Book Reviews of Sellevision

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.

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!

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.

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.

Interesting book - a VERY fast read and quite fun - not as engrossing as his other work, but a good summer read!

Funny, yet twisted book. What you would expect from Augusten Burroughs.

A very amusing, tongue-in-cheek farce about the TV home shopping type shows and the people on them. Fast read.

Augusten Burroghs is hysterical!! This is a funny book about people who work on a home shopping show.

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.

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.

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.

Augusten Burroughs must have had an interesting childhood!!

Wow this book was quite different then I expected!

Great quick read

Loved his novel-read all his memoirs and really enjoyed the fictional side of him also.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Trashy, smart, shocking and funny.

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.

"Darkly funny and gleefully mean-spirited. Over the top. Savvy, very entertaining. By the writer of 'Running with Scissors.'"

Very funny. I love the over-the-top characters.

Very funny, if you are a fan of Augusten Burroughs you'll love this.

I just couldn't get into this book.

His other books are a lot better. This is a novel.

funny. I was suckered into getting this book because i love infomercials. But it was a good, lighthearted read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

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