Book Review: Post-It Note Diaries by Arthur Jones (Editor and Illustrator)

Post-It Note Diaries, edited and illustrated (on Post-it notes, no less) by Arthur Jones is — as the subtitle indicates — a collection of “20 Stories of Youthful Abandon, Embarrassing Mishaps, and Everyday Adventure” provided by a nice murderer’s row of contributors such as Andrew Bird, Neil deGrasse Tyson, John Hodgman, Mary Roach and Andrew Soloman, to name just a few.

Smart, funny, intelligent and poignant, Post-It Note Diaries was something at first glance I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy. Sure I was a fan of stories illustrated in little squares — I did own thousands of comic books as a teenager — but on a whim I picked it up and started flipping through the stories and found myself hooked. 

Each story and illustration perfectly lend themselves to the voice of the story-teller. That’s no mean feat for simple lines of text and little illustrations crafted of nothing more or less than black ink and the ubiquitous yellow squares of a Post-it note.

Perhaps not the meatiest thing you will sink down with into your favorite chair (armed with mug of cocoa as it is nearly winter, after all), Arthur Jones has managed to put together a book that will draw you in and walk with you through a lazy afternoon of sheer enjoyment.

Whether as a gift for a friend you know to admire either smart story-telling or quirkily illustration, or even for yourself, Post-It Note Diaries is a book I highly recommend this holiday season… as well as any other season to come, now that I think of it.

What a fun little read!