Everyone has things that they keep postponing. You need to go somewhere, do something, or talk to someone, but somehow something always gets in the way. Today becomes tomorrow, tomorrow becomes next week, and it goes on forever. Then something happens, and you say “Right, this is the time, I’m going to do it!” This article is like that. It’s been more than a year since I’ve decided to write about The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks. I’ve been postponing it, but now that the book is widely available, it’s finally time!
I grew up surrounded by books. As a kid, our whole house was filled with them, and it’s the same now. We might have enough books for 10, even 20 homes, enough to open up a small library. If you’re thinking “Oh, how nice!”, don’t. It’s no picnic when you change where you live with 80-90 boxes full of books. People used to ask my dad, now they ask me: “Have you read them all?” No, of course we haven’t. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, all books aren’t meant to be read. What I mean is, they aren’t meant to be read like novels. You buy it, look inside, have a general idea of what’s it about. Then you put in on the shelf to use it when you need it. Using it doesn’t mean it has to be for class, for homework, for reference etc. When you’re having a conversation with a guest (or your father, in my case), a subject comes up, and you take the book, show it to them, remember what a treasure it is and appreciate it again.
For me, all LEGO books, including The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks, falls into this category. It’s not something you start reading from page 1 and finish in one go. However, there’s an insane amount of labor, like there are in the others, and since it’s easier to get now, we can finally talk about it (and hopefully we’ll do the same for Bruno one day :) ).
The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks
There was a poll for AFOLs in summer 2020. The LEGO Group had decided to publish a book on LEGO bricks, and they wanted us to choose from three titles. Each had a brief summary of what the book would focus on. The titles were The LEGO Brick Museum, LEGO History in 100 Bricks, and The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks. The last one was the winner.
The book was going to be published in limited numbers, and only those who supported the project in the crowdfunding campaign would be able to get it. Even though I had participated in the poll, I missed this pre-order period thanks to the chaos in my life. It was around summer 2021 when my friends at The Brothers Brick reminded me of it. My biggest regret is not being able to get the 3D printed part because I ordered late. But I was still able to get a signed copy. While we’re at it, let me thank Edwinder and Alex once again; if it wasn’t for our chats, I would’ve completely missed the opportunity.
I got the book around January 2023. Me and my dad had a quick look (by quick look I mean staring in awe), and put it on the shelf. Back then, it was the dark ages of the blog, I wasn’t writing anything. When I started writing again, I made a list of possible articles, in case I ran out of ideas. Introducing this book was among them. Well, they say better late then never, right? :)
Daniel Konstanski
The author of The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks, Daniel Konstanski, has been into LEGO since he was three years old. He says he never had a dark age. He still continues to write in Blocks Magazine, which is published both physically and digitally. Even though he has written about a wide range of topics, he says his favorite subject is the history of both the LEGO Group and their products.
The pandemic was still around when he was writing, so he didn’t get a chance to go to Billund. To make up for this, the LEGO Group opened their digital archive to him. Daniel describes this access as “a kid in a candy store”. It really has to be an incredible opportunity for anyone who is into the history of it, and not only see it as a toy or a collectible.
There’s an interview with Daniel on The Brother’s Brick blog, done while he was writing the book. I borrowed some of what I’ve written here from there. You can read the whole interview through this link. There’s a similar interview on Brickset as well.
Finishing up
The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks is the perfect book for anyone who likes going in deeper into the subject. Like I said, it’s not a book you read like a novel. It contains subjects like the story of how the bricks came to life, the evolution of minifigures, original and licensed LEGO themes, and much, much more. Some of these stories come from people who have been working with the company since the 1960s. In this age, it’s very easy to access all kinds of information thanks to the world wide web. Still, you find something new in the book every time you go through its pages. After all, it has sources most of us will never have access to, coming from people only a few will get a chance to chat with. So if you’re into the subject, and have the means, I’d say don’t think twice before getting the book.
See you in the next article!
The image showing the new (yellow) cover of the book is from Unbound, Daniel’s picture is from Blocks Magazine sites.
I’d like to send special thanks to Tom (@tombrickminiatures) who took pictures of the 3D printed part with the speed of light when I asked him.
Some girls play with Barbie dolls, while others create small worlds with LEGO minifigures and continue to do so when they grow up. You can probably guess which group I belong to :)
