The Best of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency
The website’s daily dose of sharp-witted short stories takes to the printed page in an entertaining new book
A lot has changed online since the literary world’s beloved Dave Eggers began McSweeney’s Internet Tendency 15 years ago. With the current digital climate plagued by frivolous cat videos and impulsive Twitter comments, finding intellectually entertaining humor in the virtual medium is seemingly rare. But Eggers—and his Tendency editors, Chris Monks and John Warner—continue to encourage tongue-in-cheek cultural ruminations through the site’s daily dose of creative writing, forged by an array of talented authors.
Excitingly, the Tendency team has braved the arduous task of culling their extensive archive and selecting 50 favorites for an engrossing “best of” book. Beginning with Melinda Taub’s wedding cancellation letter written from the point of view of The Sound of Music’s Baroness Schraeder, and ending with Colin Nissan’s witty guide to better writing, in between you’ll find even more hilarious bits of fiction, like John Ortved‘s application to become Pope, Meredith K Gray’s day in the life of a passive aggressive vegan grocery cashier, actor Jesse Eisenberg’s take on a post-gender-normative man’s attempt to pick up a woman at a bar and more.
“The Best of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency” is teeming with nerdy humor sure to entertain when surviving a snowstorm, relaxing beachside, avoiding eye contact on the subway or any situation in which you would like to take a break without numbing your brain. The book launches 18 March 2014 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon for $16.
Photos by Karen Day
