I don't normally recommend anything

[raeschae]

Alright, so I'm not much for reccing anything really. I love when other people do, but I have a tendency to figure that my own tastes are weird, and nobody's going to be interested in what I'm reading/watching/listening to at the moment.

But I just finished a new book - Publish This Book: The Unbelievable True Story of How I Wrote, Sold, and Published This Very Book by Stephen Markley - and I kind of want to tell everyone I talk to about it. Granted, it's not for everyone (particularly the little old ladies who come into the library looking for Amish fiction), but y'all tend to skew a little bit more toward my sense of humor, so I thought I'd lay it on you.

Under the cut, the summary from the back of the book, just to give you a taste.

Dear Reader –

This is called the “back cover copy,” and you are no doubt familiar with its purpose. It describes what the book is about, so you can decide if you want to read it. (What’s beside it on the shelf? Something with a sexy vampire? If you’re looking for sexy, I do full-frontal nudity in Chapter 11.)

Here’s the problem, though: I can’t even describe this book, and I wrote the damn thing.

Basically, it’s like this: fed up with the Byzantine quest of trying to publish a novel, I decide instead to cut to the chase and write a memoir about trying to publish a book – this book, to be precise.

Of course, now you’re saying to yourself, “That is stupid,” which is fair.

But then you’ll read it, and you’ll say, “Damn, that was actually pretty good.”

Because obviously it’s about much more than just publishing a book. It’s about life and love and friendship; politics, pop culture, and basketball; sex, drugs, and mild, inoffensive, slow-tempo Christian rock. (It is not really about that last one.)

It’s about the pitfalls of narrating your life as it unfolds, freaking out when an agent actually (spoiler alert!) takes an interest in this bizarre experiment, and the surreal shock you undergo when a publisher actually buys it (and then later makes you write your own back cover copy even though you clearly do not know what you’re doing) and you suddenly realize that every secret drunk, drug, and sex story you’ve related will now be required reading for your parents, aunts, ex-girlfriends, and thousands of strangers who – you were kind of hoping – would never find out that you once accidentally shut your penis in a dresser drawer. (Although I’ll dodge a bullet there because I totally left that story out of the book.)

And finally, but most importantly, it’s about those tumultuous early years of adulthood – the years when hope and fear and rage boil together and the promise of youth still holds the capacity to inspire awe. This is a story of those struggles – to find your true voice in your work and in your life.

And the best part?

You pretty much know it has a happy ending. (Except for what happens to the puppy at the fertilizer plant. I admit, that part is kind of a downer.)

If you get a chance to check it out, it is - in my opinion - totally worth the time!

Comments

[raeschae.livejournal.com]

You'll have to let me know what you think! It's right up there on my memoir list with Dave Egger's A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Augusten Burroughs's Dry.

[ldyghst.livejournal.com]

Will do!
My friend Lindsay has been trying to get me to read the Eggers. I just haven't had time lol...

[raeschae.livejournal.com]

Guh. You have to read that book! You will laugh and cry, usually in rapid succession. It's beautiful. It also contains the best line NOT written about Sam and Dean Winchester that completely describes Sam and Dean Winchester:

. . . while the author searches for love - there will be some episodes involving that - and his brother searches for, you know, whatever little kids search for (gum and pennies?) and together they try to be normal and happy, they actually will probably always be unsuccessful in any and every extracurricular relationship, given that the only people who they truly admire and love and find perfect are each other.

[ldyghst.livejournal.com]

LOL! Now I will have to read it! :)