- Summersdale. The little book of shit. London.:Summerdale Publishers, 2018.
The little book of shit is a palm-sized toilet humor book. It takes quotes from famous philosophers, scientists, religious figures, politicians, popular culture and of animals and inserts shit, e.g.: a doctor would say “take two shits and call me in the morning”. It gets a bit repetitive after 159 pages. The little book of shit should not to be taken seriously; however it is good for a laugh and relates to my interest in words, specifically words on shit.
- Roach, Matt. Know your sh*t, what every type of turd says about your health. London.:Vermilion, 2018
Know your sh*t, what every type of turd says about your health with the aid of Illustrator Douggy Pledger and Gastroenterology Specialist Dr. Rebecca Smith, Matt Roach writes a humorous “guide to every poo you will ever do”. Part factual and part toilet humor swatch book, at 22 pages, it is concise. Covering everything you need to know from the ideal pooping posture and where poo comes from to the 19 different turds. A very handy resource for my research on words and shit.
- Laporte, Dominique. History of shit. Cambridge, Mass.:MIT Press, 1993.
History of shit is the history of body politics, “ties the concept of the individual to the fate of human waste…the history of subjectivity”. Laporte uses humor to laugh at the very idea of the grand civilization built essentially on shit. The History of shit is an in-depth look at how the management of human waste is at the core of our modern identity, language and politics “defecation today is at the same stage that sex was during the reign of Queen Victoria. It’s more done than talked about”. “Cloaca maxima: even the most insipid history manual and the most elementary schooling in Latin seized every occasion to praise the cloaca maxima as the signifier of civilization par excellence”. However the History of shit is limited, mainly focusing on France. I would consider this book relevant to my blog, as the concepts on the body and politics it discusses are things I interested in unraveling.
- Dekkers, Midas. The story of shit. Melbourne, VIC.:The Text Publishing, 2018.
The story of shit by biologist Midas Dekkers combines humor, history, culture, science, environment and the personal to tell a compelling story of shit. Dekkers covers everything from defecation and the workings of the gut to toilet etiquette. “A place for everything and everything in its place, lest the order be disturbed”. “The only thing vegetarians have going for them is being right. And unfortunately you can’t eat that”. “The problem with farting is you so rarely can do anything about it”. The story of shit focuses a little too much on the sexual arousal of shit and the act of shitting itself. I would consider this book the most relevant to my blog, as it mentions the sewer system and compares it to the workings of the gut.
1% Poo Project 