( CNN ) -- I recently became the proud owner of a bobblehead moose magnet . The jaunty little guy sports a Nova Scotia T-shirt , and while made in China , he reminds me of a lovely Canadian adventure lacking only in a real moose . Doug Lansky knows all about the draw of those touristy retail emporiums packed to the ceilings with tacky T-shirts and plastic bric-a-brac . He 's the author of `` Crap Souvenirs : The Ultimate Kitsch Collection . '' The book , released this month , features more than 150 tchotchke photos , some of which Lansky collected from travelers online . He 's still collecting photos of these gems on his website crapsouvenirs.com . CNN asked Lansky to explain his terminology . He provided the following answers via e-mail : . What 's a `` crap souvenir ? '' For starters , I want to be clear that `` crap souvenir '' is just a snarky way to say `` awesomely kitsch . '' These are a collection of entertaining souvenirs that are , you might say , so bad , they 're good . It was hard to find a litmus test for tacky -- nearly all souvenirs possess an element of tackiness . ( Finding kitsch-free souvenirs is a far more difficult task . ) In the end , it was a gut reaction . I suppose I was looking for something that invoked an emotion that landed somewhere between a cringe and a laugh . Is the photo better than the vacation ? What criteria did you consider for an `` awesomely kitsch '' or remarkably crappy souvenir ? It was almost more difficult to define what was a souvenir . Sure , it 's French for `` to remember , '' but that does n't help the selection process much . Your first thought , like mine , might be that a souvenir is a memento you bring back from a trip . Seems reasonable , but consider the example of a German tourist who picks up an iPad while visiting New York 's Apple Store . He might consider it a souvenir of his visit . And his device is a souvenir for him , but iPads in general are n't . So , Rule 1 is that it has to be a souvenir on its own standing . Rule 2 : It should be an object on sale to the public . There may be a life-size polar bear in a cowboy hat and hula skirt standing in front of a tourist shop that makes for memorable souvenir photos , and one could argue that any item is for sale if you make the right offer , but if it is n't specifically there to be sold , it does n't count . Travel Snapshots : Not-so-kitsch souvenirs . Rule 3 is a bit more complicated . It should be tied to a location . One way is simply to print the name of the town , city or country on it . But that would also qualify any random object that says `` Made in China . '' So it has to be tied to a place in a way more substantial than being outsourced for production . In lieu of a printed location , the item might include national colors or depictions of a famous icon or be made of well-known items endemic to that locale . This was my working guideline . However , after all this reasoning , there were a few exceptions that were simply too deliciously kitsch to pass up . What 's the tackiest souvenir you 've ever come home with ? Share your finds in the comments section below .
`` Crap Souvenirs '' features photos of some of the world 's kitschiest trinkets . The book features photos of Sphinxamids and smoking frogs . A souvenir has to reflect a place beyond being emblazoned with its name , author says .