Sellevision by Augusten Burroughs, , 0312422288 Search discount cheap book, Compare Book prices, Find Lowest Price
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Sellevision, cheap new, used books  Sellevision: A Novel
Author: Augusten Burroughs  
ISBN: 0312422288   /   Paperback
Publisher: Picador US   /   2003-05-13
List Price: CDN$15.00
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Editorial Reviews:
Light and funny, with a bitter aftertaste, the action of Sellevision takes place behind the scenes (and on the set) of a successful television shopping network, where a feminine role model, Peggy Jean Smythe, the married, Christian mother of three, begins receiving suspicious e-mail from a viewer who insists that Peggy's hairy earlobe is obscuring her presentation of jewelry during the broadcast. When Peggy fails to respond to the e-mail, but silently waxes her lobe, the cruel notes escalate, until Peggy believes herself to be suffering from a hormonal crisis that has given her a mustache, a gruff voice, and the manner of a lumberjack. Meanwhile, one of her cohosts, Max Andrews, has been fired for accidentally exposing himself during a children's special, and learns just how undesirable a commodity a penis-baring ex-Sellevision host can be on the job market. The book is an unusually smooth read for a first novel, with six or seven truly inspired lines. --Regina Marler

Customer Reviews:
Greata stuff     
Loved this book. I've read his others too and thought they were great. Finished novels in the traditional sense? No, but they're highly entertaining and fresh. Edgy and definitely not for those who are easily offended, these books are a great break from the "traditional" literature you were required to read in school. Thanks A.B.!
Sell this     
In the mood for something light, I read SELLEVISION by
Augusten Burroughs . . . what a hoot!

It is a novel about life at a fictional home-shopping network . . . such topics as greed, obsession and third-tier celebrity are explored--all by way of a cast of characters that had me laughing out loud.

This is one book that ended far too soon . . . but the good thing is that it left me wanting to read other books (RUNNING WITH SCISSORS and the sequel DRY) by the same author. The way J.T. McCrae's KATZENJAMMER does, did, whatever.

There were many hysterical passages; among them:
Bebe rested her fork on the plate, clasped her hands in front of her on the table and recited: "Aging Jewish Princess, forty-two. seeks her prince, or at least a guy who walks upright. I'm attractive, successful,with a down-to-earth nature and an unfortunate passion for Rocky Road ice cream. Healthy, active, and fit, I enjoy the outdoors as well the occasional night on the town. I'm very spontaneous, and love to travel. You should be likewise. You should also be devastatingly handsome, filthy rich, outrageously funny, prone to extreme lapses of common sense, and humble. What else did I say? Oh yeah-the sense-of-humor impaired need not apply."

Even Sellevision had sent out a memo asking all their hosts if any of them had any "Hispanic, Asian, African American, or American Indian ancestry." It turned out Irish-Catholic Adele Oswald Crawley's great-great-grandmother on her father's side had some Navaho blood. So within a month, Adele was dressed in a little suede dress with fringe and given her own turquoise jewelry showcase called Indian Expressions, complete with potted cactus trees and a tepee. An old black-and-white
photograph of Adele as a little girl wearing an Indian headdress at a birthday party was enlarged and hung behind her. Prop stylists added Navaho throw rugs around the living room set, but the deerskin was pulled at the last moment because of the lawyers. After the show,
Howard had made it clear, "This is just a Band-Aid on the situation. We've got to get an ethnic in here immediately."

"That item has sold out, so congratulations to everyone who purchased it.

I think you'll be very happy. Up next: Joyce's Choice Crows Away! under-eye gel. But first, coming up on Sunday, Don from the Good Morning Show will be talking with author and trend forecaster Faith Popcorn about her brand new programmable popcorn popper that lets you pop tomorrow's popcorn today! If you're a busy snacker, you won't want to miss this
presentation."

Unique look at the world through mass marketing     
I've loved all the books I recently purchased, and each and every one is COMPLETELY different. The endless tome I AM CHARLOTTE SIMMONS was the first, and even with its length I was captivated. Then I read Jackson McCrae's THE CHILDREN'S CORNER with delight, disgust, fear, hope, and laughter. Finally, I came to rest with SELLEVISION. This novel is a delight! Each and every character is well crafted. I still can't find one I like over another. Readers get a look at each of their personal lives, as well as their on-air ones. All of which are screwed up to various degrees! Hilariously so!
I'm sold     
I picked up this book because I liked the cover - read the first page in the store, and rushed home to buy it on Amazon. On the basis of that first page, I had prepared myself for the kind of involvement and hilarity that I have come to expect from David Sedaris, and I was not disappointed. The only other author I did this with was Jackson McCrae and his "Children's Corner" which is superb and well written. Burroughs is a master storyteller - he gets the details right, creates characters that leap from the page, and makes you howl with laughter. This is a great romp through the world of home shopping networks, if we could but peek behind the scenes and infuse it with the wicked imagination it surely begs for. I hated to see Sellevision end, because there is nothing more therapeutic than a great laugh -- I eagerly await Mr. Burrough's next novel. In fact I am going to sit right here and wait. Hurry......
He'll Make You a Fan     
I am quickly becoming a fan of Augusten Burroughs. I first bought DRY after all the comparisons to Rikki Lee Travolta's MY FRACTURED LIFE and was very pleased with the purchase. SELLEVISION is my second Burroughs book and I enjoyed it even more. Burroughs definitely has the same quick wit and off center sense of jesting that Travolta has. The writing is very similar and is winning me over as a fan.
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