What’s the Strangest Book You’ve Ever Seen?

Question for the group:

What’s the strangest or most out-of-the-ordinary book you’ve ever come across?

For me, it was #nyc by Jeff Mermelstein.

It’s a photo book with no traditional text at all. Instead, it’s made up entirely of close-up photographs of people’s phone screens—mostly text messages—captured on the New York subway and around the city. Tiny, private conversations frozen in public space. Some messages are funny, some heartbreaking, some deeply uncomfortable. Together, they form a surprisingly emotional portrait of modern city life.

The project started around 2017 and was published in 2020, and it sparked real debate in the publishing and photography world about privacy, voyeurism, and what storytelling even looks like in the smartphone era. There’s no narrative voice, no captions—just raw fragments of human connection.

It really stretched my idea of what a “book” can be.

So I’ll ask again:

What’s the most unusual, unexpected, or downright strange book you’ve seen—or published?

I’d genuinely love to hear what’s out there beyond the usual formats.

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