The Nothing Book

The Nothing Book

by Bruce Harris

Random House $25

A speed-reader's dream: a book that can be read, digested and summarised in 10 seconds. It's a book about nothing. Unlike Seinfeld's show about nothing, this book really is about naught - there's nothing in it but blank pages. The back cover invites you to 'write your own novel, compile a personal cookbook, draw pictures, make lists, keep records, collect autographs, write poetry, plan vacations, start a diary, design clothes, invent needlework or knitting patterns ...' The original version, published in 1974, had a beautifully bound hardcover, but this paperback version has no such luxuries. It's supposed to be inspirational, but at $25 for an empty notebook, the only people who could feel excited by this are the marketers who came up with the idea.