Something That May Shock and Discredit You

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Resisting the conventions of memoir, Daniel Mallory Ortberg has written about his transition in a series of intelligent, hilarious, and heartfelt personal essays. Thought-provoking and unpredictable, Ortberg cleverly swerves between the highbrow and the silly. This is a delightful and satisfying read — not to be missed! Recommended By Lucinda G., Powells.com

From the writer of Slate's "Dear Prudence" column and "literally the funniest person on the internet" (Rachel Fershleiser, coeditor of the New York Times bestseller Not Quite What I Was Planning) comes a witty and clever collection of essays and cultural observations spanning pop culture — from the endearingly popular to the staggeringly obscure.

Sometimes you just have to yell. New York Times bestselling author of Texts from Jane Eyre Daniel Mallory Ortberg has mastered the art of "poetic yelling," a genre surely familiar to fans of his cult-favorite website The Toast.

In this irreverent essay collection, Ortberg expands on this concept with in-depth and hilarious studies of all things pop culture, from the high to low brow. From a thoughtful analysis on the beauty of William Shatner to a sinister reimagining of HGTV's House Hunters, Something That May Shock and Discredit You is a laugh-out-loud funny and whip-smart collection for those who don't take anything — including themselves — much too seriously.

"Discarding any distinction between high and low cultures, Ortberg's Something that May Shock and Discredit You most certainly astonishes and amazes — it may even be transformative." Shelf Awareness

"A delightful hybrid of a book...blends genres with expert facility....Throughout, Ortberg's writing is vulnerable but confident, specific but never narrow, literal and lyrical. The author is refreshingly unafraid of his own uncertainty, but he's always definitive where it counts." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"Ortberg brings the full force of his wit and literary depth to this genre-bending essay collection, [which] intersperses searingly honest passages about his journey as a transgender man with laugh-out-loud funny literary pastiche....an often hilarious, sometimes discomfiting, but invariably honest account of one man's becoming." Publishers Weekly

"This book is clever and strange and lovely and sad and hysterical and poignant. These are the qualities that make up most of my favorite people and all of my favorite books. You really need to read this now." Jenny Lawson, New York Times bestselling author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy

Daniel Lavery (formerly Daniel Mallory Ortberg) is an American author and editor. He co-founded the website The Toast and has written the books Texts from Jane Eyre (2014) and The Merry Spinster (2018) as well as Slate's "Dear Prudence" advice column. He also hosts the "Dear Prudence" podcast.