Coach's new tiny book charms sold out quickly after going viral, prompting Book Riot to suggest affordable nonfiction alternatives that fit in pockets or small handbags. The recommendations include works by Zadie Smith, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Jesmyn Ward. These micro books offer essays on pandemic reflections, book covers, and personal resilience.
Coach recently released tiny book charms featuring readable micro books with titles such as Little Fires Everywhere and Welcome To The Hyunam-Dong Bookshop. Designed to clip onto bags, the $95 charms sold out almost immediately after becoming viral online, raising questions about their target audience due to the high price point. In response, Book Riot highlighted three compact nonfiction books as more accessible options for readers on the go, especially those flying coach or needing pocket-sized reads. Intimations by Zadie Smith spans 112 pages and consists of essays published in 2020. Smith donated all proceeds to charity and addressed themes like isolation, sense of self, compassion, and grief amid the pandemic, creating a time capsule of that era. The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri, translated from Italian by Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush, is 80 pages long. Lahiri examines the role of book covers in a book's identity, stating, “The [book] covers become a part of me.” She further notes, “If the process of writing is a dream, the cover represents the awakening,” linking covers to the writer's creative process. Navigate Your Stars by Jesmyn Ward, illustrated by Gina Triplett, totals 64 pages. It transcribes Ward's 2018 commencement speech at Tulane University, where she shared her upbringing in a working-class Mississippi household, her pursuit of education, and the values of resilience and tenacity inspired by family and community. These recommendations provide substantial reading without the luxury price tag.