Comedian and author DC Pierson during SXSW in Austin earlier this year
D.C. Pierson’s The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To sounds interesting enough.
Amazon describes it as “A wildly original and hilarious debut novel about the typical high school experience: the homework, the awkwardness, and the mutant creatures from another galaxy.” Pierson himself is founding member of the Mystery Team improv troupe Derrick Comedy.
But being placed on a summer reading list, it seems, can transform the most captivating literature into drudgery.
Beset with a busy schedule, a sluggish reading pace, a remodeled library, and only about 10 days before the start of the school year, Yahoo! Answers member ♥ Idiot America ~ ϟƘƦІןן∑x ♥ turned to the trusty Yahoo! Answers community, begging for a summary of the 240-page book.
Instead, he (or she) got a response from Pierson himself.
The author wrote a multi-paragraph post, in which he expressed excitement, disappointment and sympathy, topped with a serving of help.
I guess all I’m saying is, of all the books not to read, to beg the Internet to read for you because your library is being remodeled, mine seems like an odd choice. (I recently had to read it aloud for an audiobook edition, and we recorded it in about 10 hours, and I was not reading fast at all. Maybe read it aloud to yourself an hour a night between now and when class starts? Or get together with other kids who have to read it for school and read it to each other? Maybe one of these other kids will be so impressed with your oratory skills you guys will end up making out. That would be pretty cool, right?)
He concluded his note with sage advice. “I finished my book. I bet you can, too.”
Despite Pierson’s generous assistance amid his own hectic life, ♥ Idiot America ~ ϟƘƦІןן∑x ♥ has not responded to the post. Remember, dubstep-loving high schoolers are pretty busy, too.