StuffLikeThat books

StuffLikeThat books is a craft publishing venture that brings together text, image and the book as handmade object. The books are made up by hand, and use inkjet printing, woodcut, linocut, stencil, embossing and type, in a design style that references early children's books, historical pamphlets, and zines. SLT's initiating principle is that a book should be a pleasurable thing to read. SLT publishes fiction - short stories - poetry, essays, and occasional publications fundraising for charity.By working within the boundaries of the book as object, Stuff Like That abandons the breadth of access provided by the internet in favour of intimacy of engagement. So these texts will not be available online.

Where to find us & how to buy

Valentines Mansion
Emerson Road, Ilford
London IG1 4XA
nearest tube - Gants Hill, Central LineOur next full sale display will be at the
Valentines Mansion Open Studio and Xmas jamboree 30 November &1 December 2024A selection of titles are now stocked by:
Morocco Bound, Morocco Street, Bermondsey
BookArtBookshop, Pitfield St, Hoxton
Phlox Books, Leyton
Books, PeckhamInterview and reading on BBC Upload Radio London, link belowPrices are shown below, books can be bought and sent, paying via Paypal. Email request for larger orders, postage can be discounted.Updates and new titles announced here and on facebook - stufflikethatbooks .
And on Instagram as JulianWalkerandstufflikethatContact me on [email protected]
or using the form at the base of the page

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Interview and reading on BBC Radio London June 24
• Link

4 new microbooks

Four new titles based on neighbourhood chatroom conversations. All human life is there. Not always at its best.7 x 5.5cm

Buy 1 microbook, at £5 + £1 postage - email me to say which one

Buy all 4 microbooks, at £15 + £1 postage.

New Titles

Festivity season 2024An essay on dogs in slang
by Jonathon Green
A new short story
by Philip Jennings
Hair, a memoir
by Sheena Calvert
A new short story
by Julian WalkerSummer/Autumn 2024 short stories:
Messy Play
Goodbye For Beginners
The Year Of The Storyteller
In Another Part Of The Forest
Postwar
and
17 Haikus
by Hazel Dongworth

A private room in South-west England

Kissy Kissy

Mike makes a mistake trying to kiss Janice while she's in hospital, a girl who fancies him is taken out by a poet who's disturbed by doorways, Frank may have run over Mike's foot, and treads on something nasty, Catrine is worried, Mike sees a mouse, and it's all a bit of a mess.40 pages
£7 + postage

The Year Of The Storyteller

A social worker (perhaps) encounters a young woman who seems to have stepped out of the 1381 Peasants Revolt into a road in 21st century Barking. Her story is compelling, difficult, and resonates uncomfortably with the present.38 pages.
£7 + postage

In Another Part Of The Forest

Three overlapping experiences of the forest, in which protagonists see each other using the space in different ways. Being seen, seeing, safe and dangerous places. Includes sex, not very exciting though.24 pages
£7 + postage

Messy Play

Four overlapping situations. Involving a photograph of a dog, someone who pretends to live in another country, a worried goldfish, a fingernail and a toenail, a kebab, two pets with the same name, and a boy locked in a toilet.26 pages.
£7 + postage

Goodbye for Beginners

Five experiences of the end of relationship, involving the same individuals at different stages. Messy, clumsy, chaotic, good or daft intentions, discomfort, and rage. How things go wrong when things go wrong and we try to put them right.38 pages
£7 + postage

17 Haikus

Hazel Dongworth's haikus, gentle, perceptive, discomfiting and probing, are presented with illustrations from early children's books.20 pages.
£6 + postage

The Anxiety Room

Seven students with special arrangements sit an English Literature exam. The term 'reader response criticism' cannot do justice to the individuality of their encounter with two challenging texts, and with the exam situation itself, heavily influenced by their own challenging situations.26 pages
£7 + postage

Four Not Tall Stories

A man runs out of cigarettes and gets unwelcome advice from a historical astronomer, a photographer cuts himself while trying to get a close shot of the texture of metal, a woman accidentally cuts herself at the office, and a writer gets advice from a war refugee.28 pages.
£7 + postage

That Bed

A man's love for his mother overrides other considerations, including his own marriage. But his mother had hopes of her own, which only come to light as he clears her house. Involves greyhound-racing.26 pages
£7 + postage

Pelican

Sexual encounters, or not, from the 18th and the 21st centuries. A woman who knows more than might be expected, James Boswell arranges a meeting with a prostitute, the interpretation of fishing, and a delayed train. All linked by pelicans.26 pages.
£7 + postage

Six Uneasy Pieces

Six overlapping incidents connecting spelling, sleep, fairground rides, buses, dreams and whether the telling of them is dull beyond measure, dream holidays, punctuation, and being late for meetings.28 pages
£7 + postage

Holiday Camp

Mary's wartime trauma is re-experienced on holiday when her husband falls out with a young German woman during a dance. The marriage is stressed to breaking point, with sexual violence and family collapse.32 pages.
£7 + postage

Adopted

A young woman's parents hide from her the fact that she is adopted. The reveal prompts family breakdown and has sexual fallout for more than one person.31 pages
£7 + postage

Soil

Malcolm's allotment is hard work, and offers little relief from his unequal marriage. A new friend offers a new way of looking at things.28 pages.
£7 + postage

Pitcairn

Desire, restraint, perfection, disappointment, geography, history and literature in a student kitchen, after a first time, and a possible first time. Involves oxbow lakes, 19th century urban poverty, and Tennyson.18 pages
£7 + postage

Interior Designs

Sheila and Jack's new flat needs something to bring it to life. Sheila brings in some plants and a picture which are more alive than Jack can cope with.18 pages.
£7 + postage

Rush Hour

Marcus pays for a day out to celebrate Maisie's birthday, but struggles to reconcile the costs of the lunch and a problematic taxi ride with the experience of childhood poverty sitting deep within him.18 pages
£7 + postage

The woman who was herself

Miriam's independent life began at the age of 23. How does she reconcile her new-built self with the friendships that overlapped from the time before? Is friendship collateral damage, both ways?20 pages.
£7 + postage

Never go back

Gina is convinced that you should not return to scenes of your early life. She may be open to persuasion, but only if her basic memories can be preserved. But what are the memories really, and do photographs degrade them? Family life, sex; abject misery? No, maybe sadness at the inevitability of loss.19 pages
£7 + postage

Marcia and the Dogs

Marcia has difficult relationships with her parents and their dog. A later relationship with a dog doesn't turn out well either. Care, dementia, literature, abusive relationships, vacuum-cleaners, and what is it with dogs?15 pages.
£7 + postage

Not Speaking

Tina does not speak, Stevie struggles to make herself heard, and Marcus is busy. Her parents are worried about Tina, and events in Stevie's childhood are still there. Sex, a dog (again), family life, and a very troubled neighbour.18 pages
£7 + postage

fuck the archive

Haven't we got enough? The past is increasingly preserved for the future, and access is allowed under conditions and to selected individuals authorised by largely self-authorising bodies. Enough. More than enough. An alternative view of keeping, preserving, museums, archives, gatekeepers, curating, and shouting about it.15 pages.
£7 + postage

On Holiday

A young woman's period starts on the first day of her holiday with a new boyfriend. And another couple are not what they seem. The boyfriend gets it very wrong.15 pages
£7 + postage

A Small Bestiary

Three stories about people's dealings with animals. Not exactly 'nice doggy'. A fly, a dog, and a fish all come off badly, but shove our moral compasses in our faces.18 pages
£7 + postage

Care

Social care of the elderly set in the late medieval world. Alison and her husband would have liked to grow old together, but there are always compromises. Very poignant, not an easy read.18 pages
£7 + postage

Prepositions

Dialectal differences within a family echo the stress of prescription drug dependency. Aren't families fun.12 pages
£6 + postage

So

A woman suffers dental injury, rejects her excitable and strong-minded mother, and considers how two writers of the Arthurian legend use an introductory term.11 pages
£6 + postage

Bigness

A young person looks at one of Gulliver’s adventures in light of her own feelings of isolation, which she is ok with.15 pages
£6 + postage

Uncertainty

A mathematical sequence probably does not work when applied to romance, though it might be useful for arranging books on a shelf, or even reacting to the climate crisis.15 pages
£6 + postage

Half Past Two

The tense relationship between two sisters revolves around relative incomes, differing world-views, and a pair of walking boots.11 pages
£6 + postage

The Ceiling

Well, the ceiling is going to fall down, and the lawn won't mow itself, and his daughter's choice of boyfriend is upsetting, and then there's his wife's new hobby. What could go wrong? We need a hero.18 pages
£6 + postage

The Voice of God

A home security device is mistaken for a celestial message. But then, it might actually be a celestial message. You can never be entirely sure.15 pages
£6 + postage

Zoom

Located in the post-Covid life of online meetings, loss of attention leads a participant down an imagined path, involving a woman looking for something, a harbour that is falling into the sea, and the male gaze.24 pages
£7 + postage

School Blown Away

A person misses out on experience twice, once while at school, and later while trying to find their old school. And how the wind makes children go bonkers.13 pages
£6 + postage

As The Crow Flies

Accidentally finding yourself appearing to be the thing you most dislike can cause problems. Especially if you are a crow.11 pages
£6 + postage

Plein Air

Three people heavily involved in what they look at, over a period of 200 years, get frustrated by the space they want to occupy and see.15 pages
£7 + postage

How To Peel An Egg

There may be different ways of approaching essential life skills, whether it be peeling an egg or knowing what to say at a funeral.15 pages
£7 + postage

Two Down at Half-time

A mother is vaguely involved with football, rather against her will. There are other things going on, family stuff. But what is it with football?17 pages
£6 + postageUK postage here

Paradise Lost

A young graphic artist feels uncomfortable visiting a squat. Should she take a risk which might lead to her first breakthrough? Does she make the right choices over who to argue with?17 pages
£7 + postage

Thirst

Observations of a funeral party in a pub, and the conversation between two crabs at the end of the world in H G Wells’ Time Machine. Includes talking animals.18 pages
£7 + postage

Heaven

Young Niamh and her boyfriend meet in an abandoned place, presided over by two entities, a sentient brick and a religious festival, that seem to be fading away.12 pages
£6 + postage

Ant Monster

Marjory's questions about whether animals have souls develop into fears for how her family treats insects, and she gets into an unholy argument.20 pages
£7 + postageUK postage here

The Waves

Marjory struggles with the names she acquires over her life, and the blows that fate, and the writer, deal her. Ultimately she takes the matter into her own hands.18 pages
£7 + postage

Shit Day

Things go from bad to worse - much, much worse - during the course of a single day. The prognosis for the future isn't too good either.14 pages
£7 + postage

Gable End

Arthur's attempts to educate through architecture provoke encouragement from two admirers, a century apart, though his boss gets a bit hard on him. We wish him well, and hope he gets to enjoy his lunch.16 pages
£7 + postage

Oxbow Lake

Some things we just get wrong, from early on. And we just keep getting them wrong, again and again. Is there a Wikipedia entry for 'how to be me'? Please?16 pages
£7 + postage

Man on a Pole

Social occasions can be fun, especially when anybody can be arsed to show any interest in you. It appears that this does occasionally happen. Not at all autobiographical, dear me no. With diversions on escaped livestock, crossing rivers, and Thomas Bewick.16 pages
£7 + postage

These People

Anita and Michael feel out of place at a university reunion party, where, away from campus, class and heritage differences are thrown into sharp relief. Resentment, sadness and outrage are served, in luxurious surroundings, with excellent wine, clichés and cutting comments.32 pages
£7 + postageUK postage here

Quality Control

James struggles, despite some fine malt whisky, to manage his interest in furniture design, his job, and his concern for the safety aspect of what he is responsible for. Things fall apart.16 pages
£7 + postage

Animals in Gardens

Three short stories - unwanted animals get into our gardens, an animal gets out of a garden, and animals do challenging things in a garden.16 pages
£7 + postage

To Alresford

A person's memories of staying with curious adult friends as a child; we can be anything we want to be, can't we. Can't we? Involving dialects and accents, local and otherwise.18 pages
£7 + postage

Tick Tock

A woman's choice of interior furnishings indicate an uneasiness about her relationship with children, both personal and professional. Tide and time do their own thing, regardless of us.16 pages
£7 + postageUK postage here

Guaranteed Waterproof

Interpretations of the past are mostly about the present, and the Stone Age may have been much like the Anthropocene. Food, sex, bad weather, shit happening, tiresome people, just having to get on with it.20 pages
£7 + postage

Unscheduled Stop

The bus does not move away from the bus-stop and the man who talks to other people on the bus keeps his thoughts to himself, up to a point. There's a lot going on in his head.10 pages
£6 + postage

John Lennon Is Not Dead

Three attempts to stop time and change the course of history have different results. Can we change the past, or even the present? It never happened.11 pages.
£6 + postage

Blue Pencil & Tidy Desk

Stationery as a way of feeling our way through parent/child relationships in adulthood, inevitably uncomfortably.
Printed as a back-to-back book.16 pages
£7 + postage

Christmas Wishes

What you would wish your nearest and dearest for Christmas, illustrated with postage stamps.
10 x 7cm16 pages
£18 + £1 postage

Four Pairs of Shorts

8 short stories, in a paper bag. Some short, some longer, some shorter. Teenage memories; national lack of trust; a tall story; my kitchen; so much money; how to get people's attention; retribution; family trigonometry.
A limited signed edition of 50 copies.8 separate sheets
£9 + £1.50 postage

Four More Pairs of Shorts

Eight short stories, each under 1000 words. Don't do that; be nice; be nicer; sex; are you alright?; the cliché triumphs; more sex; don't do that either. A limited signed edition of 50 copies.8 separate sheets.
£9 + 1.50 postage

Paperthin

By Anne EggebertA work on mixed papers, exploring loss of words and loss of identity.

What Would You Do For Love?

How parental love based on plans for the perfect childhood goes wrong. So very wrong.16 pages
£10 + £1.50 postage

Little Jumping Joan

The nursery rhyme, with a twist even more uncomfortable than it already had.8 pages
£10 + £1.50 postage

Barely There At All Books

Typed and stencilled on sewing pattern paper, very fragile, very small. Mostly one side of a conversation. Ten pounds each plus £1.50 postage.Little Jumping Joan (no 1)Oi, Bobby Nicholls (no 2)Oi, Johnny (no 3)Oi, Jase (4)Hey babes (no 11)Oi, Ahmed (no 20)Email me to let me know which one(s) you are interested in.