Zelda, Benjamin and Olaf van Schuler

I keep stumbling onto tiny, hardcover books that pique my interest. Of course, I have to take them home immediately because they are so cute and bite sized ... surely I have time for just one more. Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain is a collection of related short stories by Kirsten Menger-Anderson. It begins with Doctor van Schuler coming to New Amsterdam (New York) in 1664 with a bag of medical instruments and a mad mother. Each story then follows a different van Schuler physician - from phrenologists to psychosurgeons. Menger-Anderson writes: "We are all limited by the sophistication of our tools and the generally accepted theories of our times."



The next book I grabbed is actually a short story, but it has also been released as a tiny, 54 page book. It is the Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald and it is the basis for the new movie of the same title. This is the story of a man who was born old and became younger as time passed. Everyone around him ages normally and he requires assistance as an old man (just born) and an infant (at the end of his life). We shall see how the movie adapts this concept, but I'll put my money on Fitzgerald doing a better job in 54 pages than Hollywood does in 2 hours.



Finally, my small pile of books is topped with Once Again to Zelda by Marlene Wagman-Geller. This is a groovy collection of the stories behind 50 famous book dedications from Frankenstein, Alice in Wonderland and Peyten Place to Eat, Pray, Love, The Bell Jar and The Satanic Verses. Not only is this an adorably small book, but each story is short and concise. You can leave this on your coffee table or in your car and read it bit by bit.



All of these books are at your local library, but if you are looking for stocking stuffers, these mini books are surely at your local independent bookstore, too!