Bill Keaggy is a collector, maker and breaker of things. He has a healthy appreciation for the beauty and absurdity in small things forgotten: chairs tossed in alleys, papers found in old books, trees growing out of abandoned buildings and, of course, grocery lists left in shopping carts. His projects are all about the life behind the things people leave behind. His websites, Keaggy.com and Grocerylists.org, have been described as genius, useless, inspiring, stupid, beautiful, profound and a complete waste of time.

Book Description

Cabich, bird fude, nodiles, buttmilk, dog yogurt, bannes, hare sope, cream of salary soup.*

What do these things have in common? They're all items from real grocery lists. Whose lists? Who knows. They were found discarded in shopping carts, dropped on supermarket floors and parking lots, even tucked in returned library books.

These lists have been collected into the volume you are now holding. Peek inside to see what people will write on scraps of paper they never expect anyone else to see. Marvel at the unusual combinations of food the average person shops for. You'll find yourself captivated by this unexpected and off-kilter glimpse into the lives of those around you.

Separated into chapters--funny lists, sad lists, unhealthy lists, organized lists--the book also includes commentary by the author and some delicious recipes created from found grocery lists.

If we are what we eat, then this book reveals deep and strange truths about the average food shopper ... not to mention more mundane facts like a lot of people love vodka, banana is actually very difficult to spell and that butter used to be dyed yellow using marigolds.

*Translation: Cabbage, bird food, noodles, buttermilk, dog yogurt (duh), bananas, shampoo, cream of celery soup.