Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Sellevision: A Novel by Augusten Burroughs
Loading...

Sellevision: A Novel (2000)

by Augusten Burroughs

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,389165,021 (3.46)21
(4) advertising (14) alcoholism (7) American (5) Burroughs (4) comedy (12) contemporary fiction (7) ebook (4) fiction (141) funny (6) gay (14) gay fiction (5) gay men (4) humor (51) literature (5) memoir (7) novel (10) own (5) Philadelphia (4) read (21) relationships (5) satire (29) scandal (7) shopping (10) stalking (8) television (28) to-read (21) unread (10) USA (4) wishlist (4)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)
I would have liked this better had I read it on the plane, which was my intent - it's not quite the sort of thing I dig, but it was funny enough. It's wildly over-the-top, which is kind of its only charm - from the intro, where the only sympathetic character gets fired from his Home Shopping Network-type job for a wardrobe malfunction of the highest order, it doesn't let up on the broad caricatures or ridiculous action.

It's badly dated, of course, but that can't be helped. I wasn't totally a fan of reading a whole book about hopelessly shallow people (hence the "better on an airplane" part) but Burroughs certainly hit what he was aiming for, I think. ( )
  JeremyPreacher | Mar 30, 2013 |
I have LOVED ALL of Augusten Burrough's other works but not a fan of this one at all. ( )
  karalawyer | Mar 13, 2013 |
Burroughs' Sellevision is a tale about a gay TV presenter who inadvertently exposes himself on TV. The story follows the after effects of the event. Some of the descriptions of the book might lead on to think the story to be a little smutty; but far from it, in fact I found it to be highly entertaining - an hilarious and thoroughly rewarding story with some larger than life characters. Rewarding as a read, and rewarding in the just and so appropriate outcome. Highly recommended. ( )
  presto | Apr 24, 2012 |
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! ( )
  kelawrence | Feb 28, 2011 |
A hilarious satirical glimpse into the world home shopping networks, consumerism and scandal. I didn't think I would like "Sellevision," but I ended up enjoying it more than some of Burroughs' later works. Granted, a few of the quirky characters begin taking on cartoon-like qualities. Continuity is also problematic in some spots. But I disagree with those reviewers who suggest that there's not much of message in this book. It speaks volumes about everything from society's insatiable appetite for scandal, to the changing consumer landscape. Yet is also remains an easy and amusing read. ( )
  brianinbuffalo | Dec 24, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
You exposed your penis on national television, Max. What am I supposed to do?
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Publisher series

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

Book description
Haiku summary

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0312422288, Paperback)

Light and funny, with a bitter aftertaste, the action of Sellevision takes place behind the scenes (and on the set) of a successful television shopping network, where a feminine role model, Peggy Jean Smythe, the married, Christian mother of three, begins receiving suspicious e-mail from a viewer who insists that Peggy's hairy earlobe is obscuring her presentation of jewelry during the broadcast. When Peggy fails to respond to the e-mail, but silently waxes her lobe, the cruel notes escalate, until Peggy believes herself to be suffering from a hormonal crisis that has given her a mustache, a gruff voice, and the manner of a lumberjack. Meanwhile, one of her cohosts, Max Andrews, has been fired for accidentally exposing himself during a children's special, and learns just how undesirable a commodity a penis-baring ex-Sellevision host can be on the job market. The book is an unusually smooth read for a first novel, with six or seven truly inspired lines. --Regina Marler

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:36:38 -0500)

(see all 4 descriptions)

Sellevision, America's premier retail broadcasting network, confronts its first juicy scandal.

» see all 2 descriptions

Quick Links

Swap Ebooks Audio
26 avail.
251 wanted
2 pay3 pay

Popular covers

Rating

Average: (3.46)
0.5 2
1 13
1.5 3
2 42
2.5 10
3 107
3.5 26
4 84
4.5 3
5 74

Audible.com

An edition of this book was published by Audible.com.

See editions

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | 82,548,202 books!