Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

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Uncle John's Bathroom Readers are a series of books containing trivia and short essays on miscellaneous topics, ostensibly for reading in the bathroom. [1] The books are credited to the Bathroom Readers' Institute, though Uncle John is a real person named John Javna, who created the series along with his brother Gordon, as well as a team of assistants. [2]

Contents

The books are published by Portable Press, an imprint of Printer's Row Publishing Group. The introductions in the books, as well as brief notes in some articles, provide small pieces of information about Uncle John. The first book was published in 1988, and in 2012, the series reached its 25th release, The Fully Loaded 25th Anniversary Bathroom Reader.

Volumes dedicated to a single topic have been released, under the title Uncle John Plunges Into..., for example: history, presidents, and the universe. There are also books on individual U.S. states, the weather, numbers, quotes, the year 2000, a special book for mothers, cat lovers, dog lovers, horse lovers, love, Uncle John's Book of the Dumb, and several Bathroom Readers for Kids Only!. Though most of the books were written by the Bathroom Readers' Institute, some of the ones that are based around a specific subject are written by a lone author, who is not in the Institute. Additionally, the Institute will often publish articles and other contributions sent in from readers. Recurring articles such as "Flubbed Headlines", "Oops", and "Classifieds" often depend on these contributions. Currently, the institute publishes three books a year; a "classic" reader, and two "plunges into" editions, one for a location such as a U.S. state, and another of a specific topic.

Their volumes contain information on subjects such as quotes, dumb criminals, palindromes, anagrams, urban legends and hoaxes, failed inventions, the history of everyday things, and accidental discoveries, as well as articles on pop culture and 'celebrities' such as Emperor Norton (see Features). Throughout the books, there are what the BRI calls "running feet"—short fun facts on the bottom of each page. A typical example is "An object on Jupiter would weigh 144,000 times more than it would on Pluto."

Uncle John's also publishes Page-a-Day calendars with Workman Publishing Company.

The series has sold 15 million copies.

Features

Among the regular articles in the books are:

History

1988–1991

The Bathroom Readers' Institute began in 1988, with the publishing of the original Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, by St. Martin's Press Publishers. After the book's success, Uncle John's 2nd Bathroom Reader was published in 1989, with a third and a fourth book being added to the series in the subsequent years. These earlier books are distinct from the rest not only because of their short length, but because of the writing style: Short articles starting with a brief history of the subject, followed by several tidbits on the subject.

1992–1995

After the initial four books, the BRI decided that it would publish further volumes under its own label, and Uncle John's 5th Bathroom Reader was released in October 1992; notable for a revised writing style, more and longer articles, and the introduction of new recurring features, Uncle John's 5th set what would become the standard design for every book going forward. The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Bathroom Reader went out of print in 1994, and would later be re-released as a single volume, Uncle John's Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader. In 1995, the millionth copy of the series was sold, and to celebrate the milestone, the BRI released an eighth volume, The Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.

1996–2002

In 1996, the Bathroom Readers' Institute revised its writing style yet again, adopting a more 'encyclopedic' style, as well as spreading longer articles throughout the book. In 2000, John Javna retired from the Bathroom Reader series to care for his elderly parents, and the series was run thereafter by his brother Gordon, who had co-created the series with him. [3]

2003–present

For the first 15 years, "Bathroom Readers" referred to just one series. Now, there were several competitors (none quite as successful) and quite a few series within the BRI. Books 15–18 began to move away from the format seen in previous books, using two- and three-part articles, and sometimes removing popular recurring features in favor of the longer format. For a time, the Bathroom Reader series was owned by Advanced Marketing Services, a discount books distributor that went bankrupt in 2007, after which it was sold to a new owner with Gordon Javna continuing to steward the series until 2016. [4]

In 2012, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader celebrated its 25th anniversary with the publication of "Fully Loaded 25th Anniversary Bathroom Reader". With the 28th edition of the series, the cover was completely overhauled, with a new flexibound cover instead of the old paper. With the 30th anniversary of the series in 2017, the books were updated to feature a new interior design. The flexibound covers were discontinued with the 35th anniversary in 2022.

Gordon Javna retired from the series in 2016 after the Bathroom Reader offices in Ashland, Oregon were closed. [3] The series continued to be published by Portable Press, and the Javna brothers were described by Bookriot as not being directly involved with the publication of the Bathroom Reader books as of 2022. [4] John Javna has continued to write the introductions for subsequent volumes of the series, and he and Gordon are also listed as contributors to recent editions. [5] [6]

List of Uncle John's Books

Uncle John's Classic Editions
EditionTitleYearNotes
1Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader1988
2Uncle John’s Second Bathroom Reader1989
3Uncle John’s Third Bathroom Reader1990
4Uncle John’s Fourth Bathroom Reader1991
5Uncle John’s Fifth Bathroom Reader1992
6Uncle John’s Sixth Bathroom Reader1993
7Uncle John’s Seventh Bathroom Reader1994
8The Best Of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader1995
9Uncle John’s Ultimate Bathroom Reader1996
10Uncle John’s Giant 10th Anniversary Bathroom Reader1997
11Uncle John’s Great Big Bathroom Reader1998
12Uncle John’s Absolutely Absorbing Bathroom Reader1999
13Uncle John’s All-Purpose Extra-Strength Bathroom Reader2000
14Uncle John’s Supremely Satisfying Bathroom Reader2001
15Uncle John’s Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader2002
16Uncle John’s Unstoppable Bathroom Reader2003
17Uncle John’s Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader2004
18Uncle John’s Fast-Acting Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader2005
19Uncle John’s Curiously Compelling Bathroom Reader2006
20Uncle John’s Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader2007
21Uncle John’s Unsinkable Bathroom Reader2008
22Uncle John’s Endlessly Engrossing Bathroom Reader2009
23Uncle John's Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader2010
24Uncle John's 24-Karat Gold Bathroom Reader2011
25Uncle John's Fully Loaded 25th Anniversary Bathroom Reader2012
26Uncle John's Perpetually Pleasing Bathroom Reader2013
27Uncle John's Canoramic Bathroom Reader2014
28Uncle John’s Factastic 28th Bathroom Reader2015
29Uncle John's Uncanny Bathroom Reader2016
30Uncle John's Old Faithful 30th Anniversary Bathroom Reader2017
31Uncle John's Actual and Factual Bathroom Reader2018
32Uncle John’s Truth, Trivia, and the Pursuit of Factiness Bathroom Reader2019
33Uncle John's Greatest Know on Earth Bathroom Reader2020
34Uncle John's Hindsight Is 20/20 Bathroom Reader2021
35Uncle John's Awesome 35th Anniversary Bathroom Reader2022
36Uncle John’s Weird, Wonderful World Bathroom Reader2023
37Uncle John’s Action-Packed Bathroom Reader2024

List of Omnibuses

Uncle John's Omnibus Editions
EditionTitleYearNotes
1The Best of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader1995Uncle John's First Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Second Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Third Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Fourth Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Fifth Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Sixth Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Seventh Bathroom Reader
2Uncle John's 4-Ply Bathroom Reader2008Uncle John's First Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Second Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Third Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Fourth Bathroom Reader
3Uncle John’s Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader1999Uncle John's Fifth Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Sixth Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Seventh Bathroom Reader
4Uncle John’s Biggest Ever Bathroom Reader2002Uncle John's Ultimate Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Great Big Bathroom Reader
5Uncle John’s Gigantic Bathroom Reader2006Uncle John's Giant 10th Anniversary Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Absolutely Absorbing Bathroom Reader
6Uncle John’s Monumental Bathroom Reader2007Uncle John's Supremely Satisfying Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's All-Purpose Extra-Strength Bathroom Reader
7The Best Of The Best Of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader2008
8Uncle John's Extra Large Bathroom Reader2016Uncle John's Unstoppable Bathroom Reader,
Uncle John's Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader

Plunges Into...

Besides the annual editions and omnibuses, many topic specific editions were also published. These editions focused on such things like individual U.S. states, history, national parks, Hollywood, television, the U.S. Armed Forces, the environment, etc. These have ceased publishing since 2013.

Other Titles

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References

  1. "The Michigan Daily - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  2. Kois, Dan (24 September 2022). "Bathroom Books, Deep Thoughts". Slate.
  3. 1 2 Darling, John. "Ashland office of 'Uncle John's Bathroom Reader' closes". www.mailtribune.com. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  4. 1 2 Davies, Jeffrey (17 March 2022). "Easily Flushable Knowledge: A Brief History of UNCLE JOHN'S BATHROOM READER". BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  5. Uncle John's Greatest Know on Earth. San Diego, California: Portable Press. 2020. pp. 1–2. ISBN   978-1-64517-414-1.
  6. Uncle John's Awesome 35th Anniversary Bathroom Reader. San Diego, California: Portable Press, an imprint of Printers Row Publishing Group. 2022. pp. 1–2. ISBN   978-1-6672-0023-1.