Go the fuck to sleep bedtime book for children is big hit

[cali]

Go the Fuck to Sleep


A tongue-in-cheek bedtime book for parents which exhorts children to "go the fuck to sleep" has soared to the top of Amazon's bestseller chart a month before publication.

Written by novelist Adam Mansbach after his own daughter Vivien failed to nod off one night, the book, Go the Fuck to Sleep, combines cutesy rhymes with expletive-ridden pleas. Published by small US press Akashic Books, it was originally due out in October. But after a pirated PDF went viral, striking a chord with exhausted parents and catapulting the 32-page book to the top of Amazon.com's bestseller chart – ahead of memoirs by Tina Fey and Steven Tyler – it has now been pulled forward to June.

"The eagles who soar through the sky are at rest / And the creatures who crawl, run and creep. / I know you're not thirsty. That's bullshit. Stop lying. / Lie the fuck down, my darling, and sleep," writes Mansbach in the book, illustrated by Ricardo Cortes. "The cubs and the lions are snoring,/ Wrapped in a big snuggly heap. / How come you can do all this other great shit / But you can't lie the fuck down and sleep?"

<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/17/go-the-fuck-to-sleep-hit

[vandelay]

1. I am so ashamed of how low our society has gone.

Is there no common sense anymore? Every society must establish some limits or it crumbles into the abyss.

[ZombieHorde]

2. The book is a joke for adults. nt

[vandelay]

5. A decent society wouldn't even have people that would think of writing a book like this.

Much less have people that would spend hard earned money buying such garbage.

[ZombieHorde]

6. There is no such thing as a decent society. Probably never has been, probably never will be.

My anthropology professor said -if I heard him correctly- people were egalitarian before the Bronze Age. Egalitarian doesn't necessarily mean decent, but it may be a start.

[Igel]

29. Not willingly.

It was just that amassing much more than others was difficult. Still, it could be done--but if you managed it somebody would come along, club you, and take it.

It's the whole "if your neighbor has two cows and you have none" scenario. Do you struggle to get your own cow, take one or both of his cows, or merely satisfy "justice" by killing one or both of his? I've known people who, bluntly put, would prefer to bring everybody down to their own level to letting somebody have more.

Some of the earliest archeology in the Middle East found what amounts to clay slingshot balls--this was *before* the Bronze Age, just barely after chickpeas and wheat were domesticated. They were found outside early town walls, up in N. Syria and S. Turkey. Those in the little town probably had class structures simply because it's unlikely that a bunch of farmers would have gotten together to build the walls on their own, with no organization. Those in town lived better and certainly safer lives than the farmers out in the field that fed those in the city.

They amassed more than other people. They tried to defend themselves to keep others from taking it. But still they wound up clubbed in the head by somebody who would come along and take it--in this case we're not talking individuals but neighboring societies, clans, ethnoi, or some other sort of collective. Note that the "somebody" was also organized enough to mount something akin to a militia or army, which required the production of many hundreds of fairly similar clay slingshot balls. We have no clear idea who the defenders or aggressors were in that battle--no writing, and it all happened thousands of years before the Sumerians show up a few hundred miles to the SE.

[ZombieHorde]

30. I think you replied to the wrong post. You may wish to copy/paste this reply to the correct post. n

[RandySF]

18. Well not every parent is so perfect

as to not have these moments, at least running through our heads.

[Warren DeMontague]

27. If that line has ever gone through your head, dare I say, you're not a parent.

Only thing 'shocking' about this book, to me, is that no one wrote it before.

[MineralMan]

20. I suggest you not purchase this book, then.

I further suggest that you think a bit longer before posting. But, that's up to you, of course.

[Warren DeMontague]

24. Oh, for FUCK'S sake. 100 years ago lynchings were considered good entertainment.

but let me guess. coarse language and rampant sex are going to be our downfall, eh?

:eyes:

[ClassWarrior]

14. Hey, I can appreciate the skillful use of four letter words in humor, but...

...this isn't even funny. He's written some cute poems and filled in missing syllables with curse words. Wow. Clever.

:eyes:

NGU.

[ZombieHorde]

15. Not everyone will enjoy every joke, so be surprised to run across some you don't like. nt

[ClassWarrior]

16. No, it's just not funny.

Ever watch "Red Eye" on Fox Noise? Like that.

NGU.

[ZombieHorde]

17. Nothing is funny. Funny is created by our brain and then associated with stimuli.

No one is beautiful or ugly, no animal is cute or pitiful, no food is delicious or gross, and no act is foul or virtuous.

[xmas74]

3. It's a joke.

It's not meant to be read to children. It was written jokingly out of frustration towards a child who refused to go to sleep one night.

Parents understand exactly what he's saying in the book, though we'd never say it out loud.

[Poll_Blind]

4. It's a joke- and it had me going for a sec as well.

It's something I imagine new parents will be getting from their friends about the time the children turn 2, LOL!

:rofl:

PB

[cali]

7. I think it's funny.

[verges]

8. It's not really for children.

It's written in the STYLE of a children's book. It's called satire. Which has been considered for millenia to be a fairly sophisticated form of humor.

[Dorian Gray]

9. THIS

is what shames you about society? LOL.

[Horse with no Name]

10. Seriously?

I think Amazon even has a section for "sense of humor". You might buy one for yourself.

[Iggo]

11. I'm so ashamed of humorless people. (n/t)

[LeftishBrit]

12. This is just a funny book to help relieve parents' frustration

It's not an actual children's book; nor does it reflect some serious policy.

[arcane1]

13. I agree

Our society has sunk so low that, unfortunately, we have so few people left who understand satire :(

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jberryhill]

21. So ashamed that you signed up today to publicly state your shame

Uh-huh, tell us more.

[Warren Stupidity]

22. yeah

this is the fucking straw that broke the fucking camel's back.
now we are fucked.
fuck!

[astral]

35. Yeah. What SHE said.

Fuck that shit.

[Warren DeMontague]

23. ***

[themadstork]

25. *crumbles into abyss*

[Warren DeMontague]

28. I see the mods didn't vandelay your pizza vandelivery

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=271481

Don't let the vandedoor hit you on the vandeass on the vandeway out.

[Warren DeMontague]

26. NO WONDER JESUS DIDN'T SHOW UP!!!

He's too busy crying over "Go The Fuck To Sleep"

[Blue_Tires]

31. He'll have an interesting conversation with that daughter when she comes of age

[chalky]

32. Oh for fuck's sake...if anything's going to be the death of society it's the

fucking pearl clutching and attention-grabbing faux outrage.

And yes, he'll have an "interesting conversation" with his daughter...the moment she has her own three-year old who demands a forty-fifth reading of Goodnight Moon before he'll GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP.

[Horse with no Name]

33. .....

:spray:

I so understand....I find myself quoting children's books instead of "adult literature" more often than not.

"In my world, everyone's a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!"
— Dr. Seuss

[Pisces]

34. Couldn't agree with your post more. I have more titles for the series "Shut the fuck up"

" Eat your fucking food" , "Put on your fucking clothes" " Clean up your fucking mess" " Stop hitting your fucking sister"

The possibilities are endless and the outrage I am reading here is ridiculous. I have young kids and I commiserate with the author.

[calimary]

36. We found a series of "Walter the Farting Dog" books today that I like much better.

They're actually pretty hilarious, especially when read aloud. Only thing is - you're laughing too loud and too long to doze off anytime soon!

[upi402]

37. Love that

:rofl:

[Lorien]

38. OP title is wrong. It's for parents, not children. nt