Patrz pod nogi. O zbieraniu rzeczy

In this thoroughly researched and engaging exploration of collecting, Kora Tea Kowalska encourages the reader to reconsider seemingly unremarkable ordinary objects, and to question ideas about what ‘deserves’ to be exhibited in a museum and what is junk. As an avid collector of all manner of things, she describes her own experiences of finding treasures – as an archaeologist, but also at flea markets, deep in the cellars of buildings set to be bulldozed, or in containers destined for landfill.

Each item – all of which are visually depicted in eye-catching arrangements – triggers a profound reflection. There is the tiny figurine that is actually a mascot from Nazi Germany’s Winterhilfswerk charitable programme, or a small, brightly-coloured plastic bear from the 1960s, which brings back childhood memories and launches us into a history of plastic toys. Some objects reveal traces of their former owners, and the author attempts to reconstruct their stories too. The result is both an intimate memoir – full of family anecdotes and wry observations – and a highly informative cultural history. Though principally rooted in 20th-century Gdańsk (the author’s hometown), the book covers a vast range of times and places.

It is also a philosophical examination of the concept and process of collecting itself. What can one collect? (The author answers: anything.) How do we display our collections and how does this shape the narratives we tell about them? Written in a conversational and entertaining style,Watch Your Step will change the reader’s perspective on ‘worthless’ trinkets with its joyful, unpretentious approach.