Jeff Houck, the food writer at the Tampa Tribune, has started a podcast for TBO.com called Table Conversations — and I’m pleased to be the first victim guest. ;-)
We talk about my book, “Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found,” collecting, bad spelling, obsessions, the humor and humanity to be found in other peoples’ grocery lists and … rocks shaped like shoes! You can check it out here: Table Conversations Podcast with Bill Keaggy. Thanks again, Jeff!
I’ll be on the radio here in St. Louis next Wednesday, June 13 around 10:30 p.m. Central time talking with the two Johns on KMOX 1120. Listen in as I talk and joke about the “Milk Eggs Vodka” book.
If you can’t hear me on the radio try to come see me at Left Bank Books the following evening, Thursday, June 14 at 7 p.m.
A hearty and heartfelt congratulations to Laura (who needs bleach and eggs) and Amber (who shops for Cosmo, chocolate donuts and pads, but only “once a month”). Laura and Amber were the winners of the “Milk Eggs Vodka” book giveaway. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest (I’ll probably do another soon!). Take a look at the sampling of the community grocery list y’all created:
British Mars bar
salami
cheeses
olives
dried vegetables
Hershey’s Special dark chocolate bar
5-grain bread from the bakery
shredded cheese
alcohol
ice cream
milk
avocado
black rice
dried figs
chocolate covered peanuts
bleach
eggs
toilet paper
peanut butter M&Ms
Cosmo
chocolate doughnuts
pads
lowfat sour cream
saltine crackers (store brand)
“Milk Eggs Vodka” is for sale at your neighborhood Borders and is usually filed in the “Humor” section (right next to Garrison Keillor’s titles!). But should you visit Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon (and you should), you’ll see that my book stands proudly in the “Cooking oddities” section. How cool is that? I didn’t even know such a category existed!
The Good: Jen Bekman — someone who I have much respect for — says, “Milk Eggs Vodka is an enjoyable book, well-designed” and calls it “particularly cool.” Thanks, Jen!
The Bad: Uncool Kids thinks Found Magazine was around before The Grocery List Collection. Oh well. “How publishers were giving away grocery bags that promoted Bill Keaggy’s new book Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Store [sic] Lists Lost & Found, basically a rip-off of Found Magazine that looks like it’ll be good for a few laughs.” Not to take anything away from the tireless genius of Davey Rothbart, btw! Found is profoundly awesome. [UPDATE: Stephanie tells me her words came out wrong and she meant it as a compliment... kind of a "if you like this, you might also like this" sort of deal. She amended the site to say "similar to" rather than "rip-off of".] Thanks, Stephanie!
The Beautiful: BB says, “I absolutely LOVE this book cover.” And why not? HOW Books designer Grace Ring did a fantastic job on all of “Milk Eggs Vodka.” Thanks, Grace!
The Oklahoman has decided that reading Milk Eggs Vodka this summer is a good idea. I agree!
A whimsical book that promises to provide much amusement is “Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found” (HOW Books, $19.95) by Bill Keaggy, who has collected grocery lists from around the world. Keaggy believes such lists can reveal much about a culture…
Here’s a column in Georgia’s Gwinnett Daily Post about my site and the book:
…when I stumbled upon the Web site Grocerylists.org, I was ecstatic. The site features a collection of images of 1,600 discarded shopping lists that people found just about anywhere — left in shopping carts, dropped in parking lots. The first time I visited, I spent a couple of hours reading strangers’ grocery lists.
I’m en route back to STL from PDX via ABQ so here’s a PDQ excerpt from the June issue of the BookPage nonfiction reviews:
If you’ve ever laughed at those of us compulsive enough to shred our grocery lists, you’ll think again after reading Bill Keaggy’s Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found. Keaggy, who must be a bit of an obsessive-compulsive himself, found, saved and sorted this detritus of everyday life, presented here in scanned images so clear that every lipstick smudge, crossed-out item and doodle is visible.
I like this list because someone is obviously trying to start a new home.
And with that, I’ll call it a wrap on the List of the Day for May (every day). I’ll be posting more here and there…
Hey, my book may be kinda funny, but it also could make you think…
I went grocery shopping today, somewhere between talking to my mom on the phone and chasing my dog at the dog park. This isn’t spectacular. People do this every day. I do this at least twice a week. No big deal.
But, I was wondering, between cutting some fruit and reading Milk Eggs Vodka, if we are what we eat, what am I? Below is what I purchased today, all of which I will eat in the next few days.
Check out this fun (and clever) article by Jeff Houck of the Tampa Tribune. He wrote a story about me and my book, “Milk Eggs Vodka,” in the form of a list! It’s featured on the front of the food section, Flavor. An excerpt:
Introduce Bill Keaggy. (A St. Louis newspaper photo editor and married father of two who describes himself as a “collector, maker and breaker of things.”)
Explain hobby. (He collects and photographs odd things: box cameras, rocks shaped like shoes, dirt, discarded bookmarks.)
Discuss his most famous collection. (Discarded grocery lists he has displayed on his Web site.)
Detail its origin. (Keaggy found an ordinary list in the parking lot of a St. Louis grocery store. Fascinated, he kept finding more in empty shopping carts. After he collected about 30 of them, he put them online in 1999. They’re now at GroceryLists.org.)
What happened next? (Visitors to his Web site, including grocery cashiers, started sending him grocery lists they found as well as lists they were finished with.)
How many? (Thousands. Keeps them in shoe boxes at home.)
Talk about the book. (Keaggy sorted the lists and, in the process, published a new book, “Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found” (How, $19.99).)
Thanks, Jeff!
I guess they really needed toilet paper.
“Nest Tea.” NEW IMPROVED FLAVOR! Now with EVEN MORE bird droppings!
On June 14 at 7 p.m. I’m going to be doing a “Milk Eggs Vodka” reading (reading?! performance?! presentation?! signing?!) at the excellent Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Missouri. What to expect? Hmmm. I’m not quite sure, but it should be fun. Goofy grocery lists galore! I’ll even sign you book if you want, and you could donate your used grocery lists while you’re there.
Time: Thursday, June 14, 2007 7:00 PM
Location: Left Bank Books, 399 North Euclid
Title of Event: Bill Keaggy, “Milk, Eggs, Vodka”
If you’re in St. Louis please come by! I’ll look like a total loser if you don’t.
Multi-tasking is good. You can go grocery shopping and remind yourself that it’s not your fault you’re a loser at the same time! (See note at bottom of list.)
