In 1968, Ed Ruscha published 2,400 copies of Nine Swimming Pools and a Broken Glass. One copy made its way to the Design Library at NC State University where, sometime around 2004, Critter would remove it from the Small Books shelf, and read it with wonder and admiration. If any book can be said to have inspired Critter’s appreciation for the medium, it is this one.

In 2022, a friend requested “a photocopied bootleg of the Ruscha book of [Critter’s] choosing”. Nine Swimming Pools is a half-size, laser-printed, copy-paper reproduction of the very book that inspired Critter’s interest in artist’s books and self-publishing.