Helpful Score: 6
This was a very fast read for me. It was a bit predictable, but a fun book. You won't learn any life lessons here, folks, but you are sure to have a laugh or two. A little bit of a look into the "bottom rung" of being famous. Okay, I admit it, Peggy Jean cracked me up. She probably deserved what she got - yeah, I said it. There.
Helpful Score: 5
I really liked this book! It was gravely funny! All of the characters were flawed. I felt so sorry for poor Peggy Jean! The affair between Nikki and John Smythe was totally disgusting. Also, I'm convinced Bebe and Eliot were in fact related, nasty! I'm glad Trish got what she deserved in the end. Great book! Great characters!
Helpful Score: 5
Sellevision by Augusten Burroughs is a behind the scenes look into the lives of the quirky hosts at Sellevision, the premier home shopping network. Readers are introduced to Peggy Jean, the conservative Christian being stalked by a viewer; Max, fired for accidentally exposing himself on air; BeBe, the shining jewel in the network's crown, Trish, a rising star on the network; and Leigh, a young host sleeping with the boss. If only QVC was more like this book.
Sellevision is a fun book, though near the end the plot seems to have run out of steam. Much like the thrill one might get from buying a cheap bauble peddled on TV, the initial thrill of this book fades soon after reading.
Rating: 3.5 Dazzling Diamonelle necklaces out of 5.
Sellevision is a fun book, though near the end the plot seems to have run out of steam. Much like the thrill one might get from buying a cheap bauble peddled on TV, the initial thrill of this book fades soon after reading.
Rating: 3.5 Dazzling Diamonelle necklaces out of 5.
Helpful Score: 4
Burroughs is **hysterical**. This book is so over the top and I laughed my way through it. If you like his memoirs, you'll love this fictional version of shop TV that he creates. Each character is more unbelievable than the next, yet you believe they're out there. It's a soap opera in text. Brilliant.
Helpful Score: 2
Interesting book - a VERY fast read and quite fun - not as engrossing as his other work, but a good summer read!
Helpful Score: 1
Trashy, smart, shocking and funny.
Helpful Score: 1
A very amusing, tongue-in-cheek farce about the TV home shopping type shows and the people on them. Fast read.
Helpful Score: 1
From the back: "Darkly funny and gleefully mean-spirited, Sellevision explores greed, obsession, and third-tier celebrity, in the world of a fictional home-shopping network."
My comments: Laugh out loud funny - very entertaining read from a interesting author.
My comments: Laugh out loud funny - very entertaining read from a interesting author.
Helpful Score: 1
PUBLISHER COMMENTS
Darkly funny and gleefully mean-spirited, "Sellevision" explores greed, obsession and third tier celebrity, in the world of a fictional home shopping network.
Welcome to the troubled world of Sellevision, America's premier retail broadcasting network. When Max Andrews, the much-loved and handsome (lonely and gay) host of "Slumber Sunday Sundown" accidentally exposes himself in front of twenty million kids and their parents during a "Toys for Tots" segment, Sellevision faces its first big scandal. As Max fails to find a job in television, another host, the popular and perky Peggy Jean Smythe is receiving sinister emails about her appearance from a stalker. Popping pills and drinking heavily, she fails to notice that her husband is spending a lot of time with the very young babysitter who lives next door. Then there's Leigh, whose affair with Sellevision boss Howard Toast is going nowhere, until she exposes him on air; and Bebe, Sellevision's star host, who finds Mr. Right through the Internet if she can just stop her shopping addiction from taking over.
REVIEWS
"An absolute howl, about on-camera personalities who sell things on those home-shopper channels. This one has its characters fall apart very publicly: One is axed after he accidentally exposes himself on air. Another is the target of a surprising stalker.
And so on."
-- New York Daily News
"This kaleidoscope of gleefully salacious intrigue aims to titillate and amuse in a purposefully over-the-top way."
-- Publishers Weekly
"First-time novelist Burroughs writes fluidly and shows a flair for fun, campy material....As a bubbly soap opera, 'Sellevision'
is good company for the beach or the plane. Its literary value may be low, but the material sparkles, just like the Diamonelle earrings on the shopping channels."
-- Booklist
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Augusten Burroughs is the author of "Running with Scissors" and "Sellevision." He lives in New York City.
Darkly funny and gleefully mean-spirited, "Sellevision" explores greed, obsession and third tier celebrity, in the world of a fictional home shopping network.
Welcome to the troubled world of Sellevision, America's premier retail broadcasting network. When Max Andrews, the much-loved and handsome (lonely and gay) host of "Slumber Sunday Sundown" accidentally exposes himself in front of twenty million kids and their parents during a "Toys for Tots" segment, Sellevision faces its first big scandal. As Max fails to find a job in television, another host, the popular and perky Peggy Jean Smythe is receiving sinister emails about her appearance from a stalker. Popping pills and drinking heavily, she fails to notice that her husband is spending a lot of time with the very young babysitter who lives next door. Then there's Leigh, whose affair with Sellevision boss Howard Toast is going nowhere, until she exposes him on air; and Bebe, Sellevision's star host, who finds Mr. Right through the Internet if she can just stop her shopping addiction from taking over.
REVIEWS
"An absolute howl, about on-camera personalities who sell things on those home-shopper channels. This one has its characters fall apart very publicly: One is axed after he accidentally exposes himself on air. Another is the target of a surprising stalker.
And so on."
-- New York Daily News
"This kaleidoscope of gleefully salacious intrigue aims to titillate and amuse in a purposefully over-the-top way."
-- Publishers Weekly
"First-time novelist Burroughs writes fluidly and shows a flair for fun, campy material....As a bubbly soap opera, 'Sellevision'
is good company for the beach or the plane. Its literary value may be low, but the material sparkles, just like the Diamonelle earrings on the shopping channels."
-- Booklist
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Augusten Burroughs is the author of "Running with Scissors" and "Sellevision." He lives in New York City.
Helpful Score: 1
I very much enjoyed this book - the author really developed the (flawed) characters and many times, I laughed out loud when reading. Humor is definitely on the adult side, but nothing too over the top.
An easy read - I read this book in one sitting.
An easy read - I read this book in one sitting.
Helpful Score: 1
Augusten Burroghs is hysterical!! This is a funny book about people who work on a home shopping show.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was fun - a harmless romp into the idealistic world of QVC and Home Shopping Network executives and their private lives. Great beach book!
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed this book but I don't think that it was as good as "Running with Scissors" or "Dry". It was still hilarious though.
Helpful Score: 1
At first I was excited to read this since I love all of Augusten Burroughs' nonfiction books. However, I was soon disappointed. Although the novel introduces circumstances that could have potential for literary interest and hilarity (an accidental penis exposure on a home shopping network type show, resulting in the host's firing), it fails to deliver. I was not interested in the characters' lives or the outcome of the story. The only reason I finished it was because it required little thought and it was a good thing to read before falling asleep. The characters are one-dimensional and the plot falls flat. In this case, truth really is stranger (and more interesting, and much better written!) than fiction.
As a side note, I really do think Burroughs is a good writer. Just stick to his nonfiction. I recently read "Dry" and was blown away by his raw honesty and humor about a serious subject.
As a side note, I really do think Burroughs is a good writer. Just stick to his nonfiction. I recently read "Dry" and was blown away by his raw honesty and humor about a serious subject.
Helpful Score: 1
Funny and silly with one of the best first lines of all times. Not great literature, but a quick and fun read with the author's typically acerbic bite. This was Burroughs' first book, written (by his own account)while still an active substance abuser.
Helpful Score: 1
His other books are a lot better. This is a novel.
Helpful Score: 1
I didn't like "Running with Scissors," but wanted to give the author another chance. I really enjoyed this book! It was quirky, sarcastic, and completely over the top. The characters at "Sellevision" are a motley mix of characters one might see at any large corporation, and their rise or fall is dependent on the tides. Great, fun read! I couldn't sleep last night, so I read it from about 11pm to 2am.
Helpful Score: 1
funny. I was suckered into getting this book because i love infomercials. But it was a good, lighthearted read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Helpful Score: 1
I was disappointed. After the 1st chapter of laughing hard I was bored. I love Augusten's non-fiction and I have read most of it, but I was disappointed by this book.
This was a little slow starting and I have to admit, I thought to myself,"Stick to your real life its much funnier that fiction." I changed my mind as I read along it got better...funnier...and you just have to read it for yourself.
Augusten Burroughs must have had an interesting childhood!!
Wow this book was quite different then I expected!
Great quick read
Wow this book was quite different then I expected!
Great quick read
"Sellevision" is a spoof of the home shopping networks and the characters who inhabit that world. Max Andrews is the host of Sellevision. That is, until he accidentally exposes himself on a childrens' segment and is subsequently fired. Because of that incident, Max can't get a job and children scream whenever they spot him outside his apartment for errands or a job hunt. Another host, Peggy Jean Smythe is receiving scary emails from a stalker about her appearance. She becomes obsessed about her appearance and starts drinking heavily and popping pills in order to cope. Sellevision's star host, Bebe, has met her true love through the internet but can't stop her shopping addiction long enough to keep the relationship moving. These are just some of the funny characters that populate this book. Though not as darkly humorous as "Running With Scissors", Burroughs' perceptive wit shines through nonetheless. Some readers may find this a very funny book while some will just enjoy this book as a light read with some chuckles here and there.
Definitely a "dark comedy", and I couldn't stop reading. It was interesting to see how these character's lives unfolded and quickly your life can change (for the better or worse). Overall, I thought it was a pretty amusing book.
This was fun, predictable, a quick and easy book to read.
"Darkly funny and gleefully mean-spirited. Over the top. Savvy, very entertaining. By the writer of 'Running with Scissors.'"
Very funny, if you are a fan of Augusten Burroughs you'll love this.
Loved his novel-read all his memoirs and really enjoyed the fictional side of him also.
Funny, yet twisted book. What you would expect from Augusten Burroughs.
I just couldn't get into this book.
Very funny. I love the over-the-top characters.
Augusten Burroughs debut novel Sellevision offers up an entertaining look into the lives of presenters at a fictional home shopping channel. His skills as an advertising copywriter are effectively displayed by the descriptions of the on-air time, but the story really pops due to his great comedic timing as the various hosts muddle through with their respective (mostly first-world) problems. Its a quick, savvy critique of the dark side of a consumerist culture.
About a third of the way through I put this one down. If you like Agusten Burroughs you'll probablly like this book. If you're like me and you are desprately trying to like him after enjoying "Dry" then give up, it isn't going to happen.
A really fun read. This book goes behind the scenes of a fictional home shopping network.
After reading Running With Scissors
