding?

[@InfiniteText]

@@Dreambigbig yes exact one

[@Dreambigbig]

@Infinite Text they don't ship out of USA. -_-"

[@dimitrijmaslov1209]

.thanks!

[@abieelou]

Im trying to figure out an age suitability for s by Jj Abrams, my daughter is 12 with a reading age of 30 and an old head to match, but unsure about the content. Can you help? In your opinion would it be suitable content for her age group? Thanks

[@InfiniteText]

I would say no. It has some parts that are frightening and dark in a chilling way. There are books for children with inserts kind of like the Peter Pan one I showed but there are usually more intricate ones.

[@abieelou]

@@InfiniteText ​ thank you for your response, that's really helpful, I've decided to give it a go for myself. I'm basically on the hunt for a similar book to S for her age group, the mystery and extra inserts is the attraction. are there any others you know of please? (she is a massive Harry Potter, Series of Unfortunate Events, Hunger Games fan, but will read and enjoy pretty much anything)

[@InfiniteText]

@@abieelou I think I found the website for you. It looks like there's even a Sherlock book with inserts for kids: geekdad.com/2014/05/pull-out-paper-props/

[@barbarianorc8301]

Taken by the Orc warrior The Orc of many questions My cheating Elf girlfriend An Orc at college and the sequels The Orc Wife An Elf and an Orc had a little baby I would like for you to read these books and review them, I love stories about Orcs and Elves.

[@nasershahkarami7828]

hold it in your hand

[@jasminebindra696]

Have you ever heard of journal 29??

[@InfiniteText]

No! I just looked it up now and it looks awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this

[@OmarAssaf]

Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth

[@thewatercyclist]

thanks for the great recommendations. I love S. as a mystery and a work of art. I’m reading it again but taking a different approach. I hated House of Leaves, I couldn’t finish it, not because of the crazy format but because of the glaring the misogyny of the author; he writes like a solitary 17 year-old whose only interaction with women has been through porn. Those other books look really interesting.

[@InfiniteText]

I can see that being a vibe. I meet people who either love love that book or really hate it. I did not have the energy for it but it was interesting hearing discussion on it afterwards. It's one of those books better in hindsight

[@pastorofmuppets777]

You’re great. Subbed

[@carbonc6065]

Great video!