Synopses & Reviews
The Overrated Book is brought to you by the staff of
Chunklet
Magazine, a paragon of satire for the holy cows of underground music
and culture. Since the early '90s, the magazine has mercilessly
lampooned the music industry, and is one of the most loved reads for
the hippest bands and music aficionados. It has a highly graphic style
and combines the work of political cartoonist Ted Rall with many
talented, young artists from the Cartoon Network. In recent issues, the
magazine has offered an official guide of what music not to buy and
made extensive charts of a Pay Not To Play system, offering bands large
amounts of money to break-up, and Adopt a Gutter Punk program to make
the world smell just a tiny bit better.
Overrated features the
comic musings of David Cross (
Mr. Show,
Arrested Development), Sarah
Silverman (
Saturday Night Live,
Jesus Is Magic), Janeane Garofalo
(
Saturday Night Live, Air America Radio) Patton Oswalt (
King of Queens,
Comedians of Comedy), Brian Posehn (
Mr. Show,
Just Shoot Me), and Zach
Galifianakis (
Late Night With Zach,
Bubble Boy).
"Do you have
cancer? This book will cure it.
Are you illiterate? Open this book to any page those funny little
squiggles that used to make you punch your spouse and enjoy American
Idol will suddenly make perfect sense.
If you're a fan of Shakespeare, Dickens, Nabokov or Borges, get ready
to build a bonfire made of their works. This book this miracle
that you hold, will make you clear a lot of space on your shelves. You
will find a copy of War and Peace and punch it. You will pee on Pride
and Prejudice. Spit on Seneca. And do something that starts with "u" on
Ulysses.
That's how good the writing is. In fact, the layout and execution by
themselves are at such a pitch of perfection that many people can't
even get to the point where they can read this book. They're that
dazzled by its inherent brilliance.
The tome you hold in your unworthy hands is like holding a sheaf of
shavings from the gold pillars of paradise, inscribed with ink made
from an angel's tear and bound with threads made from the shorn locks
of martyrs. You do not deserve it, yet the editors, in their superhuman
graciousness and giving, have deigned to allow its existence.
You will find it necessary to read this book while on your knees. And
you'll notice, after reading each sentence, you'll whisper, "I'm
sorry."
Don't judge yourself. You are beneath judgement.
Patton Oswalt is the greatest introduction writer in the pre- and
written history of the Universe. His name, uttered aloud, can reverse
the Doomsday Clock."
Review
"The Overrated Book is the perfect distillation of the entertainment value derived from mocking your friends' favorite anything....The Chunklet writers don't just grind sacred cows, they atomize them; doing so in mercilessly piquant prose that is simultaneously spot-on and impossible to take too seriously....If you can laugh at yourself as well as others, The Overrated Book deserves a place, if not on your coffee table, then at least your bathroom." Gerry Donaghy, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review
About the Author
Henry Owings is a graphic designer and the editor and publisher of Chunklet Magazine.