From Publishers Weekly
Can you describe your life in six words? That's what the editors of storytelling magazine SMITH asked readers in 2006; the results, though decidedly uneven, make for compulsive reading and prove arguably as insightful as any 300+ page biography. Taken as a whole, this cascade of quotes from contributors famous and unknown creates a dizzying snowball effect of perspectives and feelings. Highlights from professional writers and artists include journalist Chuck Klosterman wondering, "Nobody cared, then they did. Why?"; pop singer-songwriter Adam Schlesinger lamenting, "We still don't hear a single"; and comic strip artist Keith Knight illustrating "I was a Michael Jackson impersonator." At their best, these nano-memoirs evoke the same kind of rich emotional responses as a good story: 9 year old Hannah Davies considers herself "Cursed with cancer. Blessed by friends"; Zak Nelson says "I still make coffee for two"; Scott Birch claims "Most successful accomplishments based on spite." Some entries read like bumper stickers (Rip Riley: "No wife. No kids. No problems"), and others are just plain weird (Amy Sedaris: "Mushrooms. Clowns. Wands. Five. Wig. Thatched"), but this compelling little book will have readers and their friends hunting for favorites and inventing six-word self-definitions of their own. This review in six words? Read. Enjoy. Pass it on. Repeat.
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Review
"A perfect distraction and inspiration, and a collection that begs to be shared." (Denver Post )
"A fabulously appealing exercise both for writers and for readers." (Daily Telegraph (London) )
"Perfect for the American attention span...Will thrill minimalists and inspire maximalists." (Vanity Fair )
"You could spend a lifetime brainstorming." (The New Yorker )
"Six-word review: Buy it, keep it in bathroom." (Philadelphia Magazine )
"The pithiest of life stories." (O magazine )
"These tiny windows into people's lives are at once addictive and illuminating, challenging and accessible." (Blackbook )
"Smith seems to have struck a chord in the current zeitgeist, unleashing a torrent of self-expression not unlike the one launched by Frank Warren when he began inviting people to write their secrets on the back of postcards." (Toronto Star )
"The brilliance is in the brevity." (New York Post )
"Irresistibly clever." (Chicago Tribune )
"In six words: Gimmicks should always be this fun." (Style.com )
"Compulsive reading...as insightful as any 300+ page biography." (Publishers Weekly )