“Go the F**k to Sleep” Title Helps Book Go Viral Before Release
Now here’s a book that topped the Amazon charts before it even hit the shelves, with an unforgettable and unmentionable title: “Go the F**k to Sleep” by author and father, Adam Mansbach.
As it stands, this book is the second most popular book (was #1) out of the top 100 books on Amazon and getting tons of rave reviews.
This off-putting title may not sit well with everyone, but according to last month’s LA Times article by Susan Carpenter, the independent publisher of the infamous book actually had to push back the release date four months due to the sheer number of book orders they received pre-release, augmenting the first print run of the book to 150,000.
Author Adam Mansbach was inspired to write the unusually-titled book “for fun” in 2010 based on the “grueling” experience of getting his then 2-year-old daughter to fall asleep.
To quote journalist Susan Carpenter’s article, “It’s Mansbach’s handling of this inescapable parental reality that has helped propel the book to the No. 1 Amazon spot, but it was after a 10-minute reading the author gave at an art salon in Philadelphia that the book went viral.”
Apparently during the reading of each subsequent verse in Philadelphia, with Ricardo Cortes’ images screening behind him, the room was filled with laughter and the 200-person crowd was said to be thoroughly engaged.
A now notorious sentence including the f-word reads much like any other children’s book, only this one ends it’s sweet lullaby with a word many people find sour:
“The cats nestle close to their kittens. The lambs that lay down with the sheep. You’re cozy and warm in your bed my dear. Please go the f… to sleep.“
According to the book’s listing on Amazon even musician David Byrne raved about it after checking out a PDF version, calling it “hilarious,” while bestselling author Jonathan Lethem said it was “total genius.”
At the time of that eventful reading in Philly, the book wasn’t scheduled to be published for months, but the author directed interested audience members to Amazon for pre-orders and the next day after that reading the book jumped to No. 125 on the site, then, a few days later, it escalated to No. 2 before reaching No. 1 at it’s peak.
The book now sits as No. 1 on a New York Times Bestseller list. It can also be referred to as GTFTS, according to Adam’s author page on Amazon.
What do you think about the title? Yay or Nay? Comment below!
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- Posted June 20th, 2011 by BookRix in BookRix, Featured Author, Featured Books, Humor
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